The Most Famous

BUSINESSPEOPLE from Italy

This page contains a list of the greatest Italian Businesspeople. The pantheon dataset contains 847 Businesspeople, 24 of which were born in Italy. This makes Italy the birth place of the 5th most number of Businesspeople behind Germany, and France.

Top 10

The following people are considered by Pantheon to be the top 10 most legendary Italian Businesspeople of all time. This list of famous Italian Businesspeople is sorted by HPI (Historical Popularity Index), a metric that aggregates information on a biography’s online popularity. Visit the rankings page to view the entire list of Italian Businesspeople.

1. Ferruccio Lamborghini (1916 - 1993)

With an HPI of 76.70, Ferruccio Lamborghini is the most famous Italian Businessperson. His biography has been translated into 47 different languages on wikipedia.

Ferruccio Lamborghini (Italian: [ferˈruttʃo lamborˈɡiːni]; 28 April 1916 – 20 February 1993) was an Italian automobile designer, soldier, inventor, mechanic, engineer, winemaker, industrialist, and businessman who created Lamborghini Trattori in 1948 and the Automobili Lamborghini in 1963, a maker of high-end sports cars in Sant'Agata Bolognese. Born to grape farmers in Renazzo, from the comune (municipality) of Cento, in the Emilia-Romagna region, his mechanical know-how led him to enter the business of tractor manufacturing in 1948, when he founded Lamborghini Trattori, which quickly became an important manufacturer of agricultural equipment in the midst of Italy's post-WWII economic boom. In 1959, he opened an oil burner factory, Lamborghini Bruciatori, which later entered the business of producing air conditioning equipment. Lamborghini founded a fourth company, Lamborghini Oleodinamica, in 1969 after creating Automobili Lamborghini in 1963. Lamborghini sold off many of his interests by the late 1970s and retired to an estate in Umbria, where he pursued winemaking.

2. Cosimo de' Medici (1389 - 1464)

With an HPI of 71.31, Cosimo de' Medici is the 2nd most famous Italian Businessperson. His biography has been translated into 55 different languages.

Cosimo di Giovanni de' Medici (27 September 1389 – 1 August 1464) was an Italian banker and politician who established the Medici family as effective rulers of Florence during much of the Italian Renaissance. His power derived from his wealth as a banker and intermarriage with other rich and powerful families. He was a patron of arts, learning, and architecture. He spent over 600,000 gold florins (approx. $500 million inflation adjusted) on art and culture, including Donatello's David, the first freestanding nude male sculpture since antiquity. Despite his influence, his power was not absolute; he was viewed by fellow Florentine politicians as first among equals rather than an autocrat. Florence's legislative councils resisted his proposals throughout his political career, even sending him into exile from 1433 to 1434.

3. Guccio Gucci (1881 - 1953)

With an HPI of 69.11, Guccio Gucci is the 3rd most famous Italian Businessperson. His biography has been translated into 33 different languages.

Guccio Giovanbattista Giacinto Dario Maria Gucci (26 March 1881 – 2 January 1953) was an Italian businessman and fashion designer and founder of the fashion house Gucci.

4. Ettore Bugatti (1881 - 1947)

With an HPI of 67.62, Ettore Bugatti is the 4th most famous Italian Businessperson. His biography has been translated into 40 different languages.

Ettore Arco Isidoro Bugatti (15 September 1881 – 21 August 1947) was an Italian-born French automobile designer and manufacturer. He received French citizenship in 1946. He is remembered as the founder and proprietor of the automobile manufacturing company Automobiles E. Bugatti, which he founded in 1909 in the then German town of Molsheim in the Alsace region of what is now France. Bugatti died in Paris, and is buried in Dorlisheim, France.

5. Giovanni Agnelli (1866 - 1945)

With an HPI of 66.84, Giovanni Agnelli is the 5th most famous Italian Businessperson. His biography has been translated into 37 different languages.

Giovanni Agnelli (13 August 1866 – 16 December 1945) was an Italian businessman. He cofounded Fiat S.p.A, an automotive industrial company, in 1899.

6. Flavio Briatore (b. 1950)

With an HPI of 62.89, Flavio Briatore is the 6th most famous Italian Businessperson. His biography has been translated into 27 different languages.

Flavio Briatore (Italian: [ˈflaːvjo bri.aˈtoːre]; born 12 April 1950) is an Italian businessman, who currently serves as Renault's executive advisor for Formula One. As the longtime team principal of Team Enstone (Benetton Formula / Renault F1 Team), Briatore led the team to three World Constructors' Championships and four World Drivers' Championships. However, he was dogged by allegations of cheating, including the 1994 "Launch Control" controversy and the 2007 "Spygate" affair, although in both cases his teams escaped penalties. He was forced out of Renault and received a lifetime ban from F1 after the 2008 "Crashgate" scandal, although a French court subsequently overturned the ban. Fifteen years later, he returned to Renault as "team boss in all but name." Briatore started his career as a restaurant manager and insurance salesman in Italy. He was convicted in Italy on several fraud charges in the 1980s, receiving two prison sentences, though the convictions were later extinguished by an amnesty. He spent several years as a fugitive in the Virgin Islands and the United States, where he set up several United Colors of Benetton franchises, paving the way for his role at Benetton's F1 team. From 2007 to 2011, he was part-owner and chairman of English association football team Queens Park Rangers.

7. Michele Ferrero (1925 - 2015)

With an HPI of 62.08, Michele Ferrero is the 7th most famous Italian Businessperson. His biography has been translated into 28 different languages.

Michele Ferrero (Italian pronunciation: [miˈkɛːle ferˈrɛːro]; 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), 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.

8. Piero Ferrari (b. 1945)

With an HPI of 60.21, Piero Ferrari is the 8th most famous Italian Businessperson. His biography has been translated into 18 different languages.

Piero Ferrari (born Piero Lardi, then Piero Lardi Ferrari; 22 May 1945) is an Italian billionaire businessman and sport personality. He is the second and only living son of Enzo Ferrari, and a 10.48% owner of the Ferrari automotive company, of which he is the vice chairman. He owns 13.2% of the Ferretti Group. As of November 2024, his net worth was estimated at US$9.8 billion.

9. Massimo Moratti (b. 1945)

With an HPI of 60.03, Massimo Moratti is the 9th most famous Italian Businessperson. His biography has been translated into 34 different languages.

Massimo Moratti (born 16 May 1945) is an Italian billionaire petroleum businessman, the former owner of Inter Milan and chairman of the Saras Group, founded in 1962 by his father, industrialist Angelo Moratti. The main production site of the Saras Group is the Sarroch refinery located on the island of Sardinia, one of Europe's only six supersites, with a capacity of 300,000 barrels per day, representing 15% of refining capacity in Italy. In recent years, initially to enable independence of the Sarroch refinery from terms of energy, the Saras Group has entered into the production of electricity and is expanding its production of alternative energy sources, particularly in the field of wind energy, through its subsidiaries Sarlux and Sardeolica, the latter of which is controlled indirectly through the company Eolici Ulassai. From 1995 until 2013, Moratti was the chairman of Internazionale. He is said to have spent around €1.5 billion of his personal fortune in the transfer market, and was famous for signing numerous football superstars such as Ronaldo in 1997. He was Inter's honorary chairman, and also a United Nations goodwill ambassador. In 2013, he was inducted into the Italian Football Hall of Fame.

10. Vincenzo Lancia (1881 - 1937)

With an HPI of 59.15, Vincenzo Lancia is the 10th most famous Italian Businessperson. His biography has been translated into 23 different languages.

Vincenzo Lancia (24 August 1881 – 15 February 1937) was an Italian racing driver, engineer and founder of Lancia. Vincenzo Lancia was born in the small village of Fobello on 24 August 1881, close to Turin; his family tree starts in Fabello around 1550. He was the youngest of four children (one sister and two brothers), his father being a soup canner who made his money in Argentina before returning to Turin to start his business. From an early age, Vincenzo showed a gift with numbers, and it was intended for him to become a bookkeeper, but developed an interest in machinery and engineering, and was fascinated with the new motor car. He eventually became an apprentice with Giovanni Battista Ceirano, a bicycle importer in Turin, and he was named bookkeeper in the company's brochure in 1898. He was also developing his skills in engineering, design and construction, and developed patience, perseverance and determination. Soon he could tackle most problems single-handedly. Once Lancia was sent to help Count Carlo Biscaretti di Ruffia, who owned a Benz. When they met in February 1899, they quickly became friends. He was to become important in Lancia's later career and was credited with the design of the now familiar Lancia logo (1911). Lancia, however, was now chief inspector at Fiat, and was also a test driver, although only 19. His driving impressed the Fiat bosses, and he was invited to drive their cars in races. His first success was in 1900, in Fiat's second race. Lancia led the first lap of first French Grand Prix at Le Mans with a time of 53 minutes 42 seconds. He was an exceptionally fast driver, often the fastest of all, but often suffered a mechanical failure. In 1906, Vincenzo Lancia won the Gold Cup in Milan driving the Fiat 28-40 HP. His first car was built in 1907 - the 12 hp Alfa, which included much of the technology now taken for granted, and he produced groundbreaking models such as the Lambda and the Aprilia. In 1930 with Battista Farina called Pinin, he co-funded the newly established Carrozzeria Pinin Farina a car design firm and coachbuilder, with headquarters in Cambiano, Turin, Italy. He died from a heart attack on 15 February 1937 just before the Aprilia was put into full production. He was 55 years old, and he lies buried at Fobello. His wife Adele Miglietti and their son Gianni Lancia continued the management of the car manufacturer (1937–1955).

People

Pantheon has 30 people classified as Italian businesspeople born between 1389 and 1975. Of these 30, 9 (30.00%) of them are still alive today. The most famous living Italian businesspeople include Flavio Briatore, Piero Ferrari, and Massimo Moratti. The most famous deceased Italian businesspeople include Ferruccio Lamborghini, Cosimo de' Medici, and Guccio Gucci. As of April 2024, 6 new Italian businesspeople have been added to Pantheon including Giovanni di Cosimo de' Medici, Edoardo Agnelli, and Marcel Bich.