New Delhi: The central issue in the Ray-Ban family feud is not who owns the sunglasses brand, but who gets to control the business empire built by its founder, Leonardo Del Vecchio. His decision to divide his fortune equally among eight heirs, while leaving professional managers in charge, has produced a prolonged dispute over inheritance, voting rights and corporate control.
The legal battle involves competing claims over ownership of inherited stakes, the validity of shareholder decisions and a proposed €10 billion buyout. It is important to distinguish the family inheritance dispute from the separate boardroom struggle over who runs EssilorLuxottica.
Why the Ray-Ban empire is caught in a family feud, and what the legal battle is about
The fight over the Ray-Ban empire has moved from family disagreements to courtrooms in Luxembourg, with inheritance claims, disputed shareholder decisions and a failed multibillion-euro buyout at the centre of the dispute.
At stake is control of a business empire built by Italian billionaire Leonardo Del Vecchio, founder of Luxottica, which merged with French lens-maker Essilor in 2018 to form EssilorLuxottica, the world’s largest eyewear company. Its brands include Ray-Ban, Oakley and Persol.
When Del Vecchio died in June 2022, he left his fortune divided equally among eight heirs—his six children, widow Nicoletta Zampillo and her son from an earlier marriage, Rocco Basilico. Each received a 12.5 per cent stake in Delfin, the Luxembourg-based holding company through which the family controls its investments.
The arrangement, intended to keep the fortune within the family, has instead left the heirs struggling to agree on who should control it.
Why is inheritance becoming a legal battle?
The problem lies partly in Delfin’s voting rules. Its articles of association require an 88 per cent majority for major decisions, including changes to its board. With each heir holding 12.5 per cent, even one dissenting shareholder can block a decision.
This has left considerable power with Delfin’s independent board, chaired by Francesco Milleri, Del Vecchio’s longtime associate and the chief executive of EssilorLuxottica.
Three heirs—Paola and Luca Del Vecchio, and Rocco Basilico—have now approached a Luxembourg court seeking to change the voting requirement. They want a two-thirds majority instead of 88 per cent, which would make it easier for shareholders to influence the board’s composition.
The challenge is significant because it could shift power away from the board and towards the heirs.
What is the dispute between Leonardo Maria and Rocco Basilico?
Another legal confrontation centres on Leonardo Maria Del Vecchio, the founder’s son from his marriage to Nicoletta Zampillo, and his stepbrother Basilico.
In April 2026, Delfin shareholders approved a proposal by Leonardo Maria to buy the combined 25 per cent stakes held by his siblings Paola and Luca for around €10 billion. The acquisition would increase his holding to 37.5 per cent, making him the largest individual shareholder.
Basilico challenged the validity of the shareholder resolution before a Luxembourg court, arguing that it had not received the required votes. Delfin rejected the challenge, maintaining that the decision complied with its statutes.
The two brothers subsequently reached a provisional agreement in June to withdraw their cross-lawsuits. However, the wider dispute over the proposed buyout and control of Delfin continued.
Why did the proposed buyout collapse?
The proposed acquisition ran into trouble over financing. Banks wanted Delfin to provide guarantees for the loan, but its board refused to offer the required financial backing.
The deal subsequently unravelled. In September, Paola and Luca reportedly sought €500 million in penalties over the failed transaction.
Leonardo Maria has since made another attempt to take control. In November, he offered to buy out five or six of the other shareholders, backed by financing of up to €22 billion from Citigroup. Four heirs—Clemente, Rocco, Luca and Paola—rejected the proposal.
Meanwhile, Czech billionaire Michal Strnad has reportedly offered €30 billion to acquire Delfin outright, adding another potential buyer to the dispute.
Why does the fight matter beyond Ray-Ban?
Delfin is worth considerably more than its eyewear holdings. It owns 32.4 per cent of EssilorLuxottica, along with significant stakes in Italian financial institutions including insurer Generali and lenders Monte dei Paschi di Siena and UniCredit.
A prolonged ownership dispute could therefore affect decisions extending well beyond the sunglasses business. It has also raised questions about the future of Milleri, whose leadership has come under criticism from Leonardo Maria, who resigned as EssilorLuxottica’s chief strategy officer and Ray-Ban president in August.
The immediate question is whether the heirs can agree on a governance structure that allows the holding company to function. For now, the fortune Del Vecchio spent a lifetime building remains caught between his heirs’ competing claims and the management structure he left behind.