Luca Cordero di Montezemolo (Italian pronunciation: [ˈluːka korˈdɛːro di ˌmontedˈdzɛːmolo; -dˈdzeːm-]; born 31 August 1947) is an Italian businessman who is best known as former Chairman of Ferrari, and formerly Chairman of Fiat S.p.A. and President of Confindustria and FIEG.
Montezemolo comes from an aristocratic family from the region of Piedmont in Italy. He is one of the founders and former president of NTV, an Italian company which is Europe’s first private open access operator of 300 km/h (186 mph) high-speed trains.
In 2009, Montezemolo founded Future Italy, a free market think tank that joined Civic Choice in the 2013 Italian parliamentary election.
Ancestry and family background
Born in Bologna, Italy, he is the youngest son of Massimo Cordero dei Marchesi di Montezemolo (1920–2009), a Piedmontese aristocrat whose family served the Royal House of Savoy for generations, and Clotilde Neri (1922–2017), niece of famed Italian surgeon Vincenzo Neri. His uncle, Admiral Giorgio Cordero dei Marchesi di Montezemolo (1918–1986) was a commander in the Regia Marina in World War II. His grandfather, Mario (1888–1960) and great-grandfather Carlo (1858–1943) were both Generals in the Italian Army. He is also a relation to Andrea Cordero Lanza di Montezemolo (his father Massimo and Andrea were cousins), who became a cardinal in 2006 and whose father, colonel Giuseppe Cordero di Montezemolo, was killed by the Nazi occupation troops during the massacre of the Fosse Ardeatine in Rome in 1944. His surname is actually “Cordero di Montezemolo” and the correct usage is either the full surname or just Montezemolo (omitting the “di”); Marchesi is a noble title.
Early life and education
Montezemolo graduated with a degree in law from La Sapienza University in 1971. Afterwards, he studied for a master’s degree in international commercial law at Columbia University
What is Luca di Montezemolo’s Net Worth and Salary?
Luca di Montezemolo is an Italian businessman who is the former Chairman of Ferrari with a net worth of $350 million. Hailing from an aristocratic Piedmontese family, Luca previously chaired the automotive manufacturing conglomerate Fiat and its luxury sports car brand Ferrari. Among his myriad other activities, Montezemolo served as the president of the Italian employers’ federation Confindustria and is the president of the high-speed train operating company NTV, which he also co-founded.
As Chairman and CEO of Ferrari racing, Luca oversaw 19 world drivers and constructors championships. He also oversaw Ferrari’s rise from an exotic luxury car company to a world-domineering lifestyle brand.
In September of 2014, Montezemolo resigned as Ferrari’s president and chairman, reportedly due to tension between himself and Sergio Marchionne, his intended successor and the CEO of FIAT Chrysler. Less than a year later, in the summer of 2015, his long career in the field of motorsports was ceremoniously rewarded by way of an induction into the International Motorsports Hall of Fame.
Fiat and Ferrari
Montezemolo started his career racing with his friend Cristiano Rattazzi in a Giannini Fiat 500. He later drove for the Lancia rally team HF Squadra Corse. Montezemolo went on to join the automotive manufacturing conglomerate Fiat, based in Torino, Italy. Subsequently, in 1973, he joined luxury auto manufacturer Ferrari, where he served as an assistant to racer and entrepreneur Enzo Ferrari. The next year, Montezemolo became the manager of Ferrari’s racing division Scuderia. During his time in that position, Scuderia won the Formula One World Drivers’ Championship in both 1975 and 1977, both times with racer Niki Lauda. Montezemolo was eventually promoted to the head of Fiat’s racing activities, and then to the position of Fiat’s senior manager.
In the 80s, Montezemolo held a variety of roles at subsidiaries of Fiat; among them, he served as the managing director of vermouth brand Cinzano and the director of the publishing company Itedi. Additionally, he managed the yacht racing team Azzurra, the first Italian yacht club to enter the America’s Cup competition, and became the manager of the organizing committee for the 1990 FIFA World Cup. In the early 90s, Montezemolo was named the president of Ferrari, which had been floundering since Enzo’s passing in 1988.
As president, he made it his aim to once again win the Formula One World Championship. In the hopes of accomplishing this feat, Montezemolo appointed Formula One champion Lauda as a consultant and promoted Claudio Lombardi to the role of team manager. His work paid off, as Ferrari’s team won the Constructors’ Championship in 1999 and the World Drivers’ Championship in 2000.
With Michael Schumacher at Ferrari’s wheel, between 2000 and 2004 the team won five consecutive F1 championships.
Montezemolo went on to become the chairman of Fiat in 2004, a position he held until 2010. Later, in 2014, he resigned as president and chairman of Ferrari.
Ferrari Salary
In his final years at Ferrari, Luca di Montezemolo earned an annual salary of 2.75 million Euros. At the time that was equal to around $3.5 million USD per year. Upon leaving Ferrari, Luca was paid a $35 million severance. He was also awarded a one-time lump sum payment of $17 million to be paid 20 years later, in 2034
Formula One Teams Association
In 2008, Montezemolo founded the Formula One Teams Association to give Formula One teams a united voice in negotiations with the FIA governing body. Specifically, the aim was to negotiate the terms of a new commercial contract governing the championship. Montezemolo presided over the association until its formal dissolution in 2014.
Recognition
In July 2015, Montezemolo was inducted into the Automotive Hall of Fame. He received the America Award of the Italy-USA Foundation in 2017.
Personal life
Montezemolo lives primarily in Italy, with an apartment in Rome and a country estate outside Bologna.
He has five children: Clementina (b.1981), Matteo (b.1982), Guia (b.2001), Maria (b.2003), Lupo (b.2010) and has been married twice.
In 2012 Montezemolo was issued a suspended sentence of one year imprisonment by the court in Naples for the unauthorized construction of his personal residence in Anacapri, Italy.
In his spare time, Montezemolo is a keen sailor and has owned two significant motor yachts – a Fast Commuter Morgan 93 and an Ocea 108 Commuter.
