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Gianni Agnelli

Agnelli in later life.
Born March 12, 1921(1921-03-12)
Turin, Italy
Died January 24, 2003 (aged 81)
Nationality Flag of Italy Italian
Occupation Head of Fiat and Juventus
Children Edoardo Agnelli

Giovanni Agnelli, Cavaliere di Gran Croce OMRI[1] (March 12, 1921 – January 24, 2003), better known as Gianni Agnelli, was an Italian industrialist and principal shareholder of Fiat. Events 538 - Witiges, king of the Ostrogoths ends his siege of Rome and retreats to Ravenna, leaving Year 1921 ( MCMXXI) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link will display full 1921 calendar of the Gregorian calendar Italy (Italia officially the Italian Republic, (Repubblica Italiana is located on the Italian Peninsula in Southern Europe, and on the two largest Events 41 - Gaius Caesar (Caligula, known for his eccentricity and cruel Despotism, is Assassinated by his disgruntled Year 2003 ( MMIII) was a Common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. Italy (Italia officially the Italian Republic, (Repubblica Italiana is located on the Italian Peninsula in Southern Europe, and on the two largest Fiat SpA (an Acronym for Fabbrica Italiana Automobili Torino (Italian Automobile Factory of Turin) is an Italian automobile manufacturer Edoardo Agnelli (9 June 1954 – 5 November 2000 was an Italian-American entrepreneur the son of the industrialist patriarch of Fiat, Gianni Agnelli, There are currently five Italian orders of merit (Ordine al Merito della Repubblica Italiana that recognise contributions to the Italian Republic. Events 538 - Witiges, king of the Ostrogoths ends his siege of Rome and retreats to Ravenna, leaving Year 1921 ( MCMXXI) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link will display full 1921 calendar of the Gregorian calendar Events 41 - Gaius Caesar (Caligula, known for his eccentricity and cruel Despotism, is Assassinated by his disgruntled Year 2003 ( MMIII) was a Common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. Italy (Italia officially the Italian Republic, (Repubblica Italiana is located on the Italian Peninsula in Southern Europe, and on the two largest A business magnate, sometimes referred to as a mogul, tycoon, baron, or industrialist, is a person who has reached a prominent place in Fiat SpA (an Acronym for Fabbrica Italiana Automobili Torino (Italian Automobile Factory of Turin) is an Italian automobile manufacturer As the head of Fiat, he controlled 4. 4% of Italy's GNP, 3. 1% of its industrial workforce, and 16. 5% of its industrial investment in research.

As a public figure, Agnelli is also known worldwide for his impeccable, slightly eccentric fashion sense[2], which has influenced both Italian and international men’s fashion. Fashion refers to styles of dress (but can also include cuisine literature art architecture and general comportment that are popular in a culture at any given time

Contents

Early life

Agnelli was born at his parents' country house, Villar Perosa, near Turin in the Piedmont region. Villar Perosa is a Comune (municipality in the Province of Turin in the Italian region Piedmont, located about 40 km southwest of Piedmont ( Piemonte; Piedmontese and Occitan: Piemont; French: Piémont) is one of the 20 Regions of Italy. His father was the prominent Italian industrialist Eduardo Agnelli and his mother was a Bourbon princess named Donna Virginia Bourbon del Monte. Italy (Italia officially the Italian Republic, (Repubblica Italiana is located on the Italian Peninsula in Southern Europe, and on the two largest A business magnate, sometimes referred to as a mogul, tycoon, baron, or industrialist, is a person who has reached a prominent place in Edoardo Agnelli ( January 2 1892 - July 14 1935) was an Italian Industrialist and principal family shareholder of The House of Bourbon is an important European Royal house, a branch of the Capetian dynasty. Agnelli was named after his grandfather Giovanni Agnelli, the founder of the Italian car industry Fiat. Giovanni Agnelli ( 13 August 1866 - 16 December 1945) was an Italian entepreneur who founded Fiat car manufacturing in 1899 Fiat SpA (an Acronym for Fabbrica Italiana Automobili Torino (Italian Automobile Factory of Turin) is an Italian automobile manufacturer

Gianni--as he was known to differentiate from his grandfather, with whom he shared his first name--inherited the command of Fiat and the Agnelli family assets in general in 1966, following a period in which Fiat was temporarily "ruled" by Vittorio Valletta while Gianni was learning how his family's company worked. Agnelli is a surname and can refer to Members of the Agnelli family of Italy including Giovanni Agnelli (1866-1945 Italian manufacturer Vittorio Valletta ( 28 July 1883 - 10 August 1967) was an Italian Industrialist and President of Fiat from 1946 Agnelli raised Fiat to become the most important company in Italy, and one of the major car-builders of Europe. He also developed the accessory business, with minor companies also operating in military industry. Agnelli and Fiat would come to share a common vision, Agnelli meaning Fiat and, more sensibly, Fiat meaning Agnelli.

Agnelli was educated at Pinerolo Cavalry Academy, and studied law at the University of Turin, although he never practiced law. Pinerolo is a Town and commune in north-western Italy, 40 kilometres southwest of Turin on the river Chisone. The Cavalry (from French cavalerie) is the second oldest of the Combat Arms, and as Soldiers or Warriors who fought mounted on The University of Turin ( Italian Università degli Studi di Torino, UNITO is a University in the city of Turin in the Piedmont region He joined a tank regiment in June 1940 when Italy entered World War II. A regiment is a Military unit, composed of a variable number of Battalions – commanded by a Colonel. World War II, or the Second World War, (often abbreviated WWII) was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including He fought at the Russian front, being wounded twice. He also served in a Fiat-built armoured-car division to North Africa, where he was shot in the arm by a German officer during a bar fight over a woman. After Italy surrendered, due to his fluency in English, he became a liaison officer with the occupying US troops. His grandfather, who had manufactured vehicles for the Axis during the war, was forced to retire from Fiat but named Valletta to be his successor. The Axis powers also known as the Axis alliance Axis nations Axis countries or sometimes just the Axis were those Countries Gianni's grandfather died, leaving Gianni head of the family but Valletta running the company. Fiat then began producing Italy's first inexpensive mass-produced car.

Head of Fiat

Agnelli became president of Fiat in 1966. He opened factories from Russia (at the time the Soviet Union) to South America, and started international alliances and joint-ventures (like Iveco) which marked a new industrial mentality. Iveco is an Italian Truck, Bus, and Diesel engine Manufacturer, based in Turin, Italy. In the 1970s, during the international petrol crisis, he sold part of the company to Lafico, a Libyan company owned by Colonel Qaddhafi; Agnelli would later repurchase these shares, however. Libya ( ليبيا ar-Latn Lībiyā; Libyan vernacular: Lībya; Amazigh:) officially the Great Socialist People's Libyan Arab Muammar Abu Minyar al-Gaddafi 1 (معمر القذافي) (born 7 June 1942) also known as Colonel Gaddafi

His relationships with the Left, especially with Enrico Berlinguer's Communist Party, were the essence of the relationships between labour forces and Italian industry. Enrico Berlinguer (berliŋˈgwɛr ( May 25, 1923 - June 11, 1984) was an Italian Politician; he was national secretary The social conflicts related to Fiat's policies (some say politics) always saw Agnelli keeping the leading role; in the 1980s, during the last important trade union action, a dramatic situation in which a strike was blocking all of Fiat's production, he was able to organise the march of 40,000 workers who broke the pickets and re-entered the factories. This marked the end of the power of trade unions, which would never again be so influential in the Italian political or economic scenes. It has to be mentioned that in the 1970s Fiat and its leaders became an object of terrorist attacks, mostly by the Red Brigades, Prima Linea and NAP; Several people working for the group were killed, and trade unions were suspected of hiding some terrorists in their organizations, albeit this was later disproved when the same terrorists targeted trade unionists like Guido Rossa. This article is about the Italian group "Red Brigade" may also refer to the Japanese Red Army/Anti-Imperialist International Brigade.

Agnelli was named senator for life in 1991 and subscribed to the independent parliamentary group; he was later named a member of the senate's defence commission. A senator for life is a member of the Senate elected or appointed for lifetime

At the beginning of the 2000s, Agnelli made overtures to General Motors, with whom an agreement was reached to progressively let the American company court Fiat. General Motors Corporation ( GM) ( is a multinational automobile manufacturer founded in 1908 and headquartered in the United States. The recent serious crisis of Fiat found Agnelli already fighting against cancer, and he could take little part in these events.

Agnelli was also closely connected with Juventus, one of the most renowned Italian football clubs, of which he was a fan and, for a period, the direct owner. Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a Team sport played between two teams of eleven players and is widely considered His phone calls, every morning at 6 am, from wherever he was, whatever was he doing, to the Juventus' president Giampiero Boniperti, were legendary. Giampiero Boniperti (born July 4 1928 in Barengo, Piedmont) is an Italian former football player who played his entire career at Juventus

Nicknamed L'Avvocato ( the lawyer ) because he had a degree in law (though he was never admitted to the Order of Lawyers), Agnelli represented the most important figure in Italian economy, the symbol of capitalism during all the second half of 20th century, and regarded by many as the true "King of Italy". A cultivated man of keen intelligence and a peculiar sense of humour, he was perhaps the most famous Italian abroad, forming deep relationships with international bankers and politicians (some of them became close friends, like Henry Kissinger). Henry Alfred Kissinger (born Heinz Alfred Kissinger on May 27, 1923) is a German -born American bureaucrat diplomat and 1973 Another longtime associate was David Rockefeller, who appointed him to the International Advisory Committeee (IAC) of the Chase Manhattan Bank, of which Rockefeller was chairman; Agnelli sat on this committee for thirty years. David Rockefeller Sr (born June 12, 1915) is a prominent American Banker, Statesman, Globalist and the current patriarch Chase is the consumer and commercial banking division of JPMorgan Chase. He was also a member of a syndicate with Rockefeller that for a time in the 1980s owned Rockefeller Center. Rockefeller Center is a complex of 19 commercial buildings covering 22 acres between 48th and 51st streets in New York City. [3]

Prior to his marriage on November 19, 1953 Donna Marella Caracciolo di Castagneto — a half-American, half-Neapolitan princess who made a small but significant name as a fabric designer and a bigger name as a tastemaker — Agnelli was a noted playboy whose mistresses included the socialite Pamela Harriman. Events 1095 - The Council of Clermont, called by Pope Urban II to discuss sending the First Crusade to the Holy Land Year 1953 ( MCMLIII) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Marella Caracciolo di Castagneto (later Marella Agnelli; born May 4 1927) is an Italian - American who made a small but significant Pamela Churchill Harriman ( 20 March 1920 &ndash 5 February 1997) was an English-born Socialite who was married and linked to important Though Agnelli continued to be involved with other women during his marriage, including th film star Anita Ekberg and the American fashion designer Jackie Rogers,[4] the Agnellis remained married until his death of Prostate cancer in 2003. Kerstin Anita Marianne Ekberg (born on September 29 1931 is a Swedish model, actress and cult Sex symbol. He was universally considered to be a man of exquisite taste. He left his extraordary paintings to the city of Turin in 2002.

Their only son, Edoardo Agnelli, was born seven months after the couple's wedding, in New York City on June 9, 1954. Edoardo Agnelli (9 June 1954 – 5 November 2000 was an Italian-American entrepreneur the son of the industrialist patriarch of Fiat, Gianni Agnelli, Events 53 - Roman Emperor Nero marries Claudia Octavia 62 - Claudia Octavia commits Year 1954 ( MCMLIV) was a Common year starting on Friday (link will display full 1954 Gregorian calendar) Gianni gave up trying to groom him to take over Fiat, seeing how the boy was more interested in mysticism than making cars (he studied religion at Princeton and took part in a world day of prayer in Assisi). Princeton University is a private Coeducational research university located in Princeton, New Jersey. Assisi (əˈsiːzi or /əˈsiːsi/ ( Latin: Asisium) is a Town in Italy in Province of Perugia, Italy, in the Umbria Edoardo — who seemed burdened by the mantle of his surname — committed suicide on November 15, 2000 by jumping off a bridge in Turin; Gianni himself joined police at the scene. Events 655 - Battle of Winwaed: Penda of Mercia is defeated by Oswiu of Northumbria. 2000 ( MM) was a Leap year that started on Saturday of the Common Era, in accordance with the Gregorian calendar. Edoardo never married, but he had one son ( born out of wedlock in 1973), who was not recognized by Gianni Agnelli.

The many detractors underline that in all his activity Agnelli mainly followed his family's interests, despite the eventual damage that this could cause to the nation. Fiat was always regarded by the Italian government as a sort of "obligation-free" company, for which the national labour and tax laws could be adjusted according to Fiat's interests. Also, he was seen as a man who was continuing to enrich himself while Italy was getting poorer. Agnelli never responded to these accusations.

It is, however, necessary to note how he was never personally involved in the many political scandals of the Bettino Craxi government era, even if bribery was publicly admitted in 1994 by Cesare Romiti, Agnelli's most trusted administrator for some 25 years. Benedetto (Bettino Craxi ( February 24, 1934 – January 19, 2000) was an Italian politician head of the Italian Socialist Party Number 3 in Fiat's hierarchy, Mattioli was imprisoned for bribery like Papi, leader of the Fiat-controlled Cogefar company. At the time, investigations were started after suspicions of special relationships with Salvo Lima, a Sicilian DC MP who was alleged to have an association with the Mafia (though Lima himself was not actually a mafiosi). Salvatore Lima ( January 23, 1928, Palermo - March 12, 1992, Palermo) was an Italian Politician Sicily ( Italian and Sicilian: Sicilia) is an autonomous region of Italy. Christian Democracy ( Democrazia Cristiana, DC the Christian democratic party of Italy, dominated government for nearly half a century until its demise A Member of Parliament, or MP, is a representative elected by the voters to a Parliament. The Mafia (also known as Cosa Nostra) is a Sicilian Criminal Secret society which is believed to have first developed in the mid-19th century

Agnelli stepped down in 1996, but stayed on as honorary chairman until his death. Giovanni Alberto Giovannino Agnelli , the son of Gianni's younger brother, Umberto Agnelli, died of a rare form of cancer in 1997 at age 33 while he was being groomed by his uncle to head the Fiat Group. Umberto Agnelli ( November 1 1934 – 27 May 2004) was an Italian Entrepreneur and Politician. John Elkann, the son of Gianni and Marella's daughter, Margherita, was expected to take over Fiat after Gianni's death. John Jacob Philip Elkann (born April 1, 1976) often known as “Jaki” is an Italian Industrialist, grandson of the late Gianni Agnelli However, Umberto became chairman, taking over from Paolo Fresco. Fresco had diversified the Group's holdings, but Umberto refocused its activities on its auto and mechanics division. He then brought in Giuseppe Morchio to mastermind a rescue strategy for the company. Morchio was expected to continue to run the Fiat Group as it attempted to claw its way out of its latest financial crisis. However, upon Umberto's death, Ferrari chairman Luca Cordero di Montezemolo was named chairman, with Elkann as vice chairman; Morchio immediately offered his resignation. Ferrari SpA is an Italian Sports car manufacturer based in Maranello, Italy Luca Cordero di Montezemolo (born August 31, 1947) is an Italian businessman with an estimated net worth of 400 million dollars president of Ferrari As his successor was named Sergio Marchionne, an expert of reorganisation, who led between 2002 and 2004 the Swiss certification company, Societé Générale de Surveillance (SGS). Sergio Marchionne (born June 17, 1952 in Chieti, Italy) is a dual nationality Canadian and Italian businessman and has Société Générale de Surveillance (currently known as SGS S

Fiat-owned Scuderia Ferrari named their 2003 F1 contender the F2003-GA, in tribute to Agnelli. Scuderia Ferrari is the name for the Gestione Sportiva the division of the Ferrari automobile company concerned with racing [5].

Style

Mr. Agnelli’s fashion sense stood out, even in a country like Italy, where dressing well and fashionably is generally perceived as very important. His style has inspired and influenced menswear throughout the years, in Italy and around the world. In his retirement speech, Milanese fashion designer Nino Cerruti named Agnelli as one of his biggest inspirations, amongst James Bond and John F. Kennedy. Milan (Milano Milan (listen) is one of the largest cities in Italy, located in the plains of Lombardy. Nino Cerruti, (born September 25, 1930) in Biella, Piemonte is an Italian stylist and fashion producer James Bond 007 is a Fictional character created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve Novels and two Short story John Fitzgerald "Jack" Kennedy (May 29 1917&ndashNovember 22 1963 often referred to by his initials JFK, was the thirty-fifth President of [6] Esquire Magazine named Agnelli as one of five best dressed men in the history of the World. Esquire is a Men's magazine by the Hearst Corporation with a strong literary tradition [7]

Agnelli’s dress style was a combination of a foundation of classic suits, combined with eye-catching personal tricks. He had a large number of bespoke Caraceni suits, which were of very high quality, classical and yet had the signature Italian bravura. Caraceni is a group of companies making tailored suits in Italy. It were the accessories and the way they were worn that made Agnelli stand out as a fashionista. He is known for wearing his wristwatch over his cuff, wearing his tie askew or wearing (fashionable) high brown hiking boots under a bespoke suit. A watch is a timepiece that is made to be worn on a person The term now usually refers to a wristwatch, which is worn on the wrist with a strap or Bracelet. All these tricks were carefully chosen in order to convey Sprezzatura, the Italian art of making the difficult look easy. Sprezzatura is a term that originates from Castiglione 's The Book of the Courtier. His outfits were scrupulously chosen to the last detail, yet the accessory choices appeared as errors, making it look as if he did not care or make an effort about the way he was dressed.

Apart from his dress sense, Agnelli’s homes were work of designers and looked like studies in elegant living. [8] Additionally, he was interested in sailing, fast cars, skiing and horses. Sailing is the art of controlling a Sailing vessel. By changing the Rigging, Rudder and dagger or centre board a Sailor manages the force Supercar is a term generally used for a high-end Sports car, whose performance is highly superior to that of its contemporaries Snow skiing is a group of sports utilizing Skis as primary equipment The horse ( Equus caballus) is a hoofed ( Ungulate) Mammal, one of eight living species of the family Equidae. His grandsons and heirs to Fiat, John and Lapo Elkann, seem to have adopted their grandfather’s tradition of dressing, as they are both often observed dressed classically and flamboyantly at high-society venues. John Jacob Philip Elkann (born April 1, 1976) often known as “Jaki” is an Italian Industrialist, grandson of the late Gianni Agnelli Lapo Elkann ( October 7, 1977) is a New York -born Italian industrialist former Marketing manager and heir to the automaker [9]

See also

References

  1. ^ quirinale.it
  2. ^ The Best Dressed Men in the History of the World - Esquire
  3. ^ Association with David Rockefeller - see his Memoirs, New York: Random House, 2002 (pp. Fiat SpA (an Acronym for Fabbrica Italiana Automobili Torino (Italian Automobile Factory of Turin) is an Italian automobile manufacturer Edoardo Agnelli (9 June 1954 – 5 November 2000 was an Italian-American entrepreneur the son of the industrialist patriarch of Fiat, Gianni Agnelli, 208, 479, 481)
  4. ^ Jackie, Oh! | The New York Observer
  5. ^ Ferrari F2003-GA - F1technical.net
  6. ^ Giovanni Agnelli, Fiat Patriarch And a Force in Italy, Dies at 81 - New York Times
  7. ^ The Best Dressed Men in the History of the World - Esquire
  8. ^ Giovanni Agnelli, Fiat Patriarch And a Force in Italy, Dies at 81 - New York Times
  9. ^ Fiat heir turns to fashion after drug recovery | Special Coverage | Reuters

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