Italian businessman Gianluigi Aponte and his wife, Rafaela, have a net worth of $8.26 billion in May 2019. They met when he was still a ferry ship captain in Naples. Together, they entered the shipping industry with their own cargo shipping venture, Mediterranean Shipping, now called MSC or the Mediterranean Shipping Company. They started with a single ship that would transport cargo between Europe and Africa.

After four decades, MSC has become the second largest container shipping company in the world after Maersk, with 445 vessels. In 2013, the company sold 35% stake for $1.9 billion in the global port operator with 25 world trade ports, Terminal Invest. The money was used to invest in the Global Infrastructure Partners, an investment fund, and other investors.

The growth of their shipping business has resulted to their venture in the cruise industry in 1988. Gianluigi now runs the fourth-largest cruise company, MSC Cruise, while Rafaela is in charge with the interior design of the ships. Both of their children are part of the company’s daily management. His son, Diego, became the CEO and President when Gianluigi resigned in 2014 and took the role of the group executive chairman in MSC.