Leonardo Maria Del Vecchio, the 31-year-old heir to the Ray-Ban fortune, set the Italian business world alight this week with a no-holds-barred podcast interview in which he attacked the chief executive of EssilorLuxottica, admitted to past drug use, and discussed the staggering debts hanging over his investment empire.
Del Vecchio, one of eight heirs to the late Luxottica founder Leonardo Del Vecchio, spoke at length on the Pulp Podcast, hosted by rapper Fedez and Davide Marra, in an episode released on October 12. His main target was Francesco Milleri, the eyewear giant's chief executive and once Del Vecchio's mentor. He said EssilorLuxottica had lost half its market value under Milleri's leadership and that a chief executive in that position should be worried.
According to Italian news agency ANSA, Del Vecchio said in Italian that there had not been the right vision at the company after his father's death, adding that it was the market saying so, not him. He stressed that his personal relationship with Milleri was not the point, framing his criticism as purely a matter of shareholder value.
The heir also spoke with unusual frankness about his private struggles. He said drugs had filled a void in his life and that he now depends on benzodiazepines, a class of prescription sedatives, to treat insomnia. He credited the birth of his daughter with helping him see a way out of his darkest period but stopped short of saying he had fully recovered. In the same interview he claimed to have slept with more than 2,000 women, a remark that drew as much tabloid attention in Italy as his business commentary.
Del Vecchio also addressed his borrowing, which has long been a subject of scrutiny. He said he carried about a billion in debts, adding that each credit line was tied to a specific project. Bloomberg has put his disclosed debt at roughly 950 million euros, or about $1.06 billion, split between personal borrowing and his investment firm, LMDV Capital. He said his family office had invested more than 500 million euros, almost all of it in Italy, and created about 2,000 jobs in three years, a defense against critics who portray him as a profligate rich kid.
The comments have deepened an already public feud between the young heir and the Luxottica old guard, and they have reignited debate in Italy about whether one of the country's most famous family fortunes is being stewarded or squandered. EssilorLuxottica has not issued a public response to Del Vecchio's remarks.