Giorgio Armani's will orders his heirs to sell 15 percent of his company to a rival group within 18 months

Giorgio Armani died on 4 September 2025, aged 91. He had no children. In 2016 he set up the Armani Foundation as the vehicle for his succession. He rewrote his two wills in spring 2025, partly by hand. They were filed with the Italian tax authority on 11 September 2025. The business will orders the foundation to sell a 15 percent stake no earlier than one year and no later than 18 months after his death, first to LVMH, EssilorLuxottica, L'Oréal or a fashion group of similar standing. Within three to five years the same buyer may raise its stake to 30 percent, then 54.9 percent, or the shares go to a stock market listing. The foundation must never hold less than 30 percent. Voting control is divided: 40 percent to Leo Dell'Orco, his longtime collaborator and head of menswear; 15 percent each to his niece Silvana Armani and his nephew Andrea Camerana; 30 percent to the foundation. His sister Rosanna and niece Roberta received non-voting shares. Dell'Orco also received 40 percent of Armani's 2.5 percent stake in EssilorLuxottica, worth $2.93 billion. In September 2026 bankers valued the group at €5 billion to €7 billion, and people close to the matter said the deadlines were not strictly binding. On 28 September 2026 Armani said talks with the three named buyers would begin within weeks. The 18-month limit falls in March 2027.