Augusto Perfetti

Augusto Perfetti and his brother Giorgio Perfetti own candy and gum giant Perfetti Van Melle, a company with more than $4.8 billion in revenues in 2024.

Their father Ambrogio and uncle Egidio started the company in 1946 as a chewing gum business in a small town near Milan.

In 2022, the company announced it would acquire Mondelez International's developed market gum business, adding brands such as Trident, Dentyne and Bubbalicious.

Augusto Perfetti named his yacht and his private jet after Mentos mints and Airheads taffy, the company's top-selling brands.

Perfetti once sold a 300-foot yacht under construction to fellow billionaire Suleiman Kerimov.