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Gianluigi Aponte

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Italian businessman

Gianluigi Aponte
Born (1940-06-27) 27 June 1940 (age 84)
Sant'Agnello, Italy
Alma materIstituto Tecnico Nautico Statale Nino Bixio
Occupation(s)Founder, Mediterranean Shipping Company
SpouseRafaela Aponte-Diamant
Children2

Gianluigi Aponte (Italian pronunciation: [dʒanluˈiːdʒi aˈponte]; born 27 June 1940) is an Italian billionaire businessman, and the founder, owner and chairman of Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC).

In 2024, Forbes estimated Aponte's net worth at $33.1 billion, ranking him as the 48th-richest person in the world.

Early life

Gianluigi Aponte was born in Sant'Agnello, Italy (near Sorrento, in the province of Naples) on 27 June 1940.

Career

Aponte is a Neapolitan captain, who entered the shipping industry in 1970 together with his spouse, Rafaela Aponte-Diamant. At the time, the newly-formed company owned a single vessel that shipped cargo between Europe and Africa. With the growth of his business, he made a move into the cruise industry in 1988. In 2014, he retired from the position of CEO and president in favour of his son Diego Aponte, assuming the role of executive chairman within MSC.

Honours

In 2009, at the Teatro di San Carlo of Naples, he received, along with Fabio Cannavaro, Ambra Vallo and others, a prize for "Neapolitan Excellence in the World" from then-Italian prime minister Silvio Berlusconi.

In 2012, he won the Cruise International Lifetime Achievement Award in recognition of his long term activity in the industry.

In October 2013, he received Containerisation International's Lifetime Achievement Award, as well as a knighthood, the Order of Merit for Labour, from Italian President Giorgio Napolitano. The Aponte family have featured prominently in the Lloyd's List Top 100 most influential people in the shipping industry, named in the top 10 in 2014 and in position 16 in 2018.

Personal life

He is married to Rafaela Aponte-Diamant, a Swiss woman of Israeli origin, and daughter of a Geneva banker, he met when she was a passenger on a boat of which he was the captain. They have two children, Diego Aponte, who is group president of MSC and was the company's CEO from 2014 until November 2019, and Alexa Aponte Vago, who is CFO of MSC.

References

  1. ^ "Gianluigi Aponte". Forbes. Retrieved 26 November 2024.
  2. ^ "Gianluigi & Rafaela Aponte". Forbes. Archived from the original on 1 December 2017. Retrieved 26 November 2024. Additional archive: 11 November 2020.
  3. "La traversata del marinaio di Sorrento" (PDF) (in Italian). Goffredolocatelli.it. Archived from the original (PDF) on 31 March 2012. Retrieved 1 August 2015.
  4. Saltmarsh, Matthew (29 October 2010). "Shipping Magnate Takes a New Tack: The Cruise Business". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 3 October 2015. Retrieved 21 April 2015.
  5. Brett, Damian (2 October 2014). "Diego Aponte becomes MSC president". Lloyd's List. Archived from the original on 6 April 2016. Retrieved 14 April 2015.
  6. Andersen, Ole (5 August 2014). "Introducing Maersk Line's new Neapolitan partner". ShippingWatch. Retrieved 19 March 2019.
  7. "MSC Cruises Founder Receives Cruise International's Lifetime Achievement Award". MSC Cruises. 13 September 2012. Archived from the original on 14 March 2013. Retrieved 21 April 2015.
  8. "Aponte wins Lifetime Achievement Award". Lloyd's List. 24 October 2013. Archived from the original on 5 March 2016. Retrieved 1 August 2015.
  9. "MSC's Aponte Receives Italian Order of Merit for Labor". Cruise Industry News. 15 October 2013. Archived from the original on 2 August 2022. Retrieved 21 April 2015.
  10. "6. Aponte Family, Mediterranean Shipping Co". Lloyd's List. 12 December 2014. Archived from the original on 24 April 2015. Retrieved 1 August 2015.
  11. "16 Aponte family, Mediterranean Shipping Co". Lloyd's List. 13 December 2018. Retrieved 22 March 2019.
  12. "Gianluigi Aponte e la MSC Crociere – Grandi personaggi". Impresa Oggi (in Italian). Retrieved 14 March 2019.
  13. ^ "Bloomberg Billionaires Index: Gianluigi Aponte". Bloomberg. Archived from the original on 2 May 2019. Retrieved 14 March 2019.


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