Italian billionaire heir Leonardo Maria Del Vecchio admits drug use, attacks Ray-Ban boss

Italian billionaire heir Leonardo Maria Del Vecchio, one of eight heirs to the late Ray-Ban and EssilorLuxottica founder Leonardo Del Vecchio, has spoken publicly about past drug use and stepped up his feud with the eyewear giant's chief executive, Francesco Milleri, blaming him for a collapse in the company's share price.

Del Vecchio, 31, made the remarks in a long interview on Pulp Podcast, hosted by Italian rapper Fedez and Davide Marra, in an episode released on Oct. 12. He said EssilorLuxottica had lost half its market value under Milleri and that a chief executive in that position should be worried.

"He who loses 50% should be a bit more tense," Del Vecchio said in Italian, according to news agency ANSA. "There has not been the right vision after my father. And it is the market that says it, not me," he said, in comments translated by Bloomberg News. He added that his personal relationship with Milleri, once his mentor, was "not the point."

Drugs and debt

The heir also spoke about his private struggles. He said drugs had filled a void in his life and that he now depends on benzodiazepines, a class of prescription sedatives, to treat insomnia. He credited the birth of his daughter with helping him see a way out but stopped short of saying he had recovered. In the same interview he claimed to have slept with more than 2,000 women.

Del Vecchio also addressed his borrowing. "I have a billion in debts," he said, according to Italian newspaper Corriere delle Alpi, adding that each credit line was tied to a specific project. Bloomberg has put his disclosed debt at about €950 million ($1.06 billion), split between personal borrowing and his investment firm, LMDV Capital. He said his family office had invested more than €500 million ($560 million), almost all of it in Italy, and created about 2,000 jobs in three years.

Through LMDV Capital, Del Vecchio has bought the mineral water brand Acqua Fiuggi and the Twiga beach clubs, and has invested in Italian newspapers including Il Giornale and the publisher of Il Giorno and Il Resto del Carlino. Forbes estimated his net worth at about $7.5 billion in December 2025.

A fight over control of Delfin

The dispute centers on Delfin, the Luxembourg-based family holding company that owns about 32.4% of EssilorLuxottica as well as stakes in insurer Generali and banks Monte dei Paschi di Siena and UniCredit. Milleri, the company's chief executive, is also Delfin's chairman. After the founder's death in June 2022, Delfin was split equally among eight heirs, including his widow and six children, giving each 12.5%.

Del Vecchio has tried to buy the 25% held by his siblings Luca and Paola, which would lift his stake to 37.5% and make him Delfin's largest shareholder. He has said he was prepared to borrow €10 billion ($11.2 billion) to do it. An €11 billion loan led by UniCredit and Crédit Agricole stalled because Delfin's board did not back a letter of support that the banks required, Milano Finanza reported this month. Pledging Delfin shares needs the consent of all eight shareholders.

On the podcast, Del Vecchio said the estate, which Italian media value at about €40 billion ($44.8 billion), was being held up by a fight over a €300 million ($336 million) legacy. The founder's will left Milleri about 2.15 million EssilorLuxottica shares, worth roughly €340 million at the time, Bloomberg reported in 2022. Del Vecchio said some heirs had accepted their inheritance only under a legal procedure that limits their liability for the estate's debts, which he said had led to a freeze on Delfin dividends. "The inheritance isn't blocked, a war is being fought over 300 million," he said, according to a translation of his Italian remarks.

He also said his bid for his siblings' stakes had assumed the succession would be settled first.

Exit and board support

Del Vecchio stepped down as chairman of Ray-Ban and chief strategy officer of EssilorLuxottica at the end of August, citing new business projects. Milano Finanza reported that his resignation letter criticized a management style he called distant and impersonal. In early September, speaking at the Ambrosetti forum in Cernobbio, he said Milleri's future would depend on results.

EssilorLuxottica's board responded on Sept. 9 by saying it had "unanimously reaffirmed its full confidence" in Milleri, his management team and the group's strategy, Reuters reported. Senior managers also publicly defended the chief executive.

EssilorLuxottica's market value fell from a record of about €150 billion ($168 billion) last November to around €86 billion ($96 billion) by late April, according to Reuters, amid investor worries over competition in smart glasses, a business it runs with Meta Platforms. The company is due to report third-quarter sales on Oct. 20.