- Source of Wealth: Business (Luxottica)
- Age: 85
- Birth Place: Milan, Italy
- Height: 1.76 m (5′ 9″)
- Weight: 80 kg (176 lbs)
- Marital Status: Married
- Full Name: Leonardo Del Vecchio
- Nationality: Italian
- Date of Birth: 22 May 1935
- Ethnicity: Italian
- Occupation: Executive Chairman & CEO Essilor Luxottica Société anonyme
- Education: Milan Politecnico University, Universita’ Ca’ Foscari Venezia, MIB School of Management and Universita’ degli Studi di Udine
- Children: 6 (Claudio, Clemente, Leonardo, Marisa, Luca and Paola)
Leonardo Del Vecchio is an Italian businessman. He ranks among the richest men in the world with an estimated net worth of $19.6 billion as of June 2019. His family eventually got ranked as one of the richest in Italy. His net worth has increased by an impressive $500 million since March 2011 because of an increase in the share prices of his company.
Del Vecchio is best known for being the chairman and founder of Luxottica, a company that is currently the world’s largest manufacturer and retailer of prescription glasses and sunglasses. Despite this, it was not good always for Leonardo. In fact, he was born into an impoverished family. His dad died five months before he was born. Since his mom could not afford a child, she gave him away to an orphanage. Leonardo started off as an apprentice with a dye maker in Milan, Italy. Soon, however, he was making spectacle parts. He moved to Agordo in Belluno, because the Italian eyewear industry was located here. It was here that he formed the company Luxottica. He started selling eyeglass frames in 1967, and the rest, as they say, is history.
Luxottica now owns and operates more than 6000 stores around the world. Over the years, the company has acquired several brands once the company was listed in New York and the Milan stock exchanges. He owns chains like the LensCrafters and Sunglass Hut and brands like Oakley and Ray-Ban. Claudio, the son of Leonardo, owns the American retailer for men, Brooks Brothers.