Michele Ferrero: What Does It Mean to Be Rich?
A great article written in New Advent by one of our
Advisory Board members, Dawn Carpenter.
We wish for all of our students this kind of success and humility.
For some, the answer to the question “what does it mean to be rich?” is revealed every year in the
Forbes
magazine list of the World’s Billionaires. This list ranks the richest
people on the planet, and in 2014, their collective wealth exceeded
$6.4 trillion USD. Of those on the list in 2014, roughly 66% built
their own fortunes, and 21% added to their existing wealth. The
remaining 13% people on the list inherited their wealth. For the man in
the number 22 spot on the Forbes 2014 Billionaires List, the answer
might have been a bit different. That man is Michele Ferrero, Italy’s
richest man.
On Valentine’s Day 2015, the world said good-bye to the 89 year old
father of Italian chocolate, Michele Ferrero. He leaves behind a family
business that is responsible for bringing the world Nutella, Mon Cheri,
Tic Tacs and Ferrero Rocher, among other iconic confectionery brands.
With an estimated net worth of approximately $26.5 billion USD, we would
arguably call Michele Ferrero rich. He would likely agree. But what
must be said about Michele Ferrero is that his faith teaches that wealth
means so much more.
Faith is the Secret of Ferrero’s Success
Really, it was no secret. Michele Ferrero was a man of faith. His
was a Catholic faith, and it was very much a part of both his personal
and professional life. In 1996, at the 50
th Anniversary of
the founding of Ferrero, Michele Ferrero was quoted as saying: “The
success of Ferrero we owe to Our Lady of Lourdes, without her we can do
little.”
Without knowing this famously private man, we can see his faith
through his actions. Michele was raised in a devout Roman Catholic
family and educated as a young man by the Somaschi Fathers. Shortly
after World War II, the Ferrero family founded their chocolate business
with an eye toward equity and sustainability well before these business
notions were in vogue.
When Michele took over the family business upon the death of his
uncle Giovanni 58 years ago, it is reported that he wrote a letter to
his employees stating “I pledge myself to devote all my activities and
all my effort to this company. And I assure you that I shall only feel
satisfied when I have managed, with concrete results, to guarantee you
and your children a safe and tranquil future.”
Michele was a leader. This commitment lead to free healthcare and
other welfare services—resulting in productive dedicated workers.
Michele’s commitment to his workers is legendary, and he was quoted as
once saying: “My only concern is that the company is increasing solid
and strong to guarantee all workers a secure place.” Today, Ferrero’s
over 34,000 employees produce iconic brands that are sold in over 53
countries around the world.
Our Lady of Lourdes and Chocolate
Ask any chocolate-lover about what happens in the brain when
consuming this sweet treat. A scientist will tell you about the over
300 compounds that are a part of the process of producing the euphoric
feeling. This feeling is often compared to the feeling of being in
love. World-famous chocolate maker Michele Ferrero might also have told
you about the feelings evoked in eating chocolate, and he just might
have also pointed you to Rocher de Massabielle – Ferrero’s pralines that
are rumored to be inspired by the rugged rock grotto at the Shrine of
Our Lady of Lourdes. In doing so, Michele might—in his own way—have
been saying something more.
It was in his Encyclical Letter,
Le pelerinage de Lourdes, that Pope Pius XII in 1957 (the year Michele took over the leadership at Ferrero) providentially warned against materialism:
“But the world, which today affords so many justifiable reasons for
pride and hope, is also undergoing a terrible temptation to materialism
which has been denounced by Our Predecessors and Ourselves on many
occasions. This materialism is not confined to that condemned
philosophy which dictates the policies and economy of a large segment of
mankind. It rages also in a love of money which creates ever greater
havoc as modern enterprises expand, and which, unfortunately, determines
many of the decisions which weigh heavy on the life of the people. It
finds expression in the cult of the body, in excessive desire for
comforts, and in flight from all the austerities of life. It encourages
scorn for human life, even for life which is destroyed before seeing the
light of day.”
It was here at Lourdes that Our Lady shared with St. Bernadette her
title as “the Immaculate Conception.” And it was under her banner that
man is called to fight against inordinate lust for freedom, riches and
pleasures. Pope Pius XII, reminds us that we are all “welcomed and
honored at Lourdes as the suffering members of our Lord. Go to her and
receive peace of heart, strength for your daily duties, [and] joy for
the sacrifice you offer.” No wonder Michele Ferrero made certain that
each of his factories had its own statue of the Virgin and that he and
many of his employees made annual pilgrimages to Lourdes.
Michele Ferrero was rich in many ways.
Wealth and Faith are Connected
One of the most famous discourses on wealth is given to us in Matthew
19:16-21. This is the story where Jesus instructs the young man, who
has inquired about how to obtain eternal life, to keep the
commandments. When the young man presses further by insisting that he
observes the commandments, Jesus explains that if he wishes to be
perfect, he must “go, sell what you have and give to [the] poor, and you
will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.” The Gospel goes
on the say that the young man was saddened by this response because he
had many possessions. Then addressing his disciples, Jesus said: “Amen,
I say to you, it will be hard for one who is rich to enter the kingdom
of heaven. Again I say to you, it is easier for a camel to pass through
the eye of a needle than for one who is rich to enter the kingdom of
God.”
It is clear from the words of Jesus that the issues of faith and
wealth belong together. The notions of faith and wealth are elevated to
theological issues by their very nexus to the plan and promise of
salvation. Justo Gonzalez, in
Faith and Wealth, opines that
not one of the Fathers of the Church as held that the issue of faith and
wealth should be held separate. In his analysis of the issue, Gonzalez
notes the remarkable unanimity among the Fathers as evidence by the
similar themes that they draw from Scripture and the similar emphasis
they find from the classical wisdom of Greece and Rome.
A Spiritual Understanding of Wealth
Wealth is often best understood by defining its opposite: poverty.
Simply stated, poverty is the state in which you have no more than you
need. And if one is poor in the fully Christian sense, you wish for no
more than you need. Using this definition, we understand both the
physical (what one has) and the spiritual (what one desires) dimensions
of the wealth/poverty dichotomy. Through deduction, then you can assert
that wealth is having more than you need and still being unsatisfied.
St. Clement of Alexandria, in
Who is the Rich Man that Shall be Saved,
was one of the earliest Church Fathers to expressly address an
allegorical interpretation of the notions of wealth and poverty.
However, this dual (physical and spiritual) understanding of the
definition of wealth and poverty has long been a part of Tradition.
Walter Shewring in
Rich and Poor in Christian Tradition reminds
us that in the Psalms, “it may be said that the word ‘poor’ is extended
beyond its common significance to mean anyone, of whatever status, who
is in distress of any kind, material or spiritual; that David himself,
for instance, calls himself ‘poor and needy’ in spite of much outward
prosperity.”
In
The Instructor, St. Clement of Alexandria defines “true
wealth” as something that resides in the heart. A rich person, piling
up gold for no purpose save his own pleasure is “like a dirty purse.”
He reminds us that only good people possess good things. These things
are the source of genuine wealth and can never be taken away. He notes
that: “If a man abstains form desiring thing that are beyond his reach
but possesses by asking from God the things he desire in a holy way, is
not that man abundantly wealthy, and indeed possesses of all things,
since he has God as his everlasting treasure?”
From Wealth Comes Responsibility
St. Gregory of Nazianzen explains in
On the Love of the Poor
one of the most direct and hopeful lessons for the wealthy when he says
in that treatise: “Give thanks to God that you are among those who can
do favors and not among those who need to receive them; that you need
not look up to the hands of others but others to yours. Do not be rich
only in your wealth but also in your piety; not only in your gold but
also in your virtue, or better still, only in the latter.”
Origen, in his
Commentary on the Gospel of St. Matthew,
explains various ways that Christians can obtain God’s forgiveness of
transgressions. The third way, or path, calls for the giving of alms as
a method of cleansing one’s soul and the sixth path requires the
abundance of charity—citing the Beatitude: “Blessed are the merciful for
they shall obtain mercy.”
Perhaps nowhere else in Christian theology is mercy more evident than
in the notion of koinonia (communion)—the sharing in the
self-sacrificing, cross-bearing life of Jesus. Ronald Sider in
Rich Christians in the Age of Hunger
argues that “nowhere else is the Christian’s fellowship with Christ
experience more powerfully than in the Eucharist. Sharing the Lord’s
Supper draws the believer into a participation (koinonia) of the
cross.” Gonzalez argues that koinonia is not solely a spiritual
sharing. Arguably, it is precisely the self-sacrificing of the wealthy
that works in conjunction with the cross-bearing of the poor to bring a
fallen humanity closer to oneness in Christ. Here is the nexus between
wealth and salvation.
What Can the Church and Michele Ferrero Teach us About Being Rich?
Christianity requires social solidarity. No matter how challenging,
even the poor must think of their neighbors—and the wealthy carry a
heavier burden. In his H
omily on Lazarus and the Rich Man, St.
John Chrysostom warns that anything less is not real Christianity: “he
who lives for himself only and overlooks all others, is useless. He is
not even a man and he does not belong to the human race.”
Using this standard, Michele Ferrero was a man larger than life. He
was a man who lived his faith and who lived for others. Giving people
the opportunity for work provided for a richness measured in currency,
spirituality and chocolate—arguably a richness that far exceeds what can
be measured on the
Forbes list.
Colonel Trey “Lou” Rawls, a 22 year veteran of the Air
Force, made a trip to Washington from the Army War College in Carlisle, PA to
speak to the MSBA class. Col. Rawls is an engineer, test pilot, combat
veteran and history buff who draws lessons from the civil war and the generals
that prosecuted that war. Col. Rawls offered advice to students based on
his own experiences, his growth as a military leader and his keen observation
and study of leadership. He defined leadership as integrity, service and
trust. He told the students to build their emotional intelligence; how
you interact with others and learning to read other people and react appropriately.
An important part of growing professionally is accepting
feedback, not something we Americans do well, the Colonel noted. He drew
parallels to his military flying career where technical competence is all
important and learning from tough critiques is essential. As other guests
have noted, inflection points in a person’s life and career are important.
How you deal with points of change, whether positive to minus or minus to
positive helps mold your character. 
Drawing from a biblical lesson, Col. Rawls cautioned
students against the “Bathsheba Syndrome”, using a modern day generic
example. If you are a freshman congressman or a newly appointed executive
that has never been particularly witty or good looking, you’re not going to get
that way overnight. So when people around you suddenly act like you’re
good looking and witty, know that you’re not and don’t start thinking and
behaving as if you’re above the rules.
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