This is what the grandson tells his grandfather twenty years after his death in an exclusive interview with Walter Veltroni. “He was a great ambassador for our country to the world.” His last words? “I remember her with emotion: you, your brother and sister remain united. It was like this”
Twenty years after the death of the lawyer Agnelli, who died on January 24, 2003, his nephew Lapo Elkann tells the story in a detailed interview with Walter Veltroni for Oggi, tomorrow at the kiosk. – Photo | Video
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GREAT AMBASSADOR – «He is king of Italy? no He was a wonderful ambassador of our country to the world. He defended the tricolor everywhere from all attacks… Gianni Agnelli always protected the national society, not just Fiat. Without him Ferrari would have ended up with Henry Ford and Alfa Romeo, Autobianchi and Lancia would have been foreign owned. My grandfather loved his homeland and defended it in front of everyone. That’s why it still pains me today, twenty years later, to think of his suffering in the last few days. He had inherited the company from his family, he had let it grow and projected it internationally, but at that moment, the last of his life, Fiat’s fate was in jeopardy”.
PRAISE TO JOHANNES – A rescue, according to Lapo, “thanks to my brother John, whose work I would like to commend. He added tenfold value to our group by working with wisdom and balance. With him and thanks to him, the history of Fiat continues.” Young Elkann recalls his last trip with his grandfather: “I was in New York because I was working in Kissinger’s office at the time… When he decided to return to Turin, I told him I wanted to stay with him, that I was going to quit. He replied that I was an idiot, that I had a good job and that I had to stay in America… His last words? I remember her with emotion: “You, your brother and your sister must be united. Avoid conflict, avoid argument. Please unite, please.” And so it was as he wanted. Despite difficulties and differences, we never lost affection and cooperation. We are three different people in character, education and talents, but we are united».
Lapo Elkann has married Joana Lemos! The secret wedding in Portugal on his birthday – see
JOHN’S MEMORY – Then he talks about his late cousin Giovannino, President of Piaggio at the age of 29, who died at the age of 33: «This appointment cost him a lot of pain because he knew that his father Umberto might have deserved this post. But the grandfather chose him. Giovanni had charisma, a unique gift and a capacity for inclusion typical of our family. He was a real Agnelli». And from his uncle Edoardo, who took his own life in 2000: “Edoardo had problems with substances like I had. Today in the Anglo-Saxon world, many successful people make no secret of healing themselves from various forms of addiction: drugs, alcohol, food, gambling. I had an opportunity to fight the demons I had inside me and come out. Edoardo was incapable, 25 years ago the discomfort had no citizenship… I think it’s just my opinion that I should have done more, stayed closer to him first and our whole family ». Finally, Lapo talks about his grandfather’s passions, starting with Ferrari: “His favorite driver was the one who won. I think he loved Michael Schumacher for that. Then he liked Gilles Villeneuve, his way of driving. And Ayrton Senna who, had it not been for his tragic death, would have joined Ferrari the following year.”
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