Young CEO of Nutella Dies

| Tue, 04/19/2011 - 02:58

Pietro Ferrero, the head of the company which owns Nutella and Ferrero Rocher, has tragically passed away while on holiday in South Africa.

The young chocolate mogul collapsed of a suspected heart attack while cycling near Cape Town. Ferrero was only 47-years-old.

Pietro and his brother Giovanni took over the company from their 85-year-old father Michele, who ran the successful chocolate business starting in 1957. Michele Ferrero is assumed to be the richest man in Italy. He inherited company from his parents Piera and Pietro, who created Nutella in their northern Italy bakery.

Italy’s Foreign Minister Franco Frattini expressed sorrow at the country's loss, saying Pietro Ferrero represented the best qualities of Italy's economic history.