Maria Franca Ferrero: Ferrero Rocher billionaire’s wife dies | World | News
Maria Franca Ferrero, the wife of the late Michele Ferrero, died in her home in Italy aged 87, it has been announced. The billionaire heiress to the Ferrero fortune, dubbed the “Nutella empress”, passed away in her home in Alba in the early hours of Thursday morning.
The town is also home to the Ferrero factory and nicknamed the birthplace of the chocolate spread. The company, of which Maria was president, is known for iconic brands such as Nutella, Kinder, Ferrero Rocher, and Tic Tac. Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni was one of the many who paid tribute to Maria, calling her “a model of enterprise”.
She wrote on X: “Today, Maria Franca Fissolo Ferrero leaves us, a discreet and determined woman who accompanied, with intelligence and vision, one of the most extraordinary entrepreneurial stories in Italy, alongside Michele Ferrero.
“I had the pleasure of meeting her in 2018 and of getting to know up close her humanity, her sobriety, and the concrete commitment she carried forward through the Ferrero Foundation, which over the years has supported thousands of people and families.
“With her passing, Italy loses a figure who represented, with elegance and reserve, a model of enterprise that creates value without ever forgetting the community.
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“To the Ferrero family, on behalf of myself and the Government, I extend our most heartfelt condolences.”
Maria married Michele 1962, reportedly telling him at the time that she “didn’t like chocolate”.
When he passed away in 2015, the entire business was left to her, including 40 factories and nearly 50,000 employees that helped turn over £15.7 billion annually.
