Ernesto Bertarelli

Ernesto Bertarelli is an Italian-born Swiss billionaire businessman and philanthropist. The 2017 edition of the Sunday Times Rich List estimated the family’s wealth at £11.5 billion and noted an increase of £1.72 billion since the previous year. Swiss’s magazine BILANZ estimated the family fortune at CHF13.5 billion. 

  • Ernesto Bertarelli inherited biotech giant Serono, maker of the multiple sclerosis drug Rebif, following his father’s death in 1998.
  • With his sister Dona, he expanded the company to $2.4 billion in revenues before selling it to Merck for over $13 billion in 2007.
  • Ernesto and Dona co-chair the Bertarelli Foundation, which focuses on marine conservation and life sciences research.
  • The family’s Waypoint Group has investments ranging from commercial real estate in London to drug companies.
  • He also owns the superyacht Vava II.

Ernesto Bertarelli Serono