The family behind the world’s largest eyewear empire is locked in a clash over a fortune built on Ray-Ban. The heirs of Leonardo Del Vecchio, the founder of Luxottica, are disputing the stewardship of an estate valued at roughly $46 billion.
At $46 billion, the fortune ranks among the largest family estates in European business, and the clash underscores the fragility of dynastic control when the founder is no longer there to arbitrate.
The episode is a reminder that the most consequential luxury battles are increasingly fought not in stores or ateliers but in family councils and courtrooms.
Del Vecchio built Luxottica from a small frame workshop in Agordo into the dominant force in eyewear, owning Ray-Ban, Oakley, and the retail chains that sell them, and his death left a holding structure — Delfin — that controls a commanding stake in EssilorLuxottica.
How the heirs resolve the dispute will determine whether the group remains stable enough to keep its grip on the market, or whether the infighting begins to cost it ground.
