Italia Independent shares collapse after founder's escapades

By

Dominique Muret

Published
Nov 29, 2016

Lapo Elkann's troubles  in the United States have caused shares of Italia Independent to decline sharply. The grandson of Fiat automaker founder Gianni Agnelli created the eyewear company in 2007 with Accongiagioco Giovanni and Andrea Tessitore.

According to reports in the U.S. press, the heir to the famous Italian family was arrested in New York and released by police for faking a kidnapping and requesting that his family pay $10,000 in ransom money. The faked kidnapping ploy allegedly occurred after a two-day drug and alcohol binge with a transsexual prostitute.

This news from the U.S. media has sent shares of Italia Independent in a tailspin on the Milan Stock Exchange, plunging more than 8% during trading on Tuesday before reducing its losses, closing at -3.46% at 2.89 euros per share.

After his arrest over the weekend, 39-year-old Lapo Elkann was ordered to appear before a court in New York this January.

In 2005, Lapo Elkann was already in the headlines after he was found unconscious of a drug overdose in the apartment of a transvestite in Turin.