Leonardo was born in Milan, Italy on May 22, 1935. His main business, Luxottica, is a designer and manufacturer of eyeglass frames. He was born from a very poor family that he was turned over to an orphanage by her mother for lack of financial capacity to raise him. His father, on the other hand, died five months before he was born. Through his hard work, he was able to get a job as an apprentice to a tool and dye maker in the city of Milan.
His metalworking skills proved to be successful that he decided to use his talent and venture in the spectacle parts making industry. With this in mind, he moved to Agordo in 1961 and founded his own business Luxottica. After he was able to make his first acquisition in 1974, he set up to market his products internationally and by 1981, they opened their subsidiary in Germany. Seven years later, the business started partnering with designers and the first on their list was Armani.
After the business got listed on the S&P in 2000, their capacity to acquire other brands heightened. They were able to possess brands like Vogue in 1990, Person and US Shoe Corporation in 1995, Ray-Ban in 1999, and in 2001, Sunglass Hut. These series of acquisitions still continues until now and the business has become the leading name in the eyeglass manufacturing industry.
With the emergence of the middle class market, the company’s revenue also pushed up by 16% during the first nine months of the last fiscal year. With this growth, Leonardo’s net worth also went up by $4 billion and he is now listed as the 49th richest man in the world.