John Elkann is looking to diversify Agnelli's business interests. Photo: Mark Thompson/Getty Images
Gianni Agnelli, an Italian billionaire industrialist, took driving seriously. So seriously that he insisted on driving with his own chauffeur — often at breakneck speeds.
“When people traveled in horse-drawn carts, they said that there were those who preferred to sit on goats, and those who prefer to sit in the carriage. I prefer to sit on a box,” the head of Fiat once said.
Agnelli's adrenaline-fuelled passion for cars has spawned an automotive empire that controls brands such as Ferrari, Alfa Romeo and Chrysler. Meanwhile, his suave taste in dress and glamorous lifestyle have helped solidify his family's status at the pinnacle of Italian high society.
Now, however, the Agnelli dynasty is trying to forge a new path under the leadership of John Elkann, an unsentimental scion who calls himself rather European Warren Buffett than a racing boy.
A polyglot and shrewd trader, Elkann, 47, has moved away from his grandfather's gasoline strategy to create a new future for Europe's oldest industrialists.
Last week, Exor, the Agnelli family investment company, took 15 percent. stake in Philips, which is trying to transform itself from a light bulb manufacturer into a healthcare company.Gianni Agnelli founded an automotive empire that included Ferrari, Alfa Romeo and Chrysler. Credit: Chip HIRES/Getty Images Contributor
Philips is a risky bet. A Dutch conglomerate has been embroiled in controversy over a malfunctioning sleep apnea ventilator, causing millions of device recalls and a plunge in share price.
However, Elkann is betting that the fall value makes now the right time to invest. What's more, it represents a change of course for a new generation of family dubbed «The Kennedys in Italy».
After selling American insurance company Partner Re for €9.3bn in 2021, Elkann has set his sights on the healthcare industry.
Paolo Griseri, an Italian reporter who has followed Agnellis for decades, says diversification has always been a hallmark of the family , pointing to the fact that Fiat made refrigerators.
But this strategy has taken on new urgency under Elkann, who is pinning his hopes on the growing interest in healthcare in the wake of the pandemic.
It's part of what Pierre de Gasquet, the French journalist who wrote a book about the Agnelli family, describes as a «renaissance.»
Automobiles undoubtedly remain the driving force behind Exor. The 2021 merger between Fiat and Peugeot to create automotive giant Stellantis was perhaps Elkann's biggest coup to date.
However, the entire industry is facing major challenges as it strives to move towards net zero. Stellantis head Carlos Tavares warned that European automakers face a «terrible fight» against Chinese electric car makers, who have sparked a price war in the sector, as legacy companies demand heavy investment in new factories and supply chains.
Meanwhile , at Ferrari, almost a quarter of which is owned by Agnelli, executives are worried about how to make sports cars attractive in an age of near-silent battery-powered engines.
Electric vehicle sales in China could reach 90% by 2030 < p>Against this backdrop, the Agnelli family began a concerted move into new territory.
Exor, with a market value of €19.5 billion, used proceeds from the sale of Partner Re to acquire equity stakes in several European healthcare companies, and moved into technology through recent investments, including Uber competitor Via Transportation and Welltec.
More idiosyncratic interests include a 24 percent stake in shoe company Christian Louboutin and Agnelli's majority stake in The Economist.
Much of the new direction may be due to the fundamental difference in approach between Elkann and his flamboyant grandfather.
Nicknamed L'avvocato — a lawyer — thanks to his legal background, Gianni turned the owner of a Fiat into an automotive powerhouse and a titan of Italian industry. At the height of its power in the 1980s, the empire controlled 4.4% of Italy's GDP and over 3% of the industrial workforce.
Gianni also developed a reputation as a socialite and playboy who considered Henry Kissinger a friend and allegedly had a number of affairs with famous women, including Jacqueline Kennedy.
Elkann, who took control of the empire after Gianni's death in 2003 could hardly have been more different from his grandfather.
«He is much less charismatic than Gianni, he is less romantic in the automotive industry, he is more pragmatic and cautious,» says de Gasquet.< /p>
The Agnelli family still owns a quarter of the shares in luxury sports car maker Ferrari. Credit: Motoring
Analysts have drawn comparisons between Elkann's approach and that of serial investor Warren Buffett, whom he frequently cites in long annual letters to shareholders.
“Exor has always said that it wants to create value through investments because it is a family-owned financial company that is not in a hurry to make a profit like investment funds,” says Griseri.
This unsentimental approach offers hope that that Elkann could gradually begin to separate the family from the industry that made it famous: the automobile.
Grisery adds: business, not products, Agnellis' investment in the automotive [industry] will eventually become more and more marginalized.» .
Elkann's strategy has also sparked speculation about the future of some of the families' longest-term investments, especially the Juventus football club and the Italian newspapers La Stampa and La Repubblica.
De Gasquet says Exor , is likely to keep The Economist as a trophy, but raises questions about the fate of newspaper titles. .
“Grandfather [Elkanna] was very attached to it. He was a great reader, he loved the press. I'm not sure if this applies to John,” he says.
As Exor moves in a new direction, the legacy of Italy's cutting edge industrialists is in danger of disappearing into the rearview mirror.
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