Robert F. Agostinelli | |
|---|---|
 Agostinelli in 2011 | |
| Born | (1953-05-21)May 21, 1953 (age 72) Rochester, New York, U.S. |
| Alma mater | St. John Fisher College (BA) Columbia University (MBA) |
| Occupation | Financier |
| Known for |
|
| Spouse | Francesca Lana |
| Website | rhonegroup |
Robert Frank Agostinelli (born May 21, 1953) is an American billionaire[1] financier who is the chairman and co-founder ofprivate equity firmRhône Group.Forbes estimates Agostinelli's net worth to be $1.0 billion,[2] ranking him as the 416th richest American. Agostinelli was ranked #124 amongst the richest people in the United Kingdom by theSunday Times Rich List in 2012[3][4] through to 2018 with a net worth of £689 million.[5][6][7][8] In 2018Financial News ranked Agostinelli as the 18th richest financier in the United Kingdom.[9]
Agostinelli was born to Italian immigrant parents outside ofRochester, New York, and attended theAquinas Institute. He obtained his BA fromSt. John Fisher College in 1976 and then his MBA atColumbia Business School atColumbia University. Agostinelli is acertified public accountant.[10]
Agostinelli began his career in financial services at theinvestment bankJacob Rothschild in Switzerland from 1981 to 1982 and subsequently joinedGoldman Sachs becoming asenior partner where he worked for five years and founded the firm's internationalmergers and acquisitions business in London and then moved toLazard Freres as Senior Managing Director in charge of international banking affairs where he was involved in a number of the largest transactions in European takeover history.[11]
In 1995 Agostinelli andSteven Langman started their own firm, theRhône Group where he has been actively involved in all aspects of the group's strategy and development since its creation, while maintaining and extending the firm's broad base of relationships with private families, key corporate decision makers, institutional investors and senior sovereign government officials. He is actively engaged in the sourcing and monitoring of investments across all industries and leads the firm's investor relations activities. He sits on the supervisory board ofEurazeo.[12][13]
Agostinelli is a director and advisor for several European and American philanthropic and civic institutions. He is a member of theCouncil on Foreign Relations, and a leading supporter ofneoconservative causes.[14] He is a founding member of theFriends of Israel Initiative.[15] He is former vice-chairman of theCouncil for the United States and Italy (CONSIUSA), a member of the Investment Committee of Corporate World Opportunities ofBSI Group. In 2008 Agostinelli, provided substantial funding to the presidential campaigns ofJohn McCain andRudy Giuliani.[16]
Agostinelli is a friend of former French PresidentNicolas Sarkozy[17] and former Spanish Prime MinisterJosé María Aznar.
He is a senior member of theMarine Corps Scholarship Foundation led by the American Patriots Campaign Cabinet,[18] and a senior board director on the American Italian Cancer Foundation.[19] Agostinelli is on the board of trustees of the National Review Institute[20] and theAmerican Veterans Center[21] Agostinelli is known for writing articles in theWall Street Journal andThe Washington Times[22] on various political, economic and social issues. Agostinelli was listed in 1997 as a member of theBilderberg Group.[23][24] He has been quoted "pursue happiness and the American dream and not “fall prey to the tyranny of false deities” such ascritical race theory, the “Marxist Black Lives Matter organization,” feminism and “gender confusion.”[25]
A delegation of theFriends of Israel Initiative, which included Agostinelli, met with PresidentShimon Peres atBeit HaNassi in Jerusalem in July 2011. The delegation included formerSpanish Prime MinisterJosé Aznar, former US Ambassador to the United NationsJohn R. Bolton, andNobel Peace Prize laureate LordDavid Trimble. The president held a working meeting with the group[26] and presented an overview of the situation in Israel and the region at large.[27] Agostinelli stated: "Israel is a fundamentally important part of the Western world. It is a democracy under fire, and we must be resolute in defence of its legitimacy."[28]
Agostinelli is based between New York City andPalm Beach, and he maintains additional homes in London and Paris, all of which have interiors designed byJacques Grange.[29] In 2014 Agostinelli reportedly purchased the first landmarked estate in Palm Beach known as "La Loma" built byGustav Maass andJohn Volk, which was on the market for $14.5 million throughSotheby's International Realty and sold for $12 million. According to theSunday Times Rich List 2015, Agostinelli is 'building a home in Henley-on-Thames.[30][31][32] In 2017The Sunday Times reported that Agostinelli spent £25 million on a home inSouth Kensington, London. He countsNicolas Sarkozy,George W. Bush,[33][34]Jeb Bush andJosé María Aznar[35] as close friends.[5] He is the father of the Swiss-based artistMassimo Agostinelli.[36] He is married to Francesca Lana.[37][38]
