How Benetton Went From a $7 Billion Fashion Family Empire To Italy's Disgrace

Video Description

The four Benetton siblings created the United Colors of Benetton 7,000-store fashion empire generating $2 billion revenue, then watched it collapse after the 2018 Ponte Morandi bridge disaster killed 43 people on infrastructure they controlled. ------------------- Gain FREE access to secret full-length documentaries on wealthy families "too scandalous for YouTube" by joining our newsletter: https://www.substack.com/@oldmoneyluxury ------------------- TIMESTAMPS 0:00 Introduction 1:36 Chapter 1: The Rainbow at Its Peak 4:31 Chapter 2: The Accordion and the Bicycle 7:17 Chapter 3: Knit Now, Dye Later 10:41 Chapter 4: Shock and Backlash 14:30 Chapter 5: The Bridges That Fell 18:33 Chapter 6: The Last Chance ------------------- Leone Benetton died in July 1945 when his eldest son Luciano was just 10 years old, leaving his wife Rosa alone with four children: Luciano, Giuliana at 8, Gilberto at 4, and infant Carlo. Luciano dropped out of school at age 14 to work in a clothing shop and sell newspapers on the streets to support his younger siblings despite their dire circumstances. In 1955 when Luciano was 20 and Giuliana was 18, they sold Luciano's accordion and Carlo's bicycle to raise 300,000 lire—approximately $200 at the time—to buy their first knitting machine. Giuliana made a bright yellow sweater for Luciano to wear to his clothing shop job that drew admiration everywhere he went, and Luciano immediately recognized the commercial potential. Within four months they had paid off their loan by selling approximately 20 sweaters per week at a shop called Très Jolie, and by 1965 they officially incorporated as Maglificio di Ponzano Veneto dei Fratelli Benetton. The first Benetton retail store opened in 1966 in Belluno with an unusual layout where customers could browse independently without pressure from sales staff, which they called My Market. Luciano pioneered the tinto-in-capo approach—dye upon garment—after studying ancient wool processing methods in Scotland, allowing Benetton to produce large volumes of undyed garments then quickly dye them based on actual sales data. By the late 1990s the four siblings commanded 7,000 stores worldwide generating over $2 billion in annual revenue producing 120 million garments annually, with Forbes estimating each sibling's net worth at $2.9 billion. Their Benetton Formula racing team competed in 260 Formula One races, won 27 Grand Prix victories, and captured two consecutive Drivers' Championships with Michael Schumacher in 1994 and 1995. Through a 30.25% stake in Atlantia S.p.A. the family controlled the operator of nearly two-thirds of Italy's 4,000 miles of toll highways and held a 60% stake in Autogrill, the world's leading chain of roadside restaurants. In 1982 Benetton hired photographer Oliviero Toscani as creative director, and his fall-winter 1991 campaign featured a priest and nun locked in a kiss that the Catholic Church condemned. The spring-summer 1992 campaign showed David Kirby, a 32-year-old AIDS patient dying in a hospital bed surrounded by his family, and Germany and France banned the advertisements. In January 2000 the We, On Death Row campaign photographed 26 death row inmates in prison uniforms, and Sears immediately severed ties pulling the Benetton line from all 400 stores that carried it. On April 24, 2013 Rana Plaza, an eight-story commercial building in Bangladesh, collapsed in two minutes killing 1,138 people, and Benetton initially denied any involvement before admitting to subcontracted production there. On August 14, 2018 a 210-meter section of the Ponte Morandi in Genoa collapsed during a torrential rainstorm killing 43 people including the Robiano family—father Roberto, wife Ersilia, and their 8-year-old child. The bridge was operated by Autostrade per l'Italia controlled by Atlantia in which the Benetton family's Edizione held a 30.25% stake, and Gianni Mion testified the bridge had an original design defect raised eight years before the tragedy. By 2020 facing intense political pressure the Benettons were forced to sell their Autostrade stake for €3.9 billion to a consortium led by Cassa Depositi e Prestiti—less than they paid at privatization in 1999. In February 2020 Oliviero Toscani was asked to comment on the bridge disaster and responded "Who cares if a bridge falls down?" and was fired two days later. The 2023 financial year closed with a net loss of €230 million—nearly triple the previous year's €81 million—and since 2013 accumulated losses exceeded €1.6 billion with 180 stores closed in 2024 alone.