The billionaire Ferrero heiress dubbed the “Nutella empress” has died aged 87.
Maria Franca Ferrero, née Fissolo, passed away at her home in Alba, in Italy’s Piedmont region, on Thursday (12 Feb).
She was the widow of Michele Ferrero, owner of the Ferrero Group – the company behind Nutella, Tic Tacs, Ferrero Rocher, the Kinder range, Mon Chéri and other confectionery brands.
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When Michele – Italy’s richest man at the time – died in 2015, Maria inherited a business spanning around 40 factories, more than 47,000 employees and annual turnover exceeding €18b (£15.7b).
Forbes initially named her the world’s oldest billionaire that year, but later discovered it had listed her birth date incorrectly.
It also revised down her estimated fortune after most Ferrero Group assets passed to the couple’s son, Giovanni – the company’s current executive chairman.
Maria was born in Savigliano on 21 January 1939, as reported by Need To Know.
After finishing school, she attended an interpreters’ college in Milan and in 1961 was hired as a translator and interpreter at Ferrero, which was on the verge of becoming a multinational.
With Michele, it was love at first sight and the couple married in 1962 – despite the fact that, as she later recalled, “I told him I didn’t like chocolate”.
A year later, their firstborn Pietro was born, followed by Giovanni in 1964.
She suffered a devastating loss in 2011 when Pietro died aged just 47 after a sudden illness during a business trip to South Africa.
“Losing a child is inhuman – I remember thinking I wanted to die,” she later said.
Her discreet philanthropic work earned her several honours, including the title of Knight Grand Cross of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic – the country’s highest-ranking honour – in 2024.
On 19 December, she was unanimously appointed honorary life president of the Ferrero Group at an extraordinary shareholders’ meeting.
She is survived by her son Giovanni, her daughters-in-law Paola and Luisa, and five grandchildren.
Sant’Angelo dei Lombardi mayor Rosanna Repole recalled: “Maria was the one who pushed for Ferrero’s plant to be located in the nearby Porrara area rather than anywhere else… In the end, Ferrero is still there today.”
Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni paid tribute: “With her passing, Italy loses a figure who embodied – with elegance and quiet dignity – a model of enterprise that creates value while never losing sight of the community.”
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