Tuesday, April 19, 2011

Pietro Ferrero, Heir to Nutella Fortune, Dies in South Africa

Pietro Ferrero, chief executive officer of the Ferrero group, died in South Africa during a cycling session, apparently of a heart attack (he was 47).

Ferrero was founded in Alba, Italy, in 1946 when Pietro’s grandparents transformed a small coffee bar and pastry shop into a sweets factory. With cocoa expensive as Italy rebuilt from war, the company experimented with locally abundant nuts as a substitute ingredient, according to its Web site. Using a cocoa- hazelnut base, Ferrero developed Nutella, now the best-selling sweet spread in the world.
Chairman Michele Ferrero, Pietro’s father, took over the running of the business and increased the family’s fortune to $18 billion, earning him the 31st ranking on Forbes’s list of the world’s billionaires for 2011, the top position for any Italian. {source}
Ferrero makes (amongst others) Nutella Chocolate Spread, Ferrero Rocher, Tic Tacs and the Kinder range of products.











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