Rafaela Aponte-Diamant, a 79-year-old Swiss-Italian shipping magnate, is estimated to be worth $33 billion according to Forbes. This makes her the seventh-wealthiest woman in the world and jointly the 48th richest person overall. She achieved this wealth through her 50% stake in the Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC), which she co-founded with her husband Gianluigi Aponte in 1970. The couple met in 1969 and established the company a year later after Gianluigi raised $280,000, eventually naming one of their ships after Rafaela.
MSC stands as the largest global container shipping company in terms of fleet size and overall capacity, boasting more than 800 vessels. The company relocated its headquarters from Naples to Geneva in 1978 and also owns the world’s third-largest cruise line, MSC Cruises. Rafaela Aponte-Diamant takes charge of the decorative aspects of the cruise ships as well. The Aponte family tends to keep a low profile, rarely making public appearances unless it is during the launch of new cruise ships, such as the event they attended with French actor Gérard Depardieu in 2006.
Both of the couple’s children, Diego and Alexa, hold high-ranking positions within MSC, with Diego serving as the company’s president and Alexa as the CFO. Rafaela’s husband Gianluigi and herself tied for the 48th spot on Forbes’ list of billionaires, with their combined fortune totaling $66 billion. This places them ahead of prominent figures such as Binance founder Changpeng “CZ” Zhao, SoftBank boss Masayoshi Son, and Facebook cofounder Eduardo Saverin in terms of wealth.
