Gianni Agnelli
Encyclopedia
Giovanni Agnelli better known as Gianni Agnelli (ˈdʒanni aɲˈɲɛlli), was an Italian industrialist and principal shareholder of Fiat
. As the head of Fiat, he controlled 4.4% of Italy's GDP, 3.1% of its industrial workforce, and 16.5% of its industrial investment in research. He was the richest man in modern Italian history.
As a public figure, Agnelli was also known worldwide for his impeccable, slightly eccentric fashion sense, which has influenced both Italian and international men’s fashion
.
Agnelli was awarded the decoration Knight Grand Cross of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic
in 1967 and the title Knight of Labour
(Cavaliere del lavoro) in 1977. Following his death in 2003, control of the firm was gradually passed to his grandson and chosen heir, John Elkann
.
Agnelli was born at his parents' house in Turin
but he maintained a strong ties with the village of Villar Perosa
, near Turin
in the Piedmont
region. His father was the prominent Italian industrialist Edoardo Agnelli and his mother was Virginia Bourbon del Monte, daughter of Carlo, 4th Principe
di San Faustino, head of a noble
family established in Perugia
(no kin to the House of Bourbon
). Agnelli was named after his grandfather Giovanni Agnelli
, the founder of the Italian car industry Fiat
.
Gianni—as he was known to differentiate from his grandfather, with whom he shared his first name—inherited the command of Fiat and the Agnelli family assets in general in 1966, following a period in which Fiat was temporarily "ruled" by Vittorio Valletta
while Gianni was learning how his family's company worked. Agnelli raised Fiat to become the most important company in Italy, and one of the major car-builders of Europe. He also developed the accessory business, with minor companies also operating in military industry. Agnelli and Fiat would come to share a common vision, Agnelli meaning Fiat and, more sensibly, Fiat meaning Agnelli.
Agnelli was educated at Pinerolo
Cavalry
Academy, and studied law at the University of Turin
, although he never practiced law. He joined a tank regiment
in June 1940 when Italy entered World War II
. He fought at the Russian front, being wounded twice. He also served in a Fiat-built armoured-car division to North Africa, where he was shot in the arm by a German officer during a bar fight over a woman. After Italy surrendered, due to his fluency in English, he became a liaison officer with the occupying US troops. His grandfather, who had manufactured vehicles for the Axis
during the war, was forced to retire from Fiat but named Valletta to be his successor. Gianni's grandfather died, leaving Gianni head of the family but Valletta running the company. Fiat then began producing Italy's first inexpensive mass-produced car.
Prior to his marriage on 19 November 1953 to Donna Marella Caracciolo dei principi di Castagneto — a half-American, half-Neapolitan noblewoman
who made a small but significant name as a fabric designer, and a bigger name as a tastemaker — Agnelli was a noted playboy
whose mistresses included the socialite Pamela Harriman
. Though Agnelli continued to be involved with other women during his marriage, including the film star Anita Ekberg
and the American fashion designer Jackie Rogers
, the Agnellis remained married until his death of prostate cancer
in 2003. He was universally considered to be a man of exquisite taste. He left his extraordinary paintings to the city of Turin in 2002.
Their only son, Edoardo Agnelli
, was born seven months after the couple's wedding, in New York City on 9 June 1954. Gianni gave up trying to groom him to take over Fiat, seeing how the boy was more interested in mysticism than making cars (he studied religion at Princeton
and took part in a world day of prayer in Assisi
). Edoardo — who seemed burdened by the mantle of his surname — committed suicide on 15 November 2000 by jumping off a bridge in Turin; Gianni himself joined police at the scene. Edoardo never married, but he had one son (born out of wedlock in 1973), who was not recognized by Gianni Agnelli.
), which marked a new industrial mentality. In the 1970s, during the international petrol crisis, he sold part of the company to Lafico, a Libya
n company owned by Colonel Qaddhafi
; Agnelli would later repurchase these shares, however.
His relationships with the Left, especially with Enrico Berlinguer
's Communist Party, were the essence of the relationships between labour forces and Italian industry. The social conflicts related to Fiat's policies (some say politics) always saw Agnelli keeping the leading role; in the 1980s, during the last important trade union action, a dramatic situation in which a strike was blocking all of Fiat's production, he was able to organise the march of 40,000 workers who broke the pickets and re-entered the factories. This marked the demise of the power of trade unions, which would have to this day not been as influential in the Italian political or economic scenes. In the 1970s, Fiat and its leaders were attacked, mostly by the Red Brigades
, Prima Linea
and NAP
. Several people working for the group were killed, and trade unions were initially suspected of hiding some of the attackers in their organizations, albeit this was later disproved when the same terrorists targeted trade unionists like Guido Rossa.
Agnelli was named senator for life
in 1991 and subscribed to the independent parliamentary group; he was later named a member of the senate's defence commission.
At the beginning of the 2000s, Agnelli made overtures to General Motors, with whom an agreement was reached to progressively let the American company court Fiat. The recent serious crisis of Fiat found Agnelli already fighting against cancer, and he could take little part in these events.
Agnelli was also closely connected with Juventus
, the most renowned Italian
football club, of which he was a fan and the direct owner. His phone calls, every morning at 6 am, from wherever he was, whatever was he doing, to the club's president Giampiero Boniperti
, were legendary.
Nicknamed L'Avvocato ( the lawyer ) because he had a degree in law (though he was never admitted to the Order of Lawyers), Agnelli represented the most important figure in Italian economy, the symbol of capitalism during all the second half of 20th century, and regarded by many as the true "King of Italy
". A cultivated man of keen intelligence and a peculiar sense of humour, he was perhaps the most famous Italian abroad, forming deep relationships with international bankers and politicians, largely through the Bilderberg Group
, whose conferences he attended regularly since 1958. Some of the other Bilderberg regulars became close friends, like Henry Kissinger
. Another longtime associate was David Rockefeller
(yet another Bilderberg regular), who appointed him to the International Advisory Committee (IAC) of the Chase Manhattan Bank
, of which Rockefeller was chairman; Agnelli sat on this committee for thirty years. He was also a member of a syndicate
with Rockefeller that for a time in the 1980s owned Rockefeller Center
.
The many detractors underline that in all his activity Agnelli mainly followed his family's interests, despite the eventual damage that this could cause to the nation. Fiat was always regarded by the Italian government as a sort of "obligation-free" company, for which the national labour and tax laws could be adjusted according to Fiat's interests. Also, he was seen as a man who was continuing to enrich himself while Italy was getting poorer. Agnelli never responded to these accusations.
It is, however, necessary to note how he was never personally involved in the many political scandals of the Bettino Craxi
government era, even if bribery was publicly admitted in 1994 by Cesare Romiti, Agnelli's most trusted administrator for some 25 years. Number 3 in Fiat's hierarchy, Mattioli was imprisoned for bribery like Papi, leader of the Fiat-controlled Cogefar company. At the time, investigations were started after suspicions of special relationships with Salvo Lima, a Sicilian
DC MP
who was alleged to have an association with the Mafia
(though Lima himself was not actually a mafioso).
, died of a rare form of cancer in 1997 at age 33 while he was being groomed by his uncle to head the Fiat Group. John Elkann
, the son of Gianni and Marella's daughter, Margherita, was expected to take over Fiat after Gianni's death. However, Umberto became chairman, taking over from Paolo Fresco. Fresco had diversified the Group's holdings, but Umberto refocused its activities on its auto and mechanics division. He then brought in Giuseppe Morchio to mastermind a rescue strategy for the company. Morchio was expected to continue to run the Fiat Group as it attempted to claw its way out of its latest financial crisis. However, upon Umberto's death, Ferrari
chairman Luca Cordero di Montezemolo was named chairman, with Elkann as vice chairman; Morchio immediately offered his resignation. As his successor was named Sergio Marchionne
, an expert of reorganisation, who led between 2002 and 2004 the Swiss certification company, Societé Générale de Surveillance
(SGS).
Gianni Agnelli died in 2003 of prostate cancer
at age 81 in Turin
.
Fiat-owned Scuderia Ferrari
named their 2003 F1 contender the F2003-GA, in tribute to Agnelli.
ese fashion designer Nino Cerruti
named Agnelli as one of his biggest inspirations, amongst James Bond
and John F. Kennedy
. Esquire Magazine named Agnelli as one of five best dressed men in the history of the World.
Agnelli’s dress style was a combination of a foundation of classic suits, combined with eye-catching personal tricks. He had a large number of bespoke Caraceni
suits, which were of very high quality and classic design, and yet had the signature Italian bravura. It was the accessories and the way they were worn that made Agnelli stand out as a fashionisto. He is known for wearing his wristwatch over his cuff, wearing his tie askew or wearing (fashionable) high brown hiking boots under a bespoke suit. All these tricks were carefully chosen in order to convey sprezzatura
, the Italian art of making the difficult look easy. His outfits were scrupulously chosen to the last detail, yet the accessory choices appeared as errors, making it look as if he did not care or make an effort about the way he was dressed.
Apart from his dress sense, Agnelli’s homes were work of designers and looked like studies in elegant living. Additionally, he was interested in sailing
, fast cars, Cresta tobogganing
, skiing
and horse
s. His grandsons and heirs to Fiat, John
and Lapo Elkann
, seem to have adopted their grandfather’s tradition of dressing, as they are both often observed dressed classically and flamboyantly at high-society venues.
Agnelli's nickname of "The Rake of the Riviera", inspired the classical menswear magazine The Rake
.
Fiat
FIAT, an acronym for Fabbrica Italiana Automobili Torino , is an Italian automobile manufacturer, engine manufacturer, financial, and industrial group based in Turin in the Italian region of Piedmont. Fiat was founded in 1899 by a group of investors including Giovanni Agnelli...
. As the head of Fiat, he controlled 4.4% of Italy's GDP, 3.1% of its industrial workforce, and 16.5% of its industrial investment in research. He was the richest man in modern Italian history.
As a public figure, Agnelli was also known worldwide for his impeccable, slightly eccentric fashion sense, which has influenced both Italian and international men’s fashion
Fashion
Fashion, a general term for a currently popular style or practice, especially in clothing, foot wear, or accessories. Fashion references to anything that is the current trend in look and dress up of a person...
.
Agnelli was awarded the decoration Knight Grand Cross of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic
Order of Merit of the Italian Republic
The Order of Merit of the Italian Republic was founded as the senior order of knighthood by the second President of the Italian Republic, Luigi Einaudi in 1951...
in 1967 and the title Knight of Labour
Order of Merit for Labour
The Order of Merit for Labour was founded as national order of chivalry in 1923 by King Vittorio Emanuele III of Italy; it is awarded to those "who have been singularly meritorious" in agriculture, industry and commerce, crafts, lending and insurance. It is a continuation of the earlier Ordine al...
(Cavaliere del lavoro) in 1977. Following his death in 2003, control of the firm was gradually passed to his grandson and chosen heir, John Elkann
John Elkann
John Philip Jacob Elkann is an Italian industrialist. He was the chosen heir of Gianni Agnelli, his grandfather, and controls the family's automaker Fiat...
.
Early life
Turin
Turin is a city and major business and cultural centre in northern Italy, capital of the Piedmont region, located mainly on the left bank of the Po River and surrounded by the Alpine arch. The population of the city proper is 909,193 while the population of the urban area is estimated by Eurostat...
but he maintained a strong ties with the village of Villar Perosa
Villar Perosa
Villar Perosa is a comune in the Province of Turin in the Italian region Piedmont, located about 40 km southwest of Turin....
, near Turin
Turin
Turin is a city and major business and cultural centre in northern Italy, capital of the Piedmont region, located mainly on the left bank of the Po River and surrounded by the Alpine arch. The population of the city proper is 909,193 while the population of the urban area is estimated by Eurostat...
in the Piedmont
Piedmont
Piedmont is one of the 20 regions of Italy. It has an area of 25,402 square kilometres and a population of about 4.4 million. The capital of Piedmont is Turin. The main local language is Piedmontese. Occitan is also spoken by a minority in the Occitan Valleys situated in the Provinces of...
region. His father was the prominent Italian industrialist Edoardo Agnelli and his mother was Virginia Bourbon del Monte, daughter of Carlo, 4th Principe
Prince
Prince is a general term for a ruler, monarch or member of a monarch's or former monarch's family, and is a hereditary title in the nobility of some European states. The feminine equivalent is a princess...
di San Faustino, head of a noble
Nobility
Nobility is a social class which possesses more acknowledged privileges or eminence than members of most other classes in a society, membership therein typically being hereditary. The privileges associated with nobility may constitute substantial advantages over or relative to non-nobles, or may be...
family established in Perugia
Perugia
Perugia is the capital city of the region of Umbria in central Italy, near the River Tiber, and the capital of the province of Perugia. The city is located about north of Rome. It covers a high hilltop and part of the valleys around the area....
(no kin to the House of Bourbon
House of Bourbon
The House of Bourbon is a European royal house, a branch of the Capetian dynasty . Bourbon kings first ruled Navarre and France in the 16th century. By the 18th century, members of the Bourbon dynasty also held thrones in Spain, Naples, Sicily, and Parma...
). Agnelli was named after his grandfather Giovanni Agnelli
Giovanni Agnelli
Giovanni Agnelli was an Italian entrepreneur, who founded Fiat car manufacturing in 1899.-Early life:The son of Edoardo Agnelli and Aniceta Frisetti, he was born in Villar Perosa, a small town near Pinerolo, Piedmont, still the main home and burial place of the Agnelli family...
, the founder of the Italian car industry Fiat
Fiat
FIAT, an acronym for Fabbrica Italiana Automobili Torino , is an Italian automobile manufacturer, engine manufacturer, financial, and industrial group based in Turin in the Italian region of Piedmont. Fiat was founded in 1899 by a group of investors including Giovanni Agnelli...
.
Gianni—as he was known to differentiate from his grandfather, with whom he shared his first name—inherited the command of Fiat and the Agnelli family assets in general in 1966, following a period in which Fiat was temporarily "ruled" by Vittorio Valletta
Vittorio Valletta
Vittorio Valletta was an Italian industrialist and President of Fiat from 1946 to 1966....
while Gianni was learning how his family's company worked. Agnelli raised Fiat to become the most important company in Italy, and one of the major car-builders of Europe. He also developed the accessory business, with minor companies also operating in military industry. Agnelli and Fiat would come to share a common vision, Agnelli meaning Fiat and, more sensibly, Fiat meaning Agnelli.
Agnelli was educated at Pinerolo
Pinerolo
Pinerolo is a town and comune in north-western Italy, 40 kilometres southwest of Turin on the river Chisone.-History:In the Middle Ages, the town of Pinerolo was one of the main crossroads in Italy, and was therefore one of the principal fortresses of the dukes of Savoy. Its military importance...
Cavalry
Cavalry
Cavalry or horsemen were soldiers or warriors who fought mounted on horseback. Cavalry were historically the third oldest and the most mobile of the combat arms...
Academy, and studied law at the University of Turin
University of Turin
The University of Turin is a university in the city of Turin in the Piedmont region of north-western Italy...
, although he never practiced law. He joined a tank regiment
Regiment
A regiment is a major tactical military unit, composed of variable numbers of batteries, squadrons or battalions, commanded by a colonel or lieutenant colonel...
in June 1940 when Italy entered World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. He fought at the Russian front, being wounded twice. He also served in a Fiat-built armoured-car division to North Africa, where he was shot in the arm by a German officer during a bar fight over a woman. After Italy surrendered, due to his fluency in English, he became a liaison officer with the occupying US troops. His grandfather, who had manufactured vehicles for the Axis
Axis Powers
The Axis powers , also known as the Axis alliance, Axis nations, Axis countries, or just the Axis, was an alignment of great powers during the mid-20th century that fought World War II against the Allies. It began in 1936 with treaties of friendship between Germany and Italy and between Germany and...
during the war, was forced to retire from Fiat but named Valletta to be his successor. Gianni's grandfather died, leaving Gianni head of the family but Valletta running the company. Fiat then began producing Italy's first inexpensive mass-produced car.
Prior to his marriage on 19 November 1953 to Donna Marella Caracciolo dei principi di Castagneto — a half-American, half-Neapolitan noblewoman
Nobility
Nobility is a social class which possesses more acknowledged privileges or eminence than members of most other classes in a society, membership therein typically being hereditary. The privileges associated with nobility may constitute substantial advantages over or relative to non-nobles, or may be...
who made a small but significant name as a fabric designer, and a bigger name as a tastemaker — Agnelli was a noted playboy
Playboy (lifestyle)
A playboy is a modern version of a public Casanova — a man of means with ample time for leisure, who demonstratively appreciates the pleasures of the world.The term has also been applied to a flashy womanizer, such as a player, pappagallo, or Don Juan....
whose mistresses included the socialite Pamela Harriman
Pamela Harriman
Pamela Beryl Harriman , also known as Pamela Churchill Harriman, was an English-born socialite who was married and linked to important and powerful men. In later life, she became a political activist for the United States Democratic Party and a diplomat...
. Though Agnelli continued to be involved with other women during his marriage, including the film star Anita Ekberg
Anita Ekberg
Kerstin Anita Marianne Ekberg is a Swedish model, actress and cult sex symbol. She is best known for her role as Sylvia in the 1960 Federico Fellini film La Dolce Vita which features the legendary scene of her cavorting in Trevi Fountain alongside Marcello Mastroianni.-Biography:Ekberg was born in...
and the American fashion designer Jackie Rogers
Jackie Rogers
Jackie Rogers is a retired NASCAR Winston Cup Series driver who has led only six out of the 4943 laps that he raced in his entire career. Rogers earned $64,582 and drove for finishing an average of 21st place.-References:...
, the Agnellis remained married until his death of prostate cancer
Prostate cancer
Prostate cancer is a form of cancer that develops in the prostate, a gland in the male reproductive system. Most prostate cancers are slow growing; however, there are cases of aggressive prostate cancers. The cancer cells may metastasize from the prostate to other parts of the body, particularly...
in 2003. He was universally considered to be a man of exquisite taste. He left his extraordinary paintings to the city of Turin in 2002.
Their only son, Edoardo Agnelli
Edoardo Agnelli
Edoardo Agnelli was the eldest son of Gianni Agnelli the industrialist patriarch of Fiat, and Marella Caracciolo. After a troubled life, notable for his search for spiritual values, he committed suicide in 2000.- Life :...
, was born seven months after the couple's wedding, in New York City on 9 June 1954. Gianni gave up trying to groom him to take over Fiat, seeing how the boy was more interested in mysticism than making cars (he studied religion at Princeton
Princeton University
Princeton University is a private research university located in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. The school is one of the eight universities of the Ivy League, and is one of the nine Colonial Colleges founded before the American Revolution....
and took part in a world day of prayer in Assisi
Assisi
- Churches :* The Basilica of San Francesco d'Assisi is a World Heritage Site. The Franciscan monastery, il Sacro Convento, and the lower and upper church of St Francis were begun immediately after his canonization in 1228, and completed in 1253...
). Edoardo — who seemed burdened by the mantle of his surname — committed suicide on 15 November 2000 by jumping off a bridge in Turin; Gianni himself joined police at the scene. Edoardo never married, but he had one son (born out of wedlock in 1973), who was not recognized by Gianni Agnelli.
Head of Fiat
Agnelli became president of Fiat in 1966. He opened factories in many places, including Russia (at the time the Soviet Union) and South America, and started international alliances and joint-ventures (like IvecoIveco
Iveco, an acronym for Industrial Vehicle Corporation, originally an alliance of European commercial vehicle manufacturers such as Fiat , Unic and Magirus. Iveco is now an Italian truck, bus, and diesel engine manufacturer, based in Turin...
), which marked a new industrial mentality. In the 1970s, during the international petrol crisis, he sold part of the company to Lafico, a Libya
Libya
Libya is an African country in the Maghreb region of North Africa bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to the east, Sudan to the southeast, Chad and Niger to the south, and Algeria and Tunisia to the west....
n company owned by Colonel Qaddhafi
Muammar al-Gaddafi
Muammar Muhammad Abu Minyar Gaddafi or "September 1942" 20 October 2011), commonly known as Muammar Gaddafi or Colonel Gaddafi, was the official ruler of the Libyan Arab Republic from 1969 to 1977 and then the "Brother Leader" of the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya from 1977 to 2011.He seized power in a...
; Agnelli would later repurchase these shares, however.
Enrico Berlinguer
Enrico Berlinguer was an Italian politician; he was national secretary of the Italian Communist Party from 1972 until his death.-Early career:...
's Communist Party, were the essence of the relationships between labour forces and Italian industry. The social conflicts related to Fiat's policies (some say politics) always saw Agnelli keeping the leading role; in the 1980s, during the last important trade union action, a dramatic situation in which a strike was blocking all of Fiat's production, he was able to organise the march of 40,000 workers who broke the pickets and re-entered the factories. This marked the demise of the power of trade unions, which would have to this day not been as influential in the Italian political or economic scenes. In the 1970s, Fiat and its leaders were attacked, mostly by the Red Brigades
Red Brigades
The Red Brigades was a Marxist-Leninist terrorist organisation, based in Italy, which was responsible for numerous violent incidents, assassinations, and robberies during the so-called "Years of Lead"...
, Prima Linea
Prima Linea
Prima Linea was an Italian Marxist-Leninist terrorist group of the 1970s. It was formed in 1976 by members of hard-line factions within the far left, extra-parliamentary organization Lotta Continua, which disbanded that year, together with members of Potere Operaio and of other far left groups...
and NAP
Nap
A nap is a short period of sleep.Nap may also refer to:-Politics:* National Action Party , a political movement* National Action Plan on the Elimination of Child Labour...
. Several people working for the group were killed, and trade unions were initially suspected of hiding some of the attackers in their organizations, albeit this was later disproved when the same terrorists targeted trade unionists like Guido Rossa.
Agnelli was named senator for life
Senator for life
A senator for life is a member of the senate or equivalent upper chamber of a legislature who has life tenure. , 7 Italian Senators out of 322, 4 out of the 47 Burundian Senators and all members of the British House of Lords have lifetime tenure...
in 1991 and subscribed to the independent parliamentary group; he was later named a member of the senate's defence commission.
At the beginning of the 2000s, Agnelli made overtures to General Motors, with whom an agreement was reached to progressively let the American company court Fiat. The recent serious crisis of Fiat found Agnelli already fighting against cancer, and he could take little part in these events.
Agnelli was also closely connected with Juventus
Juventus F.C.
Juventus Football Club S.p.A. , commonly referred to as Juventus and colloquially as Juve , are a professional Italian association football club based in Turin, Piedmont...
, the most renowned Italian
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
football club, of which he was a fan and the direct owner. His phone calls, every morning at 6 am, from wherever he was, whatever was he doing, to the club's president Giampiero Boniperti
Giampiero Boniperti
Giampiero Boniperti is an Italian former football player who played his entire career at Juventus between 1946 and 1961. He also played for the Italian national football team...
, were legendary.
Nicknamed L'Avvocato ( the lawyer ) because he had a degree in law (though he was never admitted to the Order of Lawyers), Agnelli represented the most important figure in Italian economy, the symbol of capitalism during all the second half of 20th century, and regarded by many as the true "King of Italy
King of Italy
King of Italy is a title adopted by many rulers of the Italian peninsula after the fall of the Roman Empire...
". A cultivated man of keen intelligence and a peculiar sense of humour, he was perhaps the most famous Italian abroad, forming deep relationships with international bankers and politicians, largely through the Bilderberg Group
Bilderberg Group
The Bilderberg Group, Bilderberg conference, or Bilderberg Club is an annual, unofficial, invitation-only conference of approximately 120 to 140 guests from North America and Western Europe, most of whom are people of influence. About one-third are from government and politics, and two-thirds from...
, whose conferences he attended regularly since 1958. Some of the other Bilderberg regulars became close friends, like Henry Kissinger
Henry Kissinger
Heinz Alfred "Henry" Kissinger is a German-born American academic, political scientist, diplomat, and businessman. He is a recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize. He served as National Security Advisor and later concurrently as Secretary of State in the administrations of Presidents Richard Nixon and...
. Another longtime associate was David Rockefeller
David Rockefeller
David Rockefeller, Sr. is the current patriarch of the Rockefeller family. He is the youngest and only surviving child of John D. Rockefeller, Jr. and Abby Aldrich Rockefeller, and the only surviving grandchild of oil tycoon John D. Rockefeller, founder of Standard Oil. His five siblings were...
(yet another Bilderberg regular), who appointed him to the International Advisory Committee (IAC) of the Chase Manhattan Bank
Chase Manhattan Bank
JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A., doing business as Chase, is a national bank that constitutes the consumer and commercial banking subsidiary of financial services firm JPMorgan Chase. The bank was known as Chase Manhattan Bank until it merged with J.P. Morgan & Co. in 2000...
, of which Rockefeller was chairman; Agnelli sat on this committee for thirty years. He was also a member of a syndicate
Syndicate
A syndicate is a self-organizing group of individuals, companies or entities formed to transact some specific business, or to promote a common interest or in the case of criminals, to engage in organized crime...
with Rockefeller that for a time in the 1980s owned Rockefeller Center
Rockefeller Center
Rockefeller Center is a complex of 19 commercial buildings covering between 48th and 51st streets in New York City, United States. Built by the Rockefeller family, it is located in the center of Midtown Manhattan, spanning the area between Fifth Avenue and Sixth Avenue. It was declared a National...
.
The many detractors underline that in all his activity Agnelli mainly followed his family's interests, despite the eventual damage that this could cause to the nation. Fiat was always regarded by the Italian government as a sort of "obligation-free" company, for which the national labour and tax laws could be adjusted according to Fiat's interests. Also, he was seen as a man who was continuing to enrich himself while Italy was getting poorer. Agnelli never responded to these accusations.
It is, however, necessary to note how he was never personally involved in the many political scandals of the Bettino Craxi
Bettino Craxi
Benedetto Craxi was an Italian politician, head of the Italian Socialist Party from 1976 to 1993, the first socialist President of the Council of Ministers of Italy from 1983 to 1987.-Political career:...
government era, even if bribery was publicly admitted in 1994 by Cesare Romiti, Agnelli's most trusted administrator for some 25 years. Number 3 in Fiat's hierarchy, Mattioli was imprisoned for bribery like Papi, leader of the Fiat-controlled Cogefar company. At the time, investigations were started after suspicions of special relationships with Salvo Lima, a Sicilian
Sicily
Sicily is a region of Italy, and is the largest island in the Mediterranean Sea. Along with the surrounding minor islands, it constitutes an autonomous region of Italy, the Regione Autonoma Siciliana Sicily has a rich and unique culture, especially with regard to the arts, music, literature,...
DC MP
Member of Parliament
A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...
who was alleged to have an association with the Mafia
Mafia
The Mafia is a criminal syndicate that emerged in the mid-nineteenth century in Sicily, Italy. It is a loose association of criminal groups that share a common organizational structure and code of conduct, and whose common enterprise is protection racketeering...
(though Lima himself was not actually a mafioso).
Later life and death
Agnelli stepped down in 1996, but stayed on as honorary chairman until his death. Giovanni Alberto Agnelli, the son of Gianni's younger brother, Umberto AgnelliUmberto Agnelli
Umberto Agnelli was an Italian entrepreneur and politician. His brother was Gianni Agnelli.He served as a CEO of Fiat from 1970–1976 and senator of the Italian Republic, from 1976 to 1979, and was the honorary chairman of the Juventus soccer team, the past president of the Italian Football...
, died of a rare form of cancer in 1997 at age 33 while he was being groomed by his uncle to head the Fiat Group. John Elkann
John Elkann
John Philip Jacob Elkann is an Italian industrialist. He was the chosen heir of Gianni Agnelli, his grandfather, and controls the family's automaker Fiat...
, the son of Gianni and Marella's daughter, Margherita, was expected to take over Fiat after Gianni's death. However, Umberto became chairman, taking over from Paolo Fresco. Fresco had diversified the Group's holdings, but Umberto refocused its activities on its auto and mechanics division. He then brought in Giuseppe Morchio to mastermind a rescue strategy for the company. Morchio was expected to continue to run the Fiat Group as it attempted to claw its way out of its latest financial crisis. However, upon Umberto's death, Ferrari
Ferrari
Ferrari S.p.A. is an Italian sports car manufacturer based in Maranello, Italy. Founded by Enzo Ferrari in 1929, as Scuderia Ferrari, the company sponsored drivers and manufactured race cars before moving into production of street-legal vehicles as Ferrari S.p.A. in 1947...
chairman Luca Cordero di Montezemolo was named chairman, with Elkann as vice chairman; Morchio immediately offered his resignation. As his successor was named Sergio Marchionne
Sergio Marchionne
Sergio Marchionne is an international manager best known for his turnaround of the Italian automotive group Fiat and, more recently, for managing the US automotive group Chrysler from bankruptcy to profitability...
, an expert of reorganisation, who led between 2002 and 2004 the Swiss certification company, Societé Générale de Surveillance
Société Générale de Surveillance
SGS S.A. provides inspection, verification, testing and certification services. With more than 67,000 employees, SGS operates of over 1,250 offices and laboratories around the world....
(SGS).
Gianni Agnelli died in 2003 of prostate cancer
Prostate cancer
Prostate cancer is a form of cancer that develops in the prostate, a gland in the male reproductive system. Most prostate cancers are slow growing; however, there are cases of aggressive prostate cancers. The cancer cells may metastasize from the prostate to other parts of the body, particularly...
at age 81 in Turin
Turin
Turin is a city and major business and cultural centre in northern Italy, capital of the Piedmont region, located mainly on the left bank of the Po River and surrounded by the Alpine arch. The population of the city proper is 909,193 while the population of the urban area is estimated by Eurostat...
.
Fiat-owned Scuderia Ferrari
Scuderia Ferrari
Scuderia Ferrari is the racing team division of the Ferrari automobile marque. The team currently only races in Formula One but has competed in numerous classes of motorsport since its formation in 1929, including sportscar racing....
named their 2003 F1 contender the F2003-GA, in tribute to Agnelli.
Style
Agnelli’s fashion sense stood out, even in a country like Italy, where dressing well and fashionably is generally perceived as very important. His style has inspired and influenced menswear throughout the years, in Italy and around the world. In his retirement speech, MilanMilan
Milan is the second-largest city in Italy and the capital city of the region of Lombardy and of the province of Milan. The city proper has a population of about 1.3 million, while its urban area, roughly coinciding with its administrative province and the bordering Province of Monza and Brianza ,...
ese fashion designer Nino Cerruti
Nino Cerruti
Nino Cerruti is an Italian businessman and stylist, among the most famous in the world.He founded his own haute couture house Cerruti in 1967 in Paris...
named Agnelli as one of his biggest inspirations, amongst James Bond
James Bond
James Bond, code name 007, is a fictional character created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels and two short story collections. There have been a six other authors who wrote authorised Bond novels or novelizations after Fleming's death in 1964: Kingsley Amis,...
and John F. Kennedy
John F. Kennedy
John Fitzgerald "Jack" Kennedy , often referred to by his initials JFK, was the 35th President of the United States, serving from 1961 until his assassination in 1963....
. Esquire Magazine named Agnelli as one of five best dressed men in the history of the World.
Agnelli’s dress style was a combination of a foundation of classic suits, combined with eye-catching personal tricks. He had a large number of bespoke Caraceni
Caraceni
Caraceni was founded in Rome in 1913 by the father of Italian tailoring, Domenico Caraceni. At one point in the 1930s, Domenico and his family operated ateliers in Rome, Milan and Paris. The Paris atelier was operated by Domenico's brother, Augusto, who closed his atelier when Mussolini declared...
suits, which were of very high quality and classic design, and yet had the signature Italian bravura. It was the accessories and the way they were worn that made Agnelli stand out as a fashionisto. He is known for wearing his wristwatch over his cuff, wearing his tie askew or wearing (fashionable) high brown hiking boots under a bespoke suit. All these tricks were carefully chosen in order to convey sprezzatura
Sprezzatura
Sprezzatura is an Italian word originating from Baldassare Castiglione’s The Book of the Courtier, where it is defined by the author as “a certain nonchalance, so as to conceal all art and make whatever one does or says appear to be without effort and almost without any thought about it.” It is...
, the Italian art of making the difficult look easy. His outfits were scrupulously chosen to the last detail, yet the accessory choices appeared as errors, making it look as if he did not care or make an effort about the way he was dressed.
Apart from his dress sense, Agnelli’s homes were work of designers and looked like studies in elegant living. Additionally, he was interested in sailing
Sailing
Sailing is the propulsion of a vehicle and the control of its movement with large foils called sails. By changing the rigging, rudder, and sometimes the keel or centre board, a sailor manages the force of the wind on the sails in order to move the boat relative to its surrounding medium and...
, fast cars, Cresta tobogganing
Cresta Run
The Cresta Run is a natural ice 1,212.5 m long skeleton racing toboggan track in the Swiss winter sports town of St. Moritz, and one of the few runs dedicated primarily to skeleton. It was built in 1884 near the hamlet of Cresta in the municipality of Celerina/Schlarigna by Major Bulpett, eventual...
, skiing
Skiing
Skiing is a recreational activity using skis as equipment for traveling over snow. Skis are used in conjunction with boots that connect to the ski with use of a binding....
and horse
Horse
The horse is one of two extant subspecies of Equus ferus, or the wild horse. It is a single-hooved mammal belonging to the taxonomic family Equidae. The horse has evolved over the past 45 to 55 million years from a small multi-toed creature into the large, single-toed animal of today...
s. His grandsons and heirs to Fiat, John
John Elkann
John Philip Jacob Elkann is an Italian industrialist. He was the chosen heir of Gianni Agnelli, his grandfather, and controls the family's automaker Fiat...
and Lapo Elkann
Lapo Elkann
Lapo Elkann is a New York-born Italian industrialist, former marketing manager. He is currently the manager of brand promotion at Fiat Automobiles. He is a "global ambassador" of the Sheba Medical Center in Tel Hashomer....
, seem to have adopted their grandfather’s tradition of dressing, as they are both often observed dressed classically and flamboyantly at high-society venues.
Agnelli's nickname of "The Rake of the Riviera", inspired the classical menswear magazine The Rake
The Rake
Described as "The Modern Voice of Classic Elegance", The Rake is a bimonthly men's style and artisanal luxury publication that is launched in December 2008 and published by Revolution Press International....
.
External links
- Gianni Agnelli Tribute page
- gianniagnelli.it Tribute page
- Obituary: Gianni Agnelli dead at 81 From United Press International
- Home page for FIAT