Delfin Succession Dispute Laid Bare as Leonardo Maria Quits EssilorLuxottica

The Delfin succession dispute has reached a provisional resolution of sorts: Leonardo Maria Del Vecchio, the 31-year-old son of the late Leonardo Del Vecchio who built Luxottica from a single workshop in 1961, has stepped down from all executive roles at EssilorLuxottica, with his departure taking effect on 31 August.

The exit ends, at least formally, the most turbulent chapter in a feud that has unsettled one of Italy’s largest and most strategically connected holding companies. Delfin controls a 32.4% stake in EssilorLuxottica, whose market value has exceeded $100 billion since the founder’s death in June 2022. The group also holds positions across a cluster of Italian financial institutions, including UniCredit, Mediobanca, Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena and the insurer Generali, making the outcome of its internal power struggle a matter of consequence well beyond the family.

How the Delfin Succession Dispute Escalated

Leonardo Del Vecchio spent years constructing a governance structure intended to prevent exactly this kind of conflict. On his death he divided Delfin equally between eight heirs: six children from three relationships, his widow, and her son Rocco Basilico. Each of the principal combatants, Leonardo Maria and Basilico, holds a 12.5% stake; siblings Luca and Paola Del Vecchio together account for a further 25%.

Tensions escalated this year when Leonardo Maria, known within the company as LMDV, sought to consolidate his position by buying out Luca and Paola. A Delfin shareholder meeting in April approved by a majority a proposal to buy out the two siblings in a €10 billion ($11.7 billion) deal, framed as a step toward simplifying future governance decisions. The approval proved to be a high-water mark rather than a turning point.

Opposition hardened quickly. EssilorLuxottica chairman and CEO Francesco Milleri, appointed to the dual role after the founder’s death, along with Basilico, pushed back against concentrating control in Leonardo Maria’s hands. Their argument, reported by the Financial Times, was blunt: the younger Del Vecchio was ‘not his father.’ Basilico, who is credited with arranging Ray-Ban’s smart-glasses partnership with Meta, resigned from EssilorLuxottica last year, ahead of Leonardo Maria’s own departure. The dispute produced litigation in both Italy and Luxembourg, with Basilico and a half-sibling contesting the proposed stake sale, while Leonardo Maria challenged Basilico’s entitlement to his own 12.5% holding.

EssilorLuxottica confirmed the resignation in a statement, with a spokesperson saying: ‘We express our gratitude for his contribution to the group’s growth and the realisation of the strategic vision championed by his father. We wish him equal success in his new venture.’ The company was referring to a personal investment vehicle Leonardo Maria set up in 2022.

Leonardo Maria’s parting words were less measured. According to Italian financial daily MF-Milano Finanza, his resignation letter described the management style at EssilorLuxottica as ‘distant and impersonal.’ In a public statement he wrote: ‘I keep talking to people in the company. I did it when I was a store manager and I have never stopped doing it. The enthusiasm is not what it was. The sense of belonging is not what it was. The distance can be felt. And people sense it before the markets. Always.’

The Wider Stakes in Italian Finance

The Delfin succession dispute matters beyond the boardroom because Italian banking consolidation is simultaneously in motion, and Delfin sits at several intersections. Monte dei Paschi di Siena launched a €13.3 billion ($14 billion) all-share offer for Mediobanca, offering 23 of its own shares for every 10 Mediobanca shares tendered, a premium of 5% to Mediobanca’s pre-announcement close. Mediobanca’s board rejected the approach, pointing explicitly to the ‘significant cross-shareholdings of Delfin and Caltagirone’ in MPS, Mediobanca, and Generali as a potential misalignment of interests.

Delfin’s 17.5% stake in Monte dei Paschi places it squarely in the middle of that consolidation chess match. Delfin denied reports it was in talks with UniCredit over a potential disposal of that MPS stake, with its board stating it ‘has never discussed the possibility of divesting its financial stake’ in Monte Paschi. Separately, Il Sole 24 Ore reported that UniCredit had sounded out Delfin about a share-swap arrangement that would have seen UniCredit acquire Delfin’s 10% Generali stake in exchange for 5% of UniCredit’s own shares, lifting Delfin’s UniCredit holding to 8% and making it the bank’s largest investor. Reuters noted no deal was struck.

With the family feud formally quieter after Leonardo Maria’s exit, the question for Delfin’s remaining shareholders is whether they can speak with a single voice on these positions. The next stress test is the MPS-Mediobanca bid, where Delfin’s stance as a large MPS shareholder will either support or complicate Italy’s most consequential banking deal in years.