Giovanni Maria Versace was born on 2 December 1946, in Reggio Calabria, Italy. He was an Italian fashion designer responsible for creating the powerhouse international fashion label Versace, through which he is credited for revolutionizing the fashion world and making fashion what it has become, popularizing new clothing materials and expanding his label. During his short 50 year life, he was able to amass a sizable net worth.
How rich was Gianni Versace? According to sources his net worth was estimated at $1.4 billion. Hundreds of millions worth of wealth was accumulated through his fashion empire. He also owned a number of homes, including a mansion in Miami Beach, a villa in Italy, and a 15th century palazzo in Milan.
Gianni Versace Net Worth $1.4 Billion
Gianni interest in fashion design began at an early age, watching, helping and admiring the work of his mother in her clothing store. Aside from clothes, he had an interest in art and music, and would study architecture while he helped his mother in the fashion business. In around 1972, Versace started to make a name for himself, creating his own collections that were easily helping him increase his net worth and become famous. Around this decade, people were starting to recognize Italy’s talent for fashion design, and started to demand more sophisticated and personal touches for the clothes they wore. Versace had started designing for numerous labels like De Parsini of Santa Margherita and Callaghan. Eventually he created his own line named Complice, creating a full leather collection. He was one of the first designers to use leather.
Around 1976, Gianni’s brother Santo returned to Milan and used his business administration training to help Gianni create the Versace label and company. By the next year they were joined by their sister Donatella Versace and her husband Paul Beck. Santo became CEO while both Donatella and Paul became part of the design teams. They opened their first shop in Via Spiga, Milan and then went on to release a signature collection by 1978; also releasing a menswear collection in the same year. Versace wanted to remain independent and retain control of every aspect from design to retail, and eventually they became established and business skyrocketed along with Gianni’s net worth.
Gianni acquired numerous awards for his work in fashion design. Around the 1980s he gained awards like the “L’Oochio d’Oro” for best fashion designer. He also started to work on innovations like using metal mesh and laser technology to bond leather and rubber. He also collaborated with a number of operas and ballet productions due to his fascination in costume design. By the late 1980s, museums were already starting to display a retrospective of his work. Meantime, Versace was making friends in all parts of the industry, and expanding to include models, singers, actors and other celebrities. Versace knew the importance of celebrities as trend setters, and was one of the first people to make use of models with such high salaries that they were termed supermodels.
Versace’s life would end violently in 1997, when he was gunned down in front of his Miami home by Andrew Cunanan, who was on a killing spree then and had found his way to the US. People never discovered the reason for the murder as Andrew was found dead eight days later with a bullet in the head, having committed suicide in a boathouse. Versace’s funeral was attended by many celebrities and fashion icons including Elton John, Princess Diana, Naomi Campbell, and even fashion rival Giorgio Armani. His partner at the time Antonio D’Amico was also present. Before his death, Gianni was battling inner ear cancer and had also put most of the company under the control of his siblings. His fortune is left to his family and his work remains commemorated in museums as well as under his own label.
