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Del Vecchio faults Milleri as EssilorLuxottica shares climb

Leonardo Maria Del Vecchio criticized EssilorLuxottica chief Francesco Milleri over the company’s direction and falling share price. The company’s shares later rose around 15 per cent after better-than-expected results.

AI-assisted synthesis · Based on 2 outlets' reportingHow it's made

View timeline · 7 entries
2 outletsLatest reporting 3 min read
Coverage: Too few ratedL 0 · C 2 · R 0

What happened

Key facts

  • Leonardo Maria Del Vecchio criticized EssilorLuxottica chief Francesco Milleri and said the company had lost its way (per The Sydney Morning Herald, Hindustan Times).
  • Del Vecchio blamed Milleri for a fall in EssilorLuxottica’s share price and said momentum from his father had run out (per The Sydney Morning Herald, Hindustan Times).
  • Del Vecchio said he had supported Milleri when Milleri was delivering results (per The Sydney Morning Herald, Hindustan Times).
  • EssilorLuxottica shares rose around 15 per cent after better-than-expected results (per The Sydney Morning Herald).
  • Del Vecchio said the company had expanded from an eyewear business with €7 billion in revenue and 85,000 employees to nearly €30 billion in revenue and 220,000 employees, spanning eyewear, vision care, medical technology and hearing solutions (per The Sydney Morning Herald).
  • Del Vecchio’s resignation letter said, “This is not the Luxottica I grew up in.” (per The Sydney Morning Herald, Hindustan Times).
  • On October 22, Del Vecchio accused Il Fatto Quotidiano of running a smear campaign against him and used derogatory language about its journalists (per Hindustan Times, The Sydney Morning Herald).
  • Il Fatto Quotidiano’s seven founding shareholders, including editor-in-chief Marco Travaglio, rejected Del Vecchio’s takeover proposal and said they did not intend to sell (per Hindustan Times).

The brief

Leonardo Maria Del Vecchio criticized EssilorLuxottica chief Francesco Milleri over the company’s direction and blamed him for a decline in the eyewear group’s share price. Del Vecchio said the momentum inherited from his father had run out, while also saying he had been Milleri’s strongest supporter when the executive was delivering results. The dispute came as EssilorLuxottica shares rose around 15 per cent after results exceeded expectations. Del Vecchio’s criticism focused on the company’s direction; the share-price rebound followed the reported results. The coverage does not establish that the rebound resolved his concerns or ended the dispute. Del Vecchio contrasted the group’s earlier scale with its current reach. He said it had grown from an eyewear company generating €7 billion in revenue and employing 85,000 people to a business approaching €30 billion in revenue with 220,000 employees. He described its activities as spanning eyewear, vision care, medical technology and hearing solutions. The report also quoted his resignation letter as saying, “This is not the Luxottica I grew up in.”

The wider account places the criticism against a family dispute over an estate valued at more than €55 billion ($88 billion), involving eight heirs. That context makes the disagreement relevant beyond company performance: Del Vecchio’s comments concern Milleri’s leadership, while the family’s substantial fortune is also contested among heirs. A separate dispute involves Del Vecchio and Il Fatto Quotidiano. On October 22, Del Vecchio accused the newspaper of conducting a smear campaign against him and used derogatory language about its journalists. The newspaper’s seven founding shareholders, including editor-in-chief Marco Travaglio, rejected his takeover proposal and said they had no intention of selling. Del Vecchio had sought permission to conduct due diligence before making a voluntary offer to take Societa Editoriale Il Fatto, the Milan-listed parent company of the newspaper, private. The account identifies this as a proposal, not a completed transaction. It also reports that the parent company’s market value was approximately 5.5 million euros ($6.16 million) at Friday’s close. The two disputes present different forms of opposition to Del Vecchio: his criticism of Milleri concerns EssilorLuxottica’s direction and share performance, while Il Fatto Quotidiano’s founding shareholders rejected his proposal to acquire its parent company. The share rebound is the clearest immediate business development; the shareholders’ refusal leaves the proposed newspaper acquisition opposed by those controlling its founding shares.

Why it matters

  • EssilorLuxottica’s shareholders and employees have concrete stakes in the company’s reported performance: the shares climbed around 15 per cent after better-than-expected results, while Del Vecchio cited 220,000 employees and revenue approaching €30 billion.
  • Eight heirs are contesting a family fortune valued at more than €55 billion ($88 billion), giving the family dispute significant financial stakes.
  • Il Fatto Quotidiano’s seven founding shareholders, including Marco Travaglio, said they would not sell; their position directly blocks agreement on Del Vecchio’s proposed acquisition of the newspaper’s parent.
  • The proposed transaction concerned Societa Editoriale Il Fatto, whose reported market value was approximately 5.5 million euros ($6.16 million) at Friday’s close.

What to watch next

  • Whether Francesco Milleri addresses Del Vecchio’s criticism of EssilorLuxottica’s direction.
  • Whether EssilorLuxottica shares sustain or reverse the reported rise of around 15 per cent after better-than-expected results.
  • Whether Del Vecchio pursues a voluntary offer for Societa Editoriale Il Fatto after the founding shareholders rejected the proposal and said they would not sell.
  • Whether the seven founding shareholders, including Marco Travaglio, change their stated position on selling.

How it's being covered

Coverage analysisShow details
3 source articles · 2 unique outlets
Outlet political mix: Too few rated· 2 Center
Where the outlets are based: Asia 100%
Outlet political mix
Too few rated
Left
Center
Right
0 outlets
2 outlets
0 outlets
The marker shows coverage balance: each unique outlet counts once.
Geography
Where the outlets covering this story are based.
2 unique outletsDominant coverage: Asia
Limited coverage
  • Coverage is currently limited to 2 outlets.
How we measure coverage

How outlets' accounts compare

3 framing differences · 2 uncorroborated claims · 1 information gap
The reports repeat the same account with different emphasis; its central claims are not independently confirmed in the reporting Updat3 read.Compared across 2 reports whose article text Updat3 read.
Framing / emphasis differences
Sources emphasise different angles, actors or consequences of the same reporting.
  • The Sydney Morning Herald centers Del Vecchio’s criticism of Milleri and EssilorLuxottica’s direction, while Hindustan Times focuses on the separate dispute over Del Vecchio’s proposed acquisition of Il Fatto Quotidiano’s parent company.
  • Del Vecchio blamed Milleri for the share-price fall; the reported 15 per cent rebound followed better-than-expected results, without a stated causal link to the criticism.
  • Del Vecchio accused Il Fatto Quotidiano of running a smear campaign against him; the founding shareholders’ rejection of his proposal is reported, but their account does not address that accusation.
Updat3: These are differences of emphasis, not disputes about what is reported. They do not show that the reported claims are true.
One-sided or uncorroborated claims
Claims that come from one party or one source family and are not independently corroborated.
  • Del Vecchio said, “The momentum from my father has run out.”
  • His resignation letter said, “This is not the Luxottica I grew up in.”
Updat3: Not independently corroborated yet — treat as a claim, not an established fact.
Not established by the reporting
Information the available reporting does not contain or confirm. This is a gap, not a disagreement.
  • The coverage does not detail the arguments or legal arrangements among the eight heirs contesting the family fortune.
Updat3: Updat3 cannot conclude anything about this from the current sources.

Timeline

Developments from this story's sources, dated background we compiled and fact-checked, and our earlier coverage. Each row says which.
  1. Luxottica began in 1961, when Del Vecchio founded an eyewear manufacturing business in Agordo, Italy; the merger brought it together with Essilor, a major lens producer, in a single group.
    Background · from our historical context
  2. Essilor was formed through the merger of French lensmakers Essel and Silor.
    Background · compiled and fact-checked by Updat3
  3. The company’s present-day structure followed the October 1, 2018 completion of the merger between Italy’s Luxottica and France’s Essilor.
    Background · from our historical context
  4. Francesco Milleri became chief executive of EssilorLuxottica.
    Background · compiled and fact-checked by Updat3
  5. Francesco Milleri became chairman of EssilorLuxottica.
    Background · compiled and fact-checked by Updat3
  6. After his death on June 27, 2022, Delfin’s ownership passed to his heirs, including Leonardo Maria.
    Background · from our historical context
  7. AllegedOn October 22, Del Vecchio accused Il Fatto Quotidiano of running a smear campaign against him and used derogatory language about its journalists.
    Reported in this story's sourcesSource:Hindustan Times

How we got here

On October 22, 2026, Leonardo Maria Del Vecchio accused the Italian newspaper *Il Fatto Quotidiano* of running a smear campaign against him; the paper’s seven founding shareholders, including editor-in-chief Marco Travaglio, had rejected his takeover proposal and said they would not sell.

The family’s influence over EssilorLuxottica rests on Delfin, the holding company founded by Leonardo Del Vecchio, Luxottica’s founder. After his death on June 27, 2022, Delfin’s ownership passed to his heirs, including Leonardo Maria. Francesco Milleri, who had become EssilorLuxottica chief executive in 2020, became chairman in 2022.

Original sources

3 articles from 2 outlets

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