Celebrity Estate Planning - Estate of Giorgio Armani - Episode 222
- Jenny Rozelle, Host of Legal Tea
- Nov 11
- 7 min read
Hey there, Legal Tea Listeners! This is your host, Jenny Rozelle. We are here for episode 222 –and we are circling back to an “estate planning of the rich and famous” episode where we chat about celebrities and their estate planning (or lack thereof!). Today’s episode is on the fashion designer, fashion icon, Giorgio Armani, and what has happened with his estate following his death in September 2025, which as of recording this podcast was just last month. As I shared at the end of the last episode where I do a sneak peak for the following week, I had someone request I do an episode on his estate, but transparently, I had no idea he so recently passed away. Anyway, so this is pretty soon to be doing an episode because it’s possible not enough time has passed for a lot to happen, but we will see where things stand now and maybe where things are heading as far as his estate. So, let’s dive in…
As we normally do on these celebrity estate plan episodes, I like to give a quick crash course in their biography because oftentimes it is helpful as we really get into the estate stuff. So let me tell you about Giorgio Armani, who's really one of the most fascinating figures in fashion history. According to Britannica, Armani was born in July 1934 in Italy, and honestly his path to becoming a fashion icon was anything but straightforward. He was the son of a shipping manager actually intended to become a doctor but left medical school to pursue a career in fashion. Can you imagine? He went from studying medicine to completely revolutionizing how the world dresses. Wild! Growing up with his older brother Sergio and younger sister Rosanna, the family experienced the hardships of World War II firsthand, with some of Armani's friends killed during bombings, according to Biography.com. He once said, "We were poor and life was tough," which ended up really shaping his no-nonsense approach to both life and design.
According to Britannica, his career actually started in 1957 when he worked as a buyer for a department store in Milan, Italy, and after a seven-year stint in that position, he began to pursue fashion design. The real turning point came when he met Sergio Galeotti, an architect who became both his romantic partner and business collaborator. On July 24, 1975, Armani and Galeotti founded Giorgio Armani in Milan, reportedly using money from the sale of Armani's Volkswagen Beetle for $700, according to his Wikipedia page. Talk about humble beginnings! In October 1975, he presented his first collection of men's ready-to-wear for Spring and Summer of 1976 under his own name, and the fashion world would never be the same!
Now, when it comes to his personal life, Armani never married or had children. According to sources, his immediate family included his late elder brother Sergio, his younger sister Rosanna, and three younger relatives: nieces Silvana and Roberta, and nephew Andrea. Sergio Galeotti, his romantic partner, also remained his business partner until Sergio’s untimely death in 1985, which was reportedly devastating for Armani – according to TheConversation.com. He credited his sister, Rosanna—once a fashion model and long regarded as a source of his inspiration, according to Wikipedia—with being incredibly influential in his life and work. The man was absolutely devoted to his craft and his family, building one of the most successful independent fashion empires in history while staying true to his minimalist, elegant way.
Armani ended up passing away on September 4, 2025, at the age of 91, at his home in Milan, Italy. According to a statement from the Armani Group, he "passed away peacefully surrounded by loved ones" according to Britannica. His death was attributed to liver failure. The fashion world lost an absolute titan, someone who at the time of his death had a net worth estimated by Forbes at $12.1 billion. His legacy is just massive—and his legacy was not just about his money, like his monetary legacy. He completely changed the way we think about fashion and brought Italian elegance to the global stage.
Let’s now shift to his estate plan – and what we know today…
When Armani passed away, a lot of people wondered: what would happen to his empire? Armani was not just a designer — he was a brand, and one of the last truly independent luxury fashion houses. His name and his company were basically the same thing. So, when his will was made public, it came as a bit of a shock. Instead of leaving the company entirely in the hands of his family, Armani created a very detailed road map for what should happen next. He didn’t leave anything to chance.
One of the most surprising parts was that Armani did not want his family to just sit on the business forever. According to WealthManagement.com, his will actually REQUIRED parts of the company to be sold. It said that within 18 months of his passing, a 15% stake HAS to be sold. Then, over the next few years, bigger chunks — 30% and eventually more than half the company — must also be sold off. And if a buyer does not step up or the timing does not work, Armani then built in a backup plan: take the company public on the stock exchange. In other words, Armani designed a plan that forces action. His heirs do not have the option to sit on the company, disagree about what to do, or let the business drift. He built in a process to make sure the company does not get stuck in limbo.
And clearly he thought a lot about this because Armani did not just say “sell it to whoever.” He actually named three companies he would prefer buy his business: luxury giants LVMH (which is the company that owns mega brands like – Louis Vuitton, Dior, Marc Jacobs, Tiffany & Company, etc.), L’Oréal, and another company that I am absolutely going to butcher the pronunciation … EssilorLuxottica, which is another company that owns mega brands. So think about that — he was not only thinking about money, he was thinking about reputation. He wanted his brand, his life’s work, to end up in the hands of companies he believed would take care of it. To top it off, Armani also made sure his Armani Foundation would hold onto at least 30% of the company. That gives the foundation a permanent say in what happens, almost like a built-in watchdog to make sure the Armani brand does not get watered down or sold off to the wrong kind of owner.
Of course, Armani did look out for the people closest to him, too. Since he never had children, he named his sister, nieces, nephew, and longtime friend, Leo Dell’Orco, as heirs. Leo in particular was not just left an inheritance — Armani actually trusted him with a role in helping oversee the sale process. That says a lot about how much Armani leaned on him. Beyond the financial side, Armani even went so far as to leave instructions about the company’s style. He wanted future collections to stay true to the “elegant and understated” look that defined his career. You do not usually see an estate plan telling designers how to cut a suit, but that was Armani: meticulous, thoughtful, and unwilling to let his vision be lost. That gives me goosebumps as an estate attorney – beautifully crafted.
There is a lot we, even normal people, can learn from Armani’s estate plan. For starters, it shows that you do not always have to leave everything to your heirs “as is.” In Armani’s case, he realized his family might not want to (or be able to) run a massive global fashion house. Rather than leaving them with an overwhelming responsibility, he created a plan to turn the company into cash over time while still protecting its legacy. It is an amazing reminder that sometimes the best gift you can leave is NOT the business itself, but a strategy to handle it responsibly.
It also shows the power of building in guardrails. Armani did not just say, “Sell it someday.” He gave deadlines, percentages, and even named preferred buyers. He gave his heirs clarity. He also thought ahead to “what if” scenarios: what if no buyer comes forward? Then the company goes public. What if someone tries to make drastic changes? Then the foundation can step in and block it. That kind of forward-thinking is something many families miss. Without those details, heirs can fight, businesses can stall, and value can evaporate. Armani’s plan takes away a lot of those uncertainties.
Finally, Armani’s estate plan is a reminder that legacy is not just about money. Sure, he had a lot of it, but he did not only care about who got his wealth — he cared about what would happen to his name, his brand, and the values he built into it. THAT is why he tied his business plan to his foundation and why he added instructions about keeping the brand’s signature style alive. For him, protecting the meaning of “Armani” was just as important as distributing the dollars and cents.
So, with all of this, what is the takeaway for the rest of us? Even if you do not own a billion-dollar fashion empire, you may have something — a family business, farmland, a vacation home, even just certain values you want to incorporate into your estate plan — that you want to protect. Armani’s plan showed that you can be creative with your estate planning. You can build in safeguards. You can make sure your heirs do not just inherit “stuff,” but a clear plan for how to handle it. And most importantly, you can use your plan to carry forward your vision of what really matters to you. And Armani did just that. We will have to see what happens over the next several months to see “how this goes” since he so recently passed away, but I’m crossing my fingers for him and his estate plan. He clearly put in so much time and thought into crafting this plan – Let’s hope no one or nothing screws it up. Which is always possible, even in the most beautifully-crafted estate plans. I hope that is something you have learned through this podcast. It’s definitely something I have touched on before. Sometimes, the most well-crafted estate plans catch on fire – due to, well, humans getting involved.
Alrighty, let’s wrap this one up and shift to a sneak peak at next week. Next week we’re back to a “cautionary tale” episode where we talk about real-life clients, real-life cases that I, or my office, have worked on -or- maybe they are just generally good things to know/be aware of so you don’t slip up and turn into a cautionary tale one day. In next week’s episode, we’re going to talk about blended families and while I know there are plenty of great success stories, this type of family is so ripe to have claws come out really quickly typically at some major event – incapacity, death, etc. I’ll be sharing some stories to describe what I’m talking about and what can be done as a blended family to try and prevent fighting. So yeah … that’s next week for you! Until then, take care and be well!
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