Cucinelli grew up in a rural agricultural community outside of Perugia.[3] His childhood home had no electricity or running water.[4]
Cucinelli dropped out of engineering school at age 24,[5] choosing instead to read philosophical texts on his own.[5]
In June 2021, due to the ownership of 50.05% of the shares of his namesake company, Cucinelli had a personal net worth of approximately $2.2 billion. [7]
Philanthropy
In 2018, Cucinelli raised €100 million for charity by selling 6% of his shares.[8]
His company gives about 20% of the profits to charity, with which he restored many works of art throughout Umbria, and he bought many lands around Solomeo, the town where he lives and where his company is based.[9]
Architecture
Cucinelli believes that architecture "needs to symbolize higher meanings besides serving a material purpose."[10] He collaborated on the re-design and expansion of Solomeo with Italian architect Massimo de Vico.[11] In 2021, Cucinelli announced that he would again be partnering with de Vico to transform one of Solomeo's 18th-century villas into a "Universal Library" that will carry books on philosophy, architecture, literature, poetry and craftsmanship.[12]
