Now the world’s fourth-largest line, MSC benefits from Gianluigi’s technical shipbuilding knowledge—he is a former sea captain from Sorrento, Italy—as well as Rafaela’s design intuition. Daughter Alexa is chief financial officer of the MSC Group, which includes all the family’s holdings, while her husband, Pierfrancesco Vago, runs the cruise line as executive chairman. Gianluigi’s net worth is valued at $8.1 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.
The family has been busy. After launching a dozen mega-ships in the last 15 years, the company is in the midst of a second-wave, multibillion-dollar expansion. By 2026 it will have tripled its passenger capacity to more than 5 million guests (growing to 25 mega-ships) and risen from being Europe’s leading line to the industry’s third-largest player (outranking Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd.).
Nobody thinks of cruising as a family business more than Micky Arison does, though. His late father, Ted, founded Carnival Cruise Line in 1972. To this day, Micky has a significant stake in the publicly traded company, which has grown to be the industry’s largest player, with 10 brands and more than 100 ships around the world.
“I would say that we have been living my dad’s dream for many years now,” he tells Bloomberg. “I have loved cruising for as long as I can remember—I have a special passion for shipbuilding, of course, but I enjoy every part of this industry.”
Even though Arison stepped down from his 34-year-long tenure as chief executive officer in 2013, he remains involved as Carnival Corp.’s chairman. He still attends inaugurals and other shipboard events, and while he defers to his staff for the vast majority of decisions, he still voices suggestions about such things as detailed as onboard amenities.
For all the newcomers, Arison remains the guy to emulate. No matter how humble he is about his industry contributions, he’s the one that made cruising a popular vacation option for travelers at all ends of the budget spectrum—and he’ll always be the original cruise billionaire.
This article was provided by Bloomberg News.