Gianluigi Aponte, founder of the world’s largest container shipping company MSC, has passed the baton on to his children Diego and Alexa. Both are already working for the company themselves.
Aponte, a native of Sorrento near Naples, founded the Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC) in 1970 and built up the company over the last half century. Today, MSC is the largest liner shipping company in the world and is also active on the cruise market. Now his children are to become the new owners of the shipping company. Son Diego Aponte (*1972) is Group President of MSC, daughter Alexa Aponte Vago (*1975) is Chief Financial Officer.
The now 85-year-old Gianluigi Aponte said that the handover was not only “a reflection of their commitment and success”, but also the continuation of the family’s centuries-old maritime heritage. It is expected to take place in the fourth quarter of 2025.
MSC was initially primarily active in tramp shipping in the Mediterranean; in the first decade, Aponte – a trained seaman and captain of a cruise ship – bought several second-hand general cargo ships with which he set up the first liner services. In the years that followed, the shipping company’s focus shifted increasingly to container ships, with the first newbuildings of its own from 1996. In the meantime, MSC has risen to become the largest liner shipping company in the world and has left its direct competitors – Maersk and CMA CGM – in its wake. The fleet comprises almost 1,000 ships and has a capacity of more than 7 million TEU.
Aponte has a personal fortune of more than 20 billion dollars, making him one of the richest people in the world – according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, he is ranked 79th.
