Italy's Leonardo Del Vecchio, who rose from childhood poverty to build the eyewear empire that owns brands such as Ray-Ban and Oakley, has died at the age of 87, his company said on Monday.
Del Vecchio added a dash of Italian style to spectacles and became one of Europe's wealthiest men, investing some of his riches to build stakes in Italian financial group Mediobanca and insurer Generali.
The billionaire founded the Luxottica business in 1961, initially to supply components for glasses, and remained the chairman and major shareholder in the world's biggest eyewear group after it combined forces with France's Essilor in 2018.
