Aponte vs Ferrero

MSC Mediterranean Shipping Company and Ferrero Group.

The differences

Forbes puts Giovanni Ferrero about $1.2B ahead of Gianluigi Aponte.Forbes figures from 12 Sep 2026 and 9 Oct 2026.
Gianluigi Aponte: founded it. Giovanni Ferrero: inherited and grew it.
Gianluigi Aponte is about 24 years older than Giovanni Ferrero.
Gianluigi Aponte is from Switzerland; Giovanni Ferrero is from Italy.

Put someone else on either side

Aponte

Ferrero

Net worth, Forbes: $46.8BForbes, 9 Oct 2026; $48BForbes, 12 Sep 2026
Net worth, Bloomberg: $52.7BBloomberg, date not stated; $57BBloomberg, 17 Oct 2026
Forbes rank: No. 40Real-Time list, 9 Oct 2026; No. 40Real-Time list, 12 Sep 2026
Billionaire since: Not stated; 2018Forbes: first joined its World's Billionaires list in 2018, at $23 billion

How it started: Founded itFounded MSC in 1970 in Brussels with a single ship, after working as a ferry captain and a banker; Forbes says he and his wife Rafaela entered shipping together; Inherited and grew itForbes: he inherited the family candy business, became its sole leader in 2015 and expanded it through acquisitions (Nestlé's US confectionery in 2018, WK Kellogg in 2025)
Main source: MSC Mediterranean Shipping CompanyBloomberg: 'Aponte's fortune is derived from closely held Mediterranean Shipping'; Ferrero Group (Nutella, Kinder, Ferrero Rocher, Tic Tac)Forbes source of wealth: 'Nutella, chocolates'
Companies: MSC Mediterranean Shipping CompanyMSC Mediterranean Shipping Company: Founder and executive chairman of the group; Ferrero GroupFerrero Group: President of Ferrero Group and of Ferrero International S.A. (executive chairman)
Biggest stake: MSC Mediterranean Shipping CompanyStake not stated; Ferrero Group100% owned

Born: 1940Sorrento, Italy; 1964Turin, Italy
Country: SwitzerlandLives in Geneva, Switzerland; ItalyLives in Brussels, Belgium
Education: Not statedItalian Maritime Academy (the nautical institute in his home town); Not statedStudied marketing at Lebanon Valley College (1980); honorary master's from the University of Parma (2015) and honorary doctorate from Lebanon Valley College (2022)
Parents: From a family of sailors going back more than 300 years; his father opened a hotel in Somalia and died when he was five. He began as a ferry captain in the family business; His father Michele Ferrero led the family confectionery company and created Nutella; his mother Maria Franca Ferrero chairs the Italian Ferrero Foundation

Giving Pledge: Not a signer; Not a signer
Foundation: MSC FoundationFounded by the Aponte family in 2018 as the MSC Group's philanthropic arm; Piera, Pietro and Giovanni Ferrero Foundation (Fondazione Ferrero)The family's foundation, chaired by his mother; not described as his personal giving vehicle
Lifetime giving: Not stated; Not stated

Role now: Runs the companyFounder and executive chairman of the MSC Group; Runs the companyPresident (executive chairman) of Ferrero Group
Successor: His son Diego Aponte (group president) and daughter Alexa Aponte (group CFO) took over ownership of MSC in the last quarter of 2025; None namedLapo Civiletti became the first non-family CEO in 2017 and in 2026 moved to president of Ferrero Ice Cream and WK Kellogg Co; Alessandro Nervegna is CEO of Ferrero Core. No other family member holds an executive role in the cited materials
Public office: None found; None found
Legal record: None found; None found