Ferrari Heir Races Onto World's Richest List With 400% Stock Boom

Piero Ferrari put in place a succession plan last year to sustain the wealth his family has accumulated over the past seven decades building supercars emblazoned with the logo of a prancing black horse.

And now, as he prepares to pass on his billions, his fortune is picking up speed.

Piero, 77, recently joined the ranks of the world's 500 richest people for the first time as Ferrari NV benefits from wealthy buyers less affected by rising inflation and interest-rate hikes.

Shares of the Maranello, Italy-based automaker are trading near record highs after full-year results beat expectations and the company raised its 2023 outlook on strong demand for high-margin models like its new 390,000 Euros Purosangue crossover.

The manufacturer is also making a push into more sustainable vehicles and plans to unveil its first fully electric Ferrari in 2025, Chief Executive Officer Benedetto Vigna said in an interview this month.

Piero Ferrari now has a net worth of $5.6 billion through a roughly 10% stake in the supercar maker, making him the world's 467th-richest person, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.

A Ferrari representative declined to comment.

Ferrari first emerged as a billionaire in 2015 following the New York initial public offering of the business his father Enzo founded more than six decades earlier. The company's shares have since surged more than 400% and also boosted the fortune of the billionaire Agnelli dynasty, Ferrari's largest shareholder with a 24% stake through holding company Exor NV.

Piero inherited his Ferrari stake from his father, who died in 1988 at age 90. Enzo worked as a race driver for Alfa Romeo before founding his automaker soon after the end of World War II.

Piero, Ferrari's vice chairman since 1988, also owns a stake in Italian luxury yacht builder Ferretti Group and is chairman of engineering services firm HPE COXA. He's previously said he has no plans to sell his Ferrari holding - his biggest asset - and in December set up a family trust to manage it for his descendants, though he retains voting control over the shares during his lifetime.

"My father really loved knowing what the fans were thinking," Piero said about Enzo in a video released last month. "He was a person who listened to people."