Gianluigi Aponte and his wife Rafaela are the Italian founders of Mediterranean Shipping Company, the second-largest container shipping line in the world, behind A.P Moller Maersk. Estimated to be worth $10.8 billion by Forbes, the family’s brand has a presence in over 150 countries worldwide and employs over 60,000 people. Founded in 1970 with just one ship by Gianluigi and Rafaela, who met when Gianluigi was still a ferry captain in Naples, MSC quickly began expanding to the 510 they own and operate today. In 1988, they entered the cruise business and, in 2003, invested €5.5 billion to build the world’s most modern cruise fleet, which has also continued to grow.
In 2014, Gianluigi retired as CEO to become Group Chairman, and the couple’s son Diego took over. Their daughter, Alexa, is the company’s Chief Financial Officer, while Rafael is still heavily involved in the design of each one of their luxury cruise liners. According to their website, they have 18 cruise ships that sail to some of the most exotic and beautiful locations in the world.
Aside from the cruise liner and container shipping businesses, MSC also operates one of the biggest port terminal companies in the world, Terminal Investment Limited. This was born out of an opportunity identified by Diego in the early 2000s, and for which he continues to work in the capacity of chairman.
