Ferrero Rocher owner dies on Valentines' Day
Ferrero Rocher chocolates / Korea Times file
Michele Ferrero, Italy’s richest man and owner of global confectioner Ferrero Group, died on Saturday at 89.
Ferrero died from a chronic illness at his home in the northeastern resort city of Monte Carlo, Monaco.
Until two weeks before his death, he had commuted daily by helicopter from his villa to his company’s headquarters in Alba, northwestern Italy.
Ferrero Group produces the chocolate-hazelnut spread Nutella, as well as Ferrero Roche and Kinder Egg chocolates.
His father and company founder Pietro Ferrero developed the nutella spread _ a mix of cocoa and hazelnut powder _ during World War II, when cocoa was distributed.
Ferrero’s family own assets worth $23.4 billion dollars. Michele Ferrero was 30th on Forbes magazine’s list of the world’s wealthiest people.