Milan | Leonardo Del Vecchio, the Italian entrepreneur who transformed the tiny optics workshop he started in the Dolomite mountains into the undisputed world leader in eyewear and amassed one of the biggest fortunes in his country along the way, has died. He was 87.
Raised in a Milan orphanage, Mr Del Vecchio struck out to set up shop in the town of Agordo, in the Alps north of Venice, from where his small supplier of eyeglass frame-parts morphed into a global player, making a series of often brazen acquisitions to eventually become EssilorLuxottica, the world industry leader. Iconic brands such as Ray-Ban and Oakley were among the scores of targets Mr Del Vecchio snapped up on his way to the top.
