Industrialist. He was the Chairman of Italy's largest industrial group, Fiat, and one of Italy's richest men, who lived for years in the shadow of his flamboyant brother, Giovanni (Gianni) Agnelli. Born in Lausanne, Switzerland, he endured a series of tragedies that began with the loss of his father when he was an infant, his mother in 1945, and continued through the deaths of two sons and then his brother in 2003. Umberto took the top job at Fiat in early 2003 following his brother Gianni's death and amid disagreements with the American shareholder, General Motors. Umberto decisively tackled the crisis and took an aggressive stance with General Motors, stopping any talk of a sale, and concluding a deal with Italian banks that saw 3 billion euros of fresh capital injected into Fiat. Died in Piemonte, Italy of lymphoma, a cancer of the lymph nodes.
Industrialist. He was the Chairman of Italy's largest industrial group, Fiat, and one of Italy's richest men, who lived for years in the shadow of his flamboyant brother, Giovanni (Gianni) Agnelli. Born in Lausanne, Switzerland, he endured a series of tragedies that began with the loss of his father when he was an infant, his mother in 1945, and continued through the deaths of two sons and then his brother in 2003. Umberto took the top job at Fiat in early 2003 following his brother Gianni's death and amid disagreements with the American shareholder, General Motors. Umberto decisively tackled the crisis and took an aggressive stance with General Motors, stopping any talk of a sale, and concluding a deal with Italian banks that saw 3 billion euros of fresh capital injected into Fiat. Died in Piemonte, Italy of lymphoma, a cancer of the lymph nodes.
Bio by: Fred Beisser
Family Members
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