Bologna/St. Moritz - He operates in silence, but his wealth speaks volumes. Andrea Pignataro has climbed to the top of the „Forbes“ list and knocked Giovanni Ferrero off his throne after more than four years. With 42.8 billion dollars, the founder of the Ion Group is now the wealthiest person in Italy. In contrast to the Ferrero clan, however, Pignataro is hardly known. Only a few photos exist and he rarely gives interviews.
Born in Bologna in 1970, Pignataro completed a doctorate in mathematics at Imperial College in London and worked as a trader at Salomon Brothers. In 1999, he founded Ion, based on the realization that financial trading was becoming increasingly automated. Today, his company supplies software and data to central banks, governments and corporations such as Amazon. The value of its assets is estimated at around 30 billion dollars.
Investments and tax dispute
Although he resides in St. Moritz, Pignataro remains economically connected to his home country. Between 2021 and 2024, he invested 5.7 billion euros in Italy, including through the acquisition of Cerved, Cedacri and Prelios as well as investments in Macron and banking institutions. His goal is ambitious: with his „Italian Bloomberg“, he wants to catch up with US role model Michael Bloomberg by 2030.
The entrepreneur also made headlines in legal matters. The public prosecutor's office in Bologna accused him of tax evasion. In June 2025, Pignataro reached an agreement with the tax authorities to pay 280 million euros. In October 2025, the proceedings were archived and it was confirmed by a court that his business was indeed based abroad.
