Michele Ferrero (Italian pronunciation:[miˈkɛːleferˈrɛːro]; 26 April 1925 – 14 February 2015) was an Italian billionaire businessman. He owned the chocolate manufacturer Ferrero SpA, Europe's second-largest confectionery company (at the time of his death),[1] which he developed from the small bakery and café of his father in Alba, Piedmont. His first big success was adding vegetable oil to the traditional gianduja paste to make the popular spread Nutella.[2]
Early life
Michele Ferrero was born on 26 April 1925 in Dogliani,[3] the only child of Pietro Ferrero, who founded the Ferrero company, and his wife Piera Cillario.[4]
He was the richest person in Italy, with a personal wealth of $26bn[6] surpassing Silvio Berlusconi in March 2008. In May 2014, the Bloomberg Billionaires Index listed Ferrero as the 20th richest person in the world.[7]
From 1997, his sons, Giovanni Ferrero and Pietro Ferrero, co-led the company.[9][10] After Pietro died on 18 April 2011, of a heart attack while cycling in South Africa, Giovanni became the sole CEO.[11]
He was a fervent Catholic. Ferrero visited the Lourdes shrine annually, and had a Madonna placed in every factory and office.[5] At the celebration of the 50th anniversary of the founding of his company, he said: "The success of Ferrero we owe to Our Lady of Lourdes; without her we can do little."[12]
Ferrero died on 14 February 2015, at his home in Monte Carlo, Monaco, after a long illness. He was 89.[13][14][15][8]
