Leonardo Maria Del Vecchio, an heir to the Ray-Ban empire built by his late father, recently gave an extraordinary interview in which he acknowledged his struggles with drugs, claimed to have slept with more than 2,000 women and said his billionaire father gave his children everything but love. The 31-year-old billionaire, whose wealth exceeds $5 billion, made the remarks on Monday on a popular podcast hosted by Italian rapper Fedez.
In the podcast, he revealed that he turned to drugs to cope with emotional struggles stemming from his relationship with his late father, Leonardo Del Vecchio, the founder of eyewear group Luxottica.
The interview comes amid a bitter family dispute over the future of EssilorLuxottica, whose portfolio includes Ray-Ban, Oakley, Persol and LensCrafters. The company is also known for its partnership with Meta on AI-powered smart glasses.
Ray-Ban heir opens up about drug use
Speaking in the interview, Del Vecchio said his late father had provided for his children financially but had not given them the affection he felt they needed.
“My father gave me his legacy, the money but not love,” Del Vecchio said, explaining why he had turned to substances. “I have filled the gaps I felt with drugs,” he added.
He credited fatherhood with helping him confront his drug use, while acknowledging an ongoing dependence on benzodiazepines, a class of prescription sedatives. He suggested that he was making progress in addressing his dependence but stopped short of claiming that he had fully overcome it.
{{/usCountry}}He credited fatherhood with helping him confront his drug use, while acknowledging an ongoing dependence on benzodiazepines, a class of prescription sedatives. He suggested that he was making progress in addressing his dependence but stopped short of claiming that he had fully overcome it.
{{/usCountry}}“That darkness was filled and filled, yes, also by drugs,” he said in the English-dubbed interview, adding that “my night ended with Bianca,” referring to his daughter.
“I haven’t grabbed onto it with all the strength of my hands yet, so I’m not saying I’m out of it forever but, yes, this time I do see the light,” he said.
He also reflected on the relationship between substance use and emotional distress, saying that treating the symptoms alone was not enough. “You can treat the symptoms, and you have to look at the cause and drugs don’t let you see it — they are in fact the consequence of it,” he added.
Del Vecchio, who owns a nightclub in Milan, also spoke about his love life. “I can say that I’ve probably made love with over 2,000 women, and I won over 90% of them by singing ‘Hero,’” he said, referring to the 2001 hit by Enrique Iglesias.
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Ray-Ban heir takes aim at EssilorLuxottica CEO
The personal revelations came alongside a sharp criticism of EssilorLuxottica’s leadership, intensifying the dispute over control of the business founded by his father.
Del Vecchio stepped down as chief strategy officer of EssilorLuxottica and president of Ray-Ban over the summer, saying he wanted to devote himself to new entrepreneurial projects. He has since criticised chief executive Francesco Milleri, whom his father had hand-picked to lead the company. He questioned the group’s direction and performance following the founder’s death in June 2022.
“There has not been the right vision after my father. And it is the market that says it, not me,” Del Vecchio said.
“This isn’t about my relationship with Francesco . . . The point is that if he doesn’t deliver results, if EssilorLuxottica is down 50 per cent in one year, that company still bears the Del Vecchio name and I can’t just stand by and watch,” he added.
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Del Vecchio family feud
The conflict stems from the ownership structure established after Leonardo Del Vecchio, the billionaire founder of Luxottica, died in June 2022. The elder Del Vecchio left each of his eight heirs a 12.5% stake in Delfin, the family holding company that owns approximately 32.4% of EssilorLuxottica. Delfin also holds significant stakes in financial institutions, including UniCredit and Monte dei Paschi di Siena. The arrangement was intended to maintain a balance among the heirs, but it has also meant that major decisions require broad consensus.
Leonardo Maria Del Vecchio has fought for more control, arguing that consolidating ownership would help execute his father’s vision and provide greater stability for the holding company.
His broader plan has been to increase his stake in Delfin from 12.5% to 37.5%, which would make him the holding company’s largest shareholder and potentially reshape the succession battle surrounding the eyewear empire.
But he recently failed to secure backing from Delfin for loans needed to buy out two of his siblings for 10 billion euros, or approximately $11.2 billion, according to a report by Bloomberg.
Del Vecchio has also disclosed approximately 950 million euros in debt, including around 500 million euros in personal borrowings, with the remainder linked to investments through his firm, LMDV Capital, Bloomberg reported.