Rafaela Aponte-Diamant’s fortune eclipses them all.
The 79-year-old Italian-Swiss shipping magnate is worth $33 billion, according to Forbes’ estimate, enough to make her the world’s seventh-richest woman and the 48th-richest person in the world.
Aponte-Diamant’s billions come from her 50% stake in the Mediterranean Shipping Company, which she founded alongside her husband Gianluigi Aponte in 1970.
The couple met in 1969 aboard a Naples-Capri ferry of which Aponte was captain, according to Bloomberg. He raised $280,000 to create MSC a year later and named his second ship “the Rafaela” in her honor, according to the outlet.
Gianluigi Aponte (right), with Sophia Loren and Captain Marco Massa at the naming ceremony of the cruise ship MSC Grandiosa in Hamburg in 2019. Christian Charisius/Getty Images
MSC is the world’s largest container shipping line in terms of fleet size and overall capacity, with more than 800 vessels, according to Alphaliner data.
MSC, whose headquarters moved from Naples to Geneva in 1978, also owns the world’s third largest cruise line, MSC Cruises. Aponte-Diamant oversees cruise ship decoration, according to Forbes.
The Apontes have kept a low profile, with their rare public appearances tending to take place when MSC launches new cruise ships. In 2006, they appeared alongside French actor Gérard Depardieu for the inauguration of MSC Musica.
Rafaela Aponte-Diamant is the richest self-made woman in the world, according to Forbes’ latest billionaires list. Frank Perry/AFP/Getty Images
The couple’s children both hold leadership positions within MSC. Their son Diego is the president of the company, while their daughter Alexa is the financial director.
Aponte-Diamant and her husband, 83, finished in 48th place on the Forbes list, bringing the couple to a combined worth of $66 billion. They are both richer as individuals than high-profile names, including Binance founder Changpeng “CZ” Zhao, SoftBank boss Masayoshi Son and Facebook co-founder Eduardo Saverin, according to Forbes estimates.
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