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Manfredi Lefebvre d'Ovidio | |
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Born | 30 April 1953 |
Nationality | Monegasque |
Education | Sapienza University of Rome (dropped out) |
Occupation | Businessman |
Title | Chairman, Silversea Cruises |
Spouse | Divorced |
Children | 1 daughter |
Parent(s) | Antonio Lefebvre d'Ovidio Eugenia Beck |
Manfredi Lefebvre d'Ovidio (born 30 April 1953) is an Italian-born Monegasque billionaire businessman. He is the chairman and former owner of Silversea Cruises, a company founded by his father. In June 2018, he sold two-thirds of the company to Royal Caribbean for US$1 billion, retaining a one-third stake in the company. As of August 2023, his net worth was estimated at US$1.6 billion. [1]
Lefebvre d'Ovidio grew up in Rome, one of four children born into an Italian family. The son of Antonio Lefebvre d'Ovidio, legal professor and Italian jurist, and Eugenia Beck, of a German family, he was involved in a variety of family businesses from an early age and in 2001 became chairman of luxury cruise line, Silversea Cruises. [2]
His father's background in maritime law, among other industrial interests, led to the family's involvement in shipping and ultimately, in the cruise industry.[ citation needed ] In 1988 they purchased control of Sitmar Cruises from the Vlasov family and in 1989, merged it with P&O's Princess Cruises unit.[ citation needed ] Silversea Cruises was founded in 1994 by his father with two ships purpose-built for the line, the Silver Cloud and the Silver Wind.[ citation needed ] Lefebvre d'Ovidio led Silversea through his board position before being named chairman in 2001.[ citation needed ] By that time, it added two more vessels (Silver Whisper and Silver Shadow) making it a four ship fleet.[ citation needed ]
As of 2017 Silversea operates nine vessels on worldwide itineraries that call in all seven continents. It has been recognized as one of the World's best with multiple awards from Condé Nast Traveler and Travel + Leisure magazines as well as other travel publications and organizations. [3]
He was the sole owner of Silversea, [4] until June 2018, when Royal Caribbean agreed to pay about US$1 billion for a two-thirds stake in the company. [5] In August 2018, Bloomberg assessed Lefebvre d'Ovidio as a billionaire. [6]
[7] Manfredi Lefebvre D'Ovidio retained sole control of the Silversea from 2001 until June 2018, when Royal Caribbean bought two-thirds of the company's shares. He later stepped down as chairman when the complete takeover was completed, remaining a 2.5% shareholder in Royal Caribbean [8] [9] [10] [11] In 2021, he has executive buyouts in Arqit Quantum, a NASDAQ-listed quantum cryptography company.[14] In June 2022, the Lefebvre D'Ovidio family's Abercrombie&Kent Travel Group (A&K Travel Group) bought Crystal Cruises and its two ocean vessels, Crystal Serenity and Crystal Symphony . [7] [12] In the same plan, A&K acquired Cox and King, the world's oldest tour operator and Ecoventura, a company operating its own fleet in the Galapagos Islands. In the same years, the financial group controlled by the Lefèbvre family, Heritage Group, acquired various stakes including 75% of Bucksense Inc, New Cleo, Avatera, Quintessential Beverages, TT, V Dyne, Arqit, Habitas. [13]
He resides in Monte Carlo, Monaco, [1] where Silversea is headquartered. [14] He is divorced, with one daughter, Costanza. [1] [15] [16]
Lefebvre d'Ovidio was a key driver of the unification of the European cruise industry [17] as chairman of the European Cruise Council (ECC) since 2010. [18]
He led the merger of that association with the Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA) of which he has served on the board of directors until 2013. [19] He remains on the board of CLIA Global and serves as chairman of CLIA Europe. [20] He is also active in promoting international tourism efforts as the vice chairman of the World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC), in charge for Europe and a member of the World Economic Forum (WEF). [21] Crystal Ships could belong to him. [22]
Carnival Corporation & plc is a British-American cruise operator with a combined fleet of over ninety vessels across nine cruise line brands and one joint venture with China State Shipbuilding Corporation (CSSC). A dual-listed company, Carnival is composed of two companies – Panama-incorporated, US-headquartered Carnival Corporation, and UK-based Carnival plc – which function as one entity. Carnival Corporation is listed on the New York Stock Exchange, whereas Carnival plc is listed on the London Stock Exchange with an ADR listing on the NYSE. Carnival is listed in both the S&P 500 and FTSE 250 indices.
Crystal is a cruise line now headquartered in Hallandale Beach, FL, USA. It was founded in 1988 by Japanese shipping company Nippon Yusen Kaisha, and sold to Hong Kong-headquartered conglomerate Genting Hong Kong in 2015. Following insolvency in 2022, the Crystal Cruises brand and two cruise ships were bought by A&K Travel Group, to recommence operations in 2023. The new company has announced major refurbishments and enhancements for the two ships in a Fincantieri shipyard in Trieste, Italy, including increasing the number of butler suites and reducing guest capacity, and resumed service in July 2023 with shore excursions curated by Abercrombie & Kent.
Royal Caribbean International (RCI), previously known as Royal Caribbean Cruise Line (RCCL), is a cruise line brand founded in 1968 in Norway and organised as a wholly owned subsidiary of Royal Caribbean Group since 1997. Based in Miami, Florida, it is the largest cruise line by revenue and second largest by passengers counts. In 2018, Royal Caribbean International controlled 19.2% of the worldwide cruise market by passengers and 14.0% by revenue. As of January 2022, the line operates 26 ships and has four additional ships on order.
Royal Caribbean Group, formerly known as Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd., is a global cruise holding company incorporated in Liberia and based in Miami, Florida. It is the world's second-largest cruise line operator, after Carnival Corporation & plc. As of 2023, Royal Caribbean Group fully owns three cruise lines: Royal Caribbean International, Celebrity Cruises, and Silversea Cruises. They also hold a 50% stake in TUI Cruises and Hapag-Lloyd Cruises.
A cruise line is a company that operates cruise ships that operate on ocean or rivers and which markets cruises to the public. Cruise lines are distinct from passenger lines which are primarily concerned with transportation of passengers. Though cruise packages provided by cruise lines vary, there are some features most have in common, such as accommodation, all meals and entertainment. They may include alcohol and shore excursions, sometimes on additional payment.
TUI Group is a German leisure, travel and tourism company; it is the largest such company in the world. TUI is an acronym for Touristik Union International. TUI AG was known as Preussag AG until 1997 when the company changed its activities from mining to tourism. It is headquartered in Hanover, Germany.
Silversea Cruises is a luxury cruise line headquartered in Monaco. Founded in 1994 by the Vlasov Group of Monaco and the Lefebvre family of Rome, it pioneered all-inclusive cruising with its first ship, Silver Cloud. Since July 2020, it has been owned by Royal Caribbean Group.
Celestyal Cruises is a succession to Louis Cruises and Louis Cruise Lines. The Cruise line was a subsidiary of Louis plc until November 2021 when Searchlight Capital Partners took a majority share within the Cruise Line.
Silver Cloud is a small cruise ship operated by Silversea Cruises, the luxury brand of the Royal Caribbean Group conglomerate of cruise lines. She entered service in 1994 as Silversea's first ship. Her sister ship is the Silver Wind, launched in 1995.
Silver Explorer is an expedition ship operated by Silversea Cruises. The ship typically hosts cruises to Norway, the South Pacific, and Antarctica. It is the first ship of Silversea involved in expedition cruising.
Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA) is a cruise line trade association. It merged with International Council of Cruise Lines (ICCL) in 2006, forming an expanded organization incorporating the existing functions of both organizations. The merged organization, which uses the CLIA name, is located in Washington, D.C.
Sitmar Cruises and its predecessor Sitmar Line were company names derived from the acronym for the Società Italiana Trasporti Marittimi. SITMAR originally was an Italian shipping line founded by Russian émigré Alexandre Vlasov, however the company's headquarters were later transferred to Monaco. Vlasov initially operated cargo services from 1937, gradually replacing these with passenger services from 1947 until 1988, when SITMAR was sold to the Peninsular and Oriental Steam Navigation Company (P&O). After the sale, most of the former SITMAR ships were transferred to the fleet of P&O subsidiary Princess Cruises, while one, TSS Fairstar, became the sole vessel of the newly created P&O-Sitmar Cruises. The only ship originally ordered by SITMAR still sailing, is the MS Ambience for Ambassador Cruise Line.
The Francesco Morosini Naval Military School is a military education college based in Venice operated by the Italian Navy and named after the great venetian Doge.
Genting Hong Kong Limited was a holding company that operated cruise and resort businesses. It was headquartered in Ocean Centre (海洋中心), Tsim Sha Tsui, Hong Kong and listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. It was part of the Genting Group, whose chairman Lim Kok Thay was also the chairman and majority shareholder of Genting Hong Kong with 69% ownership of April 2020. It also owned the cruise lines Crystal Cruises, Dream Cruises and Star Cruises, Resorts World Manila, and the MV Werften and Lloyd Werft shipyards.
Eyal Ofer is a Monaco-based billionaire, born in Israel. He is a real estate, energy, technology and shipping magnate, an art collector, and a philanthropist. He is the chairman of Ofer Global, Zodiac Group and Global Holdings.
Silver Muse is a cruise ship owned by Silversea Cruises. It was constructed by Fincantieri in Genoa and joined the company's fleet in April 2017.
Antonio Lefebvre d'Ovidio was an Italian lawyer and businessman, and the founder of Silversea Cruises.
Silver Endeavour is a cruise ship operated by Silversea Cruises. Originally built for Crystal Cruises by MV Werften in Stralsund, Germany, she was laid down in 2018 and completed in June 2021. She is the world's largest ice class expedition yacht, bearing a Polar Class rating of PC6.
Silver Nova is a luxury cruise ship, and the 12th ship in Silversea cruise fleet completed in 2023. It is the first ship in the new Evolution class, and designed with the intent of environmentally friendly cruising. It is the first hybrid luxury cruise ship, powered by a combination of liquefied natural gas (LNG), fuel cell system and batteries, enabling it to be emissions free at port. The ship was built at a Meyer Werft in Germany, featuring a unique asymmetrical design.