MSC succession: founder transfers ownership to his children while retaining executive role

Gianluigi Aponte, the Italian billionaire who founded and built Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC) into the world’s largest container line, has transferred ownership of the business to his two children.

Aponte, 85, shifted control of the privately held company to his son Diego and daughter Alexa in the last quarter of 2025, according to a statement released on Monday. They serve respectively as chairman and chief financial officer, while their father will remain executive chairman.

“The change ensures the stability and continued growth of the MSC Group of companies under the stewardship of the next generation,” the statement said. A spokesperson declined to comment beyond the statement.

The announcement offers a rare glimpse into the workings of the Geneva-based company, which has increasingly dominated global shipping in recent years. MSC overtook rival Maersk as the world’s No. 1 container line after the pandemic and has more recently expanded into the tanker market.

The group controls about one-fifth of global shipping capacity and also has a significant presence in the cruise sector. Aponte has a net worth of at least $37 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. Both heirs hold Italian citizenship and were raised in Switzerland, where they live.

Panama Canal

Last year, Gianluigi Aponte emerged as a key intermediary in a port deal with Hong Kong tycoon Li Ka-shing, a transaction whose outcome is now uncertain.

MSC teamed up with BlackRock in a $19 billion acquisition of the two ports on either side of the Panama Canal, a deal driven in part by pressure from Donald Trump for the facilities, previously owned by Hong Kong-based Hutchison Whampoa, to return to what he called “friendly” hands.

Diego Aponte has also moved into Trump’s orbit. He helped broker a meeting of Swiss business leaders at the White House in November, which paved the way for a preliminary agreement to reduce the 39% tariffs imposed on Switzerland during the summer.

In recent weeks, container lines worldwide have been drawn into global disruptions caused by the war involving the United States, Israel and Iran.

The closure of the crucial Strait of Hormuz left ships and valuable cargo stranded in the Persian Gulf, meaning the Aponte family’s move into tankers came shortly before a sharp jump in oil prices and tanker demand.

According to its corporate website, the Aponte family’s maritime roots date back to 1675. Gianluigi Aponte was born near the Bay of Naples, where the family traditionally transported goods and passengers.

He trained as a ship captain and later operated ferries carrying wealthy tourists to island resorts such as Capri and Ischia. It was on one of those voyages that he met his future wife, Rafaela Diamant, the daughter of a Swiss banker.

Aponte founded MSC in 1970 after buying an old German breakbulk cargo ship and, the following year, acquired a second vessel, naming it after his wife.

He soon began purchasing second-hand container ships, some from scrapyards, as he sought to break into a business dominated by Maersk and Hapag-Lloyd.

MSC became known for offering lower prices than its competitors, even if delivery times were sometimes longer.

Cruise line

In the late 1980s, Aponte entered the leisure segment, and MSC Cruises went on to become the world’s third-largest cruise brand. Like other European shipping peers, Aponte invested heavily in ports and logistics.

MSC’s pandemic-era profits fueled a new phase of rapid expansion, and in 2022 the company achieved its founder’s goal of becoming the world’s largest container carrier.

Aponte’s son Diego became chairman of the MSC Group in 2014.

By Hugo Miller and Tara Patel for Bloomberg Línea 

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