Edoardo Agnelli

This article is about Gianni Agnelli's son. For Gianni Agnelli's father, see Edoardo Agnelli (industrialist).

Edoardo Agnelli (9 June 1954 – 15 November 2000) was the eldest son of Marella Agnelli (born Donna Marella Caracciolo di Castagneto) and Gianni Agnelli, the industrialist patriarch of Fiat. His body was found dead under a bridge outskirts of Turin.[1]

Life

Agnelli was born in New York City to Italian parents (his maternal grandmother was American). After studying at Atlantic College, he read modern literature and oriental philosophy at Princeton University.[2]

After leaving Princeton he travelled in India, pursuing his interest in oriental religion and mysticism,[2] and Iran. According to La Repubblica Agnelli's preoccupations became increasingly erratic, "Mysticism, Franciscanism, Buddhism, lectures against Capital, praise of the poor, criticism of the behaviour of Fiat.[3] He was against materialism which made him move in a different direction, according to The Guardian.[4]

As an adult Agnelli claimed to be the heir apparent to the Fiat empire, but his father, who had already been unhappy with Edoardo's timidity when he was a child, ensured that he would not inherit it.[5] The only official position which the younger Agnelli held in the family businesses was as a director of Juventus football club,[6] in which capacity he was present at the Heysel disaster.[7]

In 1990 Agnelli was charged in Kenya with possession of 7 ounces of heroin, to which he pleaded innocent.[8] The charges were later dropped.[9]

Converting to Islam

Edoardo Agnelli reportedly converted to Islam in an islamic center in New York City where he was named "Hisham Aziz".[10] Then he met Ayatollah Khomeyni in Iran and was reported to have converted to Shia Islam.[11] According to Mohammad Hassan Ghadiri Abyaneh, Agnelli declared faith to Fakhroddein Hejazi and became a Shia Muslim.

Death

In November 2000, 46-year-old Agnelli's body was found, near Turin, on a river bed beneath a motorway viaduct, on which his car was found too.[2] The viaduct is known as the bridge of suicides.[12] The death was suspected by investigators to have been a suicide.[13] According to Marco Bava, a financial analyst and friend of Edoardo Agnelli, Agnelli would never have committed suicide and he would leave a note to justify his action, if he suicided.[14]

A 2001 Iranian documentary film claimed that Agnelli was the victim of a Zionist plot to prevent a Muslim becoming head of Fiat. [15][5] Corriere della Sera wrote that, after Agnelli's death, "fundamentalists in Iran decided to construct the myth", and an Iranian television crew came to Italy to make a documentary the following year. In 2003, the documentary was circulated by FARS, a press agency linked to Iran's revolutionary guard. According to Corriere della Sera, the story is also enshrined at the Museum of Martyrs of Islam at Imam Sadiq University, Iran, which contains a portrait-shrine dedicated to Agnelli.[15]

References

  1. ↑ Whittaker, Malcolm. "Fiat magnate Agnelli's only son found dead at Bridge of Suicides". The Independent. Retrieved 10 December 2015.
  2. 1 2 3 Johnston, Bruce (19 June 2001). "Fiat chief's son dies in viaduct plunge". The Daily Telegraph. London. Retrieved 2008-04-04.
  3. ↑ Aspesi, Natalia (16 November 2000). "Edoardo Agnelli, una vita fragile". La Repubblica. Rome. Retrieved 2014-07-23.
  4. ↑ Philip, Willan (15 November 2000). "Suicide suspected after Fiat heir found dead". Retrieved 11 December 2015.
  5. 1 2 Farnham, Alan (10 September 1990). "THE CHILDREN OF THE RICH & FAMOUS". CNN. Retrieved 2008-04-04.
  6. ↑ "Fiat family's search for an heir.". Sunday Business. 26 November 2000. Retrieved 2008-04-04.
  7. ↑ Darby, Paul; Johnes, Martin; Mello, Gavin (2005). Soccer and Disaster. Routledge. p. 82. ISBN 978-0-7146-5352-5.
  8. ↑ "TYCOON'S SON PLEADS". Post-Gazette. 23 September 1990. Retrieved 2008-04-04.
  9. ↑ "Death of a family firm?". The Sunday Business Post. 3 December 2000. Retrieved 2009-03-01.
  10. ↑ Staf writers (2012). "Who was edoardo and how he converted to Islam". Mashreghnews. Retrieved 11 December 2015.
  11. ↑ "The curse of inheritance: Do wealthy dynasties always make for happy heirs?". Belfast Telegraph. 19 July 2007. Archived from the original on 2007-10-09. Retrieved 2008-04-04.
  12. ↑ August, Melissa; Bower, Amanda; Cooper, Matthew; Frank, Steven; Keliher, MacAbe; Minhua, Ling; Martens, Ellin; Orecklin, Michele; Rawe, Julie; Song, Sora; Tyrangiel, Josh (27 November 2000). "Milestones". Time. Retrieved 2008-04-04.
  13. ↑ "Fiat Magnate's Son Found Dead".
  14. ↑ Staff writer. "Interview with Dr. Marco Bava, a friend of Edoardo Agnelli". Cogitoergo (in Italian). Retrieved 11 December 2015.
  15. 1 2 "Edoardo Agnelli was a Shiite Martyr". Corriere della Sera. 11 November 2005. Retrieved 2009-03-01.
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