Leonardo Maria del Vecchio has left Luxottica He will however remain a shareholder
The controversial Italian billionaire Leonardo Maria Del Vecchio, the fourth-born son of Luxottica's founder, today resigned from all the positions he had held at EssilorLuxottica. This was officially announced by a spokesperson for the Franco-Italian group, who confirmed the decision that had been anticipated by MF-Milano Finanza and that Del Vecchio will remain in his role until 31 August.
The positions Del Vecchio held were those of chairman of Ray-Ban and chief strategy officer. In a letter sent to chairman and chief executive Francesco Milleri and to the board of directors, the executive explained that he wished to focus on new projects and that he was not comfortable with the group's direction, which he described as distant and impersonal, as well as removed from its people.
But this does not mean Del Vecchio is out of the company entirely: he no longer works there, but continues, at least in part, to own it, as he will continue to exercise his rights as a shareholder through Delfin, the Luxembourg holding company that controls approximately 32.4% of EssilorLuxottica. But what exactly does this mean?
The great legacy of Del Vecchio Sr.
@dottormarcoscardeoni Cosa succede quando otto #eredi si dividono un patrimonio da miliardi? Leonardo Del Vecchio ha lasciato uno dei patrimoni imprenditoriali più importanti d’Europa. Ma cosa succede quando una #holdingfamiglia finisce nelle mani di otto eredi con il 12,50% ciascuno? Alla morte di Leonardo Del Vecchio, la proprietà della holding Delfin è stata suddivisa in parti uguali tra gli otto eredi. Negli anni successivi sono emerse divergenze sulla governance e sulla gestione della holding. Nel 2026, Leonardo Maria Del Vecchio ha portato avanti l’operazione per acquistare le quote dei fratelli, che gli ha permesso di salire e diventare il principale singolo azionista della holding. Ma questo cosa significa? Quando costruisci un patrimonio enorme, non devi pianificare soltanto chi erediterà le quote. Devi #pianificare chi prenderà le decisioni quando tu non ci sarai più. Se hai costruito un’azienda e vuoi capire come pianificare oggi il suo futuro e il passaggio alla prossima generazione, commenta “CONSULENZA” #commercialista #dottormarcoscardeoni audio originale - Dott. Marco Scardeoni
Leonardo Maria Del Vecchio holds 12.5% of Delfin, the family "vault" valued at around 40 billion euros. In addition to its controlling stake in EssilorLuxottica, Delfin owns more than 17% of Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena, approximately 10% of Generali, 2.7% of UniCredit, and effective control of the real estate group Covivio. An objectively enormous fortune divided, over four years ago, into eight equal shares of 12.5% each. Six went to the children (including Leonardo Maria), one to his last wife Nicoletta Zampillo herself, and one to Rocco Basilico, her son from a previous marriage.
The problem is that the heirs have never reached a final agreement on the execution of the will or on the management of the holding company. As noted by Il Post, they are all very different people who share a common ancestor (the eldest child is 69 and the youngest is 22 — quite an age gap), and each one essentially has their own plan for the future: some collect the dividends, some would like to sell their shares, some want to continue working within the family companies. This is where things get interesting, however.
Leonardo Maria had indeed wanted to change things: there were negotiations to buy out the stakes held by Paola and Luca Del Vecchio, which would have made him the majority shareholder — to all intents and purposes, the new patriarch. But on one hand the deal involved truly enormous sums, and on the other the rest of the family was opposed, even though the chairman of the holding company — who is also the chairman of Luxottica, namely Francesco Milleri — did in fact support the idea of a new "boss of bosses." Yet it is precisely Milleri whom Leonardo Maria Del Vecchio criticises in his letter, so something in the holding company's structure must not have worked out. So what will he do now?
Del Vecchio's new path
Leonardo Maria Del Vecchio lascia gli incarichi in EssilorLuxottica pic.twitter.com/wTrF3J8zmr
— Bellino Craxi (@BellinoCraxi) August 25, 2026
As mentioned at the outset, Del Vecchio has stepped down from his roles to pursue new projects of his own. These personal projects already exist and are being developed through an investment fund created by Del Vecchio, LMDV Capital, which already operates across several sectors including publishing, as it controls the majority of Editoriale Nazionale — the group behind Il Giorno, La Nazione, Il Resto del Carlino and QN — as well as 30% of Il Giornale.
The fund also holds a majority stake in Triple Sea Food Holding, the company behind the Twiga and Vesta chains, as well as Casa Fiori Chiari and Trattoria del Ciumbia. It owns Acqua e Terme di Fiuggi and the beverage brand Boem. There are also several prestigious real estate properties in Milan, and investments in the property company Impredo. And there are further investments in the technology and industrial sectors.
The decision to step down from his roles at EssilorLuxottica signals that, now that the deal which would have made him the leading shareholder of the family empire has fallen through, Del Vecchio wants to tend his own garden (we won't say "little garden," given that his LMDV Capital has already reached a considerable size) and perhaps return to discussions about expanding his influence within the family's capital at a later stage. Will he succeed? Perhaps the investments he could make are more interesting, even if less lucrative, than what a consolidation of internal power could offer. The market will be watching.
