Ernesto Bertarelli
| Ernesto Bertarelli | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Born |
Ernesto Bertarelli 22 September 1965 Rome, Italy |
| Residence | Gstaad |
| Nationality | Swiss |
| Alma mater |
Babson College Harvard Business School |
| Occupation | Co-chair of the Bertarelli Foundation |
| Known for |
Serono Alinghi America's Cup Bertarelli Foundation |
| Net worth |
 US$8.6 billion (February 2017) |
| Spouse(s) | Kirsty Roper (m. 2000) |
| Children | 3 |
Ernesto Bertarelli (born 22 September 1965) is an Italian-born Swiss businessman and philanthropist.
In November 2012, the family's wealth was estimated at US$14.8 billion by Bloomberg. According to Forbes, Bertarelli has an estimated net worth of $8.3 billion, as of March 2015.
Born in Rome, his family moved to Switzerland in 1977. He graduated from Babson College in 1989, and earned an MBA at Harvard Business School in 1993.
His grandfather founded Serono, a pharmaceutical company that moved from Rome to Switzerland. Bertarelli became CEO in 1996 and, along with his sister Dona, inherited ownership in 1998 on the death of his father. Changing the company's focus from pharmaceuticals to biotechnology, revenues increased from $809 million in 1996 to $2.8 billion in 2006. The company gained fame from its discovery of a natural hormone used in the treatment of female infertility, and its treatments for multiple sclerosis and growth hormone deficiency.
Bertarelli and his family sold the company to Merck KGaA of Germany in January 2007 for US$13.3 billion, forming the new company Merck-Serono. His family split an estimated $9 billion stake at that time, which added to previous share sales when the company floated on the NY stock market in 2001, which is now invested mainly through their Waypoint Capital investment vehicle. Bertarelli currently co-chairs – with his sister Dona – the Bertarelli Foundation which focuses on marine conservation and life sciences research.
Between 2002 and 2009, he served as a board director of UBS AG. Management of the family's wealth is mainly through the Waypoint Capital group, which is a business enterprise for the managers and advisers of the funds and investments associated with the Bertarellis.
The group is active in two areas: Life sciences and asset management, including real estate. Chaired by Ernesto Bertarelli, Waypoint is headquartered in Geneva, with offices in London, Jersey, Boston and Luxembourg. Waypoint's interests include Kedge Capital, an investment management group specializing in hedge funds, private equity and real estate; a new asset management business, Northill Capital; and a UK real estate investment fund, Crosstree.
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