The House of Gucci

On the morning of March 27, 1995, Maurizio Gucci, the last member of the Gucci family to lead the famed Florentine luxury goods firm, was shot dead in the entryway of his Milan office building. The doorman, Giuseppe Onorato, watched as a dark-haired man in a light brown overcoat followed Maurizio up the stairs and fired four shots, the last into his right temple. The gunman then shot Onorato in the arm before fleeing. Prosecutor Carlo Nocerino arrived to find what appeared to be a professional killing, though the surviving eyewitnesses complicated that theory.

The narrative traces the origins of the Gucci dynasty to Maurizio's grandfather, Guccio Gucci. After leaving his family's failing straw hat business in Florence, Guccio worked at London's Savoy Hotel, where he observed wealthy guests and their fine leather luggage. He returned to Florence and in 1921 founded a small leather goods shop. His children joined the business: Aldo developed a flair for salesmanship, Vasco oversaw production, and Grimalda worked behind the counter. The youngest, Rodolfo, initially pursued an acting career before returning to the fold. When international sanctions during the 1930s cut off imported leather, Guccio innovated with local hides, hemp fabric, and bamboo, creating signature elements that defined the brand for decades. Aldo opened a Rome store in 1938, and after World War II, Rodolfo rejoined the business and married actress Alessandra Winklehaussen; their son Maurizio was born in 1948. Aldo opened the first American store in New York in 1953. Guccio died of a heart attack just 15 days later. He excluded his only daughter, Grimalda, from inheriting any stake in the company solely because she was a woman, creating the family's first major rift.

After Guccio's death, Aldo drove relentless expansion across the United States and Europe throughout the 1960s and 1970s. Rodolfo created the iconic Flora scarf, and the Gucci loafer became so ubiquitous it earned the halls of Congress the nickname "Gucci Gulch." Aldo also launched the Gucci Accessories Collection (GAC), a line of cheaper canvas bags with the interlocking GG monogram sold through department stores. Though commercially successful, the GAC cheapened the brand and intensified counterfeiting, planting the seeds of decline.

Maurizio grew up under Rodolfo's doting but authoritarian control; his mother died of cancer in 1954 when he was five. In November 1970, he met Patrizia Reggiani at a Milanese debutante party and fell instantly in love. Patrizia was the adopted daughter of Fernando Reggiani, a wealthy Milan transport businessman, and Silvana Barbieri, a woman of modest origins. Rodolfo fiercely opposed the match. Maurizio defied his father, moved in with the Reggiani family, and married Patrizia on October 28, 1972, without a single Gucci relative present. Aldo eventually brokered a reconciliation, and the couple moved to New York, where their daughters, Alessandra and Allegra, were born in 1976 and 1981.

As the empire grew, internal conflict escalated. Aldo's middle son, Paolo, demanded the right to launch products under his own name, and the family united against him. At an infamous 1982 board meeting in Florence, Paolo tried to tape-record proceedings and was physically restrained by Aldo, Aldo's son Giorgio, and Maurizio. In retaliation, Paolo filed court documents exposing Gucci's offshore tax evasion, triggering an IRS investigation. When Rodolfo died of prostate cancer on May 14, 1983, Maurizio inherited a 50 percent stake. He presented share certificates suggesting Rodolfo had signed over the shares before his death, saving approximately $8.5 million in inheritance taxes; relatives suspected forgery. With the help of Domenico De Sole, an Italian-born, Harvard-educated Washington lawyer whom Rodolfo had hired, Maurizio allied with Paolo's proxy vote to seize control of the board in September 1984, toppling Aldo.

In May 1985, Maurizio left Patrizia and their daughters. Patrizia turned for consolation to Pina Auriemma, a Neapolitan woman she had befriended at a health spa, who became her closest confidante. Facing an arrest warrant in 1987 related to the illegal purchase of the Creole, a storied sailing yacht, Maurizio fled to Switzerland. From exile, he connected with Investcorp, a Bahrain-based investment bank founded by Iraqi-born businessman Nemir Kirdar, which had made its reputation by rehabilitating the American jeweler Tiffany & Company. Over 18 months of secret negotiations, Investcorp bought out each Gucci family member's shares, including those of Aldo's sons Giorgio and Roberto, with Aldo the last to sell in April 1989. Maurizio was reinstated as chairman and later absolved of the forgery charges.

Maurizio moved to reshape Gucci, hiring Dawn Mello, president of the prestigious New York department store Bergdorf Goodman, as creative director. Mello revived heritage designs and recruited Tom Ford, an unknown Texan who had studied architecture at Parsons School of Design before switching to fashion. Ford gradually assumed responsibility for all of Gucci's product lines. In January 1990, Maurizio discontinued the GAC and wholesale business, cutting some $110 million in revenue, while simultaneously launching expensive store renovations. His vision outpaced his finances. A proposed deal with Henry Racamier of Louis Vuitton collapsed, and the 1991 Gulf War devastated luxury sales. By 1993, Maurizio's personal debts had ballooned to roughly $40 million. He secured a last-minute loan from Delfo Zorzi, an Italian fugitive wanted in connection with a 1969 terrorist bombing who was living in Japan and operating a luxury goods network. Investcorp then forced his hand: De Sole switched allegiance to Investcorp, and on September 23, 1993, Maurizio sold his 50 percent stake for $120 million.

Maurizio founded a new company and began living with Paola Franchi, an interior designer. Meanwhile, Patrizia's fury deepened. She repeatedly told acquaintances she wanted Maurizio dead. Maurizio's lawyer, Fabio Franchini, advised him to hire a bodyguard, but he declined. Their divorce became official in November 1994. On the morning of March 27, 1995, Maurizio was killed. That afternoon, Patrizia wrote "PARADEISOS," Greek for "paradise," in her diary.

For nearly two years, the investigation stalled. Then an anonymous tipster revealed that Ivano Savioni, a hotel doorman, had boasted of organizing the murder at Patrizia's behest. Undercover detectives recorded Savioni and Pina Auriemma discussing the plot and their dissatisfaction with Patrizia's payments. On January 31, 1997, police arrested Patrizia and four accomplices: Pina, Savioni, Benedetto Ceraulo (the alleged triggerman), and Orazio Cicala (the alleged getaway driver). At the trial, which opened in May 1998, Pina and Cicala confessed, pointing to Patrizia as the instigator. Patrizia claimed Pina had organized the murder independently. On November 3, 1998, all five defendants were found guilty; Patrizia received 29 years.

After taking full control of Gucci in September 1993, Investcorp executive Bill Flanz closed the Milan headquarters and moved operations back to Florence. De Sole was appointed chief operating officer in late 1994 and allied with Tom Ford to pursue a fashion-forward direction. When Mello resigned in May 1994, Ford became creative director. His March 1995 women's show became a fashion sensation that relaunched the brand. Gucci went public in October 1995, with its stock offering 14 times oversubscribed; Investcorp eventually sold all its holdings for $2.1 billion. Named CEO in July 1995, De Sole built an airtight partnership with Ford, who exerted control over every aspect of Gucci's image. In January 1999, Bernard Arnault, chairman of French luxury conglomerate LVMH (Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton), launched a creeping takeover, accumulating 34.4 percent of Gucci's shares. De Sole fought back with an employee stock ownership plan that diluted Arnault's stake overnight, then found a white knight in François Pinault, one of France's richest men, who invested $3 billion for a 42 percent stake. Gucci subsequently acquired the historic Yves Saint Laurent name, and Ford was appointed its creative director as well. Italy's highest court upheld Patrizia's conviction in 2001. The book concludes by reflecting that the Gucci saga symbolizes the struggles of European family businesses forced to choose between surrendering autonomy and being overrun by global competition, and that Maurizio's vision, though he could not execute it himself, paved the way for De Sole and Ford to restore the house of Gucci.