A symbol of grace and elegance in a nation that prides itself on both, Agnelli died Friday aged 81 after battling for months with prostate cancer.
From his days as a tank commander in World War II to his dominance of the business world, Agnelli led from the front and his death brings to a close one of the most fabled chapters in Italy's post-war history.
Son of a princess and married to another, he took over the Fiat chairmanship in 1966 at the age of 45 and steered the company through years of crisis to build a corporation that at one time had a value equal to a 20th of Italy's entire economy.
The group stretched into most aspects of Italian life, with interests ranging from cars to electricity, from newspapers to telecoms.
In the absence of the Savoys, exiled from Italy for their fascist sympathies at the end of World War II, the Agnellis under Gianni were the closest Italy came to a royal family.
A racing car driver in his youth and a fixture on the Italian Riviera in the '50s and '60s, Agnelli had a sharp mind for business, running the Fiat motor corporation founded by his grandfather in 1899 with astuteness, guiding it through more than one downturn toward soaring profits in the mid-90s.
He was appointed a life senator in 1991 for his part in building the nation's wealth and was often referred to simply as l'avvocato -- the lawyer.
As Fiat enjoyed success on the business front, Agnelli kept a hawkish eye on the company but also indulged his love of sports, financing several leading teams. Juventus soccer club became one of the most successful in Europe, and Ferrari, with hero Michael Schumacher at the wheel, won the Formula One constructor's title four years running.
Giovanni Agnelli (his first name was always shortened to Gianni) was born on March 12, 1921, near Turin, Italy's northern industrial heartland, one of seven children born to Virginia Bourbon del Monte, princess of San Faustino
He served in Mussolini's army during World War II on the Russian and African fronts, before switching sides following the fall of Italian fascism and assisting in the allied liberation.
At the end of the war, in his mid-20s, he joined Fiat as vice chairman.
Often snapped by paparazzi in the company of glamorous women, he eventually married Marella Caracciolo di Castagneto, a beautiful Neapolitan princess.
He became Fiat managing director in 1963 and chairman in 1966, a post he filled for 30 years, steering the company through labor unrest, terrorist attacks, the oil crisis and not one but two turnarounds, transforming it briefly into one of the world's most modern and profitable auto groups. Under Agnelli, Fiat bought high-end Italian carmakers Lancia, Maserati, Alfa Romeo and Ferrari and diversified widely, moving into biotechnology, aerospace, utilities and telecommunications.
He is survived by his wife and a daughter, Margherita.
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