Italy's Luxottica Company Owner to Give Staff Shares Worth $10Mln

The founder and owner of the Italian eyewear company Luxottica Leonardo Del Vecchio pledged to grant the group's shares to its employees totalling €9 million on the occasion of his 80th birthday.

ROME (Sputnik) — The founder and owner of the Italian eyewear company Luxottica Leonardo Del Vecchio pledged to grant the group's shares to its employees totalling €9 million ($10 million) on the occasion of his 80th birthday, the company said in a statement.

Luxottica’s chief is due to celebrate his birthday on Friday and decided to observe the occasion in an unusual way.

According to the statement circulating in the media, Vecchio, one of the richest men in Italy, decided to distribute an aggregate maximum of 140,000 Luxottica Group shares.

“A sincere thank you to the group’s employees in Italy, those at the heart of Luxottica’s success,” Del Vecchio said. “With this small gesture, I would like to show how important the employees are to me: I truly feel as if we are family.”

Luxottica, headquartered in Milan, is the owner of such well-known brands as Ray-Ban, Persol and Oakley. The group also produces Del Vecchio licensed sunglasses brands Prada, Armani, Dolce & Gabbana, Versace and Tiffany & Co.