Esselunga founder Bernardo Caprotti took back the shares he had given his children and left control to his second wife and daughter

Bernardo Caprotti founded Esselunga in Milan in 1957 with Nelson Rockefeller and built it into a chain of about 140 stores. In 1996 he registered Esselunga shares in the names of Giuseppe and Violetta, his children from his first marriage. About 92% of the holding company was assigned in equal thirds to Giuseppe, Violetta and Marina, his daughter by his second wife, Giuliana Albera. Giuseppe became chief executive. In early 2005 his father removed him. In February 2011 Caprotti took all the shares back without paying the children and offered arbitration instead. An arbitration panel ruled in 2012 that he had full right to do so. The Milan Court of Appeal confirmed it in July 2014. The Court of Cassation rejected the children's appeal in February 2016. Caprotti died on 30 September 2016, aged 90. Two weeks earlier Citigroup had been asked to find a buyer. His will, read on 5 October 2016, left 66.7% to Giuliana and Marina and 16.7% each to Giuseppe and Violetta. Half his personal savings went to his secretary, Germana Chiodi. Marina then moved to buy out her half-siblings. In March 2020 an arbitration panel valued the group at €6.1 billion and set €1.83 billion for their stake^†. Forbes reports the price as nearly €2 billion. In 2026 Giuliana and Marina own Esselunga outright. Forbes lists Marina, executive chair since 2020, at $1.2 billion on 26 October 2026.