One of the main patriarchs of the famed Medici family that ruled Florence, Italian banker Cosimo de' Medici was one of the richest men of his time. Medici was also a great patron of art and architecture. He also arranged a search for ancient manuscripts and opened a public library.
The son of a banker father, Italian economist Mario Draghi initially served as the president of the European Central Bank and the Bank of Italy governor, and is the current prime minister of Italy. The media named him Super Mario for efficiently handling the Eurozone debt crisis.
Former Italian president and prime minister Carlo Azeglio Ciampi had a major role in introducing Italy to the euro. He had been the governor of the Bank of Italy for 14 years and had held several portfolios, including the ministry of treasury. He was also a World War II veteran.
Licio Gelli was an Italian financier remembered for his involvement in the Banco Ambrosiano scandal. Gelli was one of the men responsible for the collapse of Banco Ambrosiano. Found guilty of fraud, he was sentenced to prison for 18 years and six months. Gelli focused on writing in his later years, earning a nomination for the Nobel Prize in Literature.
Piero Schlesinger was an Italian jurist, lawyer, banker, and academic. From 1971 to 1993, Schlesinger served as the president of Banca Popolare di Milano (BPM). Piero Schlesinger is credited with co-authoring an academic textbook named Manuale di diritto privato which is regarded as one of the most influential among academic textbooks of private law in Italy.