Gilberto Benetton

Gilberto Benetton (19 June 1941 – 22 October 2018) was an Italian billionaire businessman, one of Europe's most influential industrialists. He was a co-founder of Benetton Group, the Italian fashion brand which he started and ran with his three siblings. In October 2018, Forbes estimated the net worth of Gilberto Benetton, and each of his siblings, at US$2.7 billion. In June 2018, the conglomerate he created had assets of €12.1 billion.

Career

Benetton left school at 14, after his father died, and worked at local firms until starting United Colours of Benetton with his siblings in 1965. The company initially made clothing on a homemade production line in Ponzano Veneto near Venice. The company became well known for its brightly colored clothing. By the 1980s the company was distributing in 100 countries, and the Benetton family had become billionaires.

After his family company's success in the 1980s, Benetton diversified into infrastructure, including roads, telecom, catering, and agriculture. He acquired Autogrill, a motorway food service company. Then Atlantia, the owner of Autostrade with contracts in road and airport construction. He also acquired stakes in Telecom Italia, Mediobanca, Pirelli, and RCS Mediagroup. In 2018 he organized the acquisition of Abertis, a motorway group from Spanish building firm ACS.

The Benetton Group was controversial for its ads, which often went against the social norms of the time. The ads challenged social taboos such as sexuality, war, racism, and AIDS. In 2011 the company pulled an ad featuring a photoshopped image of the Pope kissing a prominent Islamic cleric after the Vatican complained. The company became one of the world's largest retail groups, with 5000 stores in 120 companies. However, since 2000 it has seen dwindling sales.