Giorgio Armani, who died last week aged 91, surprised the fashion world by instructing his heirs to gradually sell the empire he had set up in his 50-year-long career.
Like everything he did – from the broad company strategies to the models’ hair before a catwalk – the “king of fashion” did not leave anything to chance.
Armani’s will outlines the future of the luxury empire he founded and divides the billionaire’s many homes among his heirs. It also shares out the eclectic contents of his residence in the centre of Milan.
Armani died on September 4th aged 91 after a five-decade career that made his brand synonymous with timeless elegance.
Properties
His many properties in glamorous locations around the world regularly featured in home design magazines, and in 2000 he launched his minimalist aesthetic Armani/Casa interiors brand.
The designer left the portrait of himself by Andy Warhol to his closest aide and partner Pantaleo (Leo) Dell’Orco, who also inherited his home on the French Riviera, a Provence-style villa with a pool nestled in the hills of Saint-Tropez.
Giorgio Armani (right) and his historical collaborator Leo Dell’Orco during Milan Fashion Week 2021. Photo: Miguel Medina/AFP via Getty
Dell’Orco was also granted the right to use Armani’s house in Antigua, another in the countryside near his birthplace of Piacenza and his beloved summer retreat, an extensive property on the Sicilian island of Pantelleria.
The Pantelleria home is made up of seven “dammusi”, traditional rural buildings built from white lava stone with a domed roof and surrounded by more than 150 palm trees.
The residences in Pantelleria, Antigua and Piacenza are owned by a real estate company which Armani left to his sister Rosanna, his niece Silvana and his nephew Andrea Camerana, together with an apartment in New York, while another apartment there also went to Dell’Orco.
To his sister, Armani left an apartment in Paris, a painting by Henri Matisse, the elephant tusks, and a table by Italian designer Ettore Sottsass with three green chairs.
Another niece, Roberta, can request to use the various houses.
Fashion designer Giorgio Armani and his niece Roberta in 2007. Photo: Alberto Pizzoli/AFP via Getty
Armani’s right-hand man has lifelong rights to use the main Armani residency in Milan, and a house in St Moritz that will be owned by Camerana, the will showed.
Furniture and cars
Dell’Orco also became the owner of multiple sofas, armchairs, shelves and Japanese rugs. The long list of decorative items includes a desk and table by French interior designer Jean-Michel Frank, a bronze bear, bronze panther and other metal casting animals, including a crab.
Dell’Orco and Michele Morselli, the head of Armani’s real estate firm, inherited his vintage cars, which they have permission to sell. Morselli was also bequeathed a Z-shaped table and an orange pony skin armchair.
Control of company
The designer decided that the Giorgio Armani Foundation, which he established in 2016, will initially hold a 10 per cent direct stake in the company, giving it 30 per cent of voting rights, and the right to other shareholders’ stakes in case of their death.
The remaining shares will be split among Dell’Orco, who will get the largest share of capital and voting rights, the late designer’s sister Rosanna, his two nieces Silvana and Roberta and his nephew Andrea Camerana.
Giorgio Armani with his niece Silvana during Milan Fashion Week on February 27th, 2025. Photo: Andreas Solaro/AFP via Getty
While Armani’s sister and one of his nieces, Roberta, will not hold any voting rights, Dell’Orco will have 40 per cent and together with the foundation, will control the fashion label.
Proceeds from the company will be divided among his partner and family according to their shareholding, with the foundation’s 10 per cent equally paid to the five members.
Sale instruction
The will instructed the foundation to sell 15 per cent of the fashion house within 18 months, giving priority to French luxury conglomerate LVMH, beauty giant L’Oreal and Franco-Italian eyewear group EssilorLuxottica. Otherwise, the stake should be sold to a company “identified and with the agreement of Leo”, operating in the fashion and luxury world and with the same standing as those listed above, putting groups that have commercial partnerships with Armani first.
The buyer will have 15 per cent of voting rights and will be able to appoint a board member. After the sale, Dell’Orco will keep his 40 per cent voting rights, despite a smaller holding, while the foundation’s share of voting rights will drop, but it will have a veto power on major decisions, such as changes of statute, capital increases and all M&A activity.
Under Italian law, provisions in the will are legally binding and can be challenged in court if not followed.
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In three to five years, Armani’s heirs should dispose of another 30-55 per cent to the same buyer, or otherwise list the company, preferably on the Milan bourse. According to the will, regardless of the decision, the Giorgio Armani Foundation will always have to hold a stake of at least 30.1 per cent in the famed fashion house.
EssilorLuxottica
Armani’s stake of just above 2 per cent in Franco-Italian eyewear giant EssilorLuxottica, worth about €2.5 billion will be split among family and senior company managers.
The head of Giorgio Armani’s real estate company, Michele Morselli, will be handed 100,000 shares, worth over €26 million, while the group’s two director generals, Giuseppe Marsocci and Daniele Ballestrazzi, along with two other senior managers, will own 7,500 shares each.
Dell’Orco will receive 40 per cent of the remaining shares and Armani’s family members 60 per cent of them, “with no shared ownership”.