Business Career
Agnelli was born in Lausanne, Switzerland, the youngest of seven children. His father Edoardo Agnelli died in an air crash when he was aged just one, and his mother perished in a car accident when he was 11. He was chairman of Juventus 1956–61, honorary chairman 1970–2004; chairman, Fiat France 1965–80; chief executive officer, Fiat SpA 1970–76, vice-president 1976–93, chairman, Fiat Auto 1980–90; member, International Advisory Board 1993–2004, chairman 2003–04. Though he was a senior executive in the family company, Fiat, he was sidelined from taking a leadership role by his brother Gianni until the latter's death in 2003. He then took over the Fiat Group, which also controlled several Italian newspapers and publishers, and the Juventus football club, of which he had served as chairman. Umberto Agnelli was in the process of restoring Fiat's balance sheet after the company's balance sheet, market share, and share value were all in decline, when he suddenly died of lung cancer after barely 18 months in control. Despite this, Forbes magazine estimated he was the world's 68th richest man with an approximate net worth of US$5.5 billion.
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