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How does one get to be a billionaire? Technology and investments will get you there but, surprisingly, so will chocolate. It turns out that the makers of Nutella have landed a coveted spot on Forbes World’s 500 Richest People list.
Ranking number 22 on the list is Michele Ferrero, the patriarch of the family who runs the Ferrero Group which produces Nutella and other sweets including Ferrero Rocher and Mon Cheri chocolates and Tic Tacs. The company is headquartered in Alba, a quaint town in the Piedmont region of Italy (which is famous for its hazelnuts).
Nutella was created back in the 1940s by Pietro Ferrero, a pastry maker and founder of the Ferrero company. Due to the cocoa shortage during World War II, Ferrero began blending local hazelnuts with chocolate and the rest, as they say, is history.
Ferrero’s net worth is valued at $26.5 billion but he isn’t the only billionaire candy maker that made Forbes top 50. He’s joined by Forrest Mars Jr., Jacqueline Mars and John Mars, siblings who own the Mars company and rank 31st on the Forbes list. They are best known for producing Milky Way, Snickers and M&Ms. Their net worth of $20 billion.
