Italy's richest man—Giancarlo Devasini
He is the richest Italian…by far!
Giancarlo Devasini.
His wealth didn’t come by making eyeglasses or Nutella or Ferraris—as have other Italians who previously attained the title of the country’s richest. For Devasini, it was cryptocurrency.
Italy's richest man—Giancarlo Devasini
______
Medicine Man
Giancarlo Devasini, 62, is chairman of Tether, the company behind USDT, the world’s largest so-called stablecoin. Forbes proclaimed him the richest man in Italy and the 22nd richest man in the world. His wealth tripled over the last 24 months from $22 billion in 2025 to $89 billion today. No Italian comes close. Giovanni Ferrero—owner of Nutella—is in second among Italy’s richest at $49 billion, followed by Andrea Pignataro, software maker, at $42 billion.
Born in Turin in 1964, Devasini originally pursued a career as a plastic surgeon. He left the medical field to start a computer business. His fascination with technology led him to Bitcoin and the world of cryptocurrency.
You can transfer Bitcoins for dollars thanks to USDT, created by Devasini
⸻
Crypto King
Bitcoin is a form of digital money introduced in 2009 by the mysterious Satoshi Nakamoto, whose actual identity remains unknown. Unlike the dollar or euro, Bitcoin is not issued by a government or controlled by a central bank. Transactions are recorded and verified collectively by a worldwide computer network using a public digital ledger known as the blockchain. No more than 21 million bitcoins can ever be created.
Bitcoin can be transferred directly from one person to another as payment wherever the recipient agrees to accept it. It has no gold or other precious metal behind it. Its market value ultimately depends on supply and demand—what buyers are willing to pay for it. Consequently, Bitcoin’s price can rise or fall dramatically.
Devasini’s great fortune, however, did not come simply from buying Bitcoin. He helped build a business to solved one of cryptocurrency’s biggest problems.
If Bitcoin can be worth $100,000 one day and considerably less sometime later, how can someone conveniently hold something resembling ordinary dollars while operating within the cryptocurrency world?
Bitcoin ATM in Torino, Italy
______
Enter USDT
Tether was founded by Devasini to create USDT, an acronym meaning United States Dollar Tether. This a cryptocurrency designed to maintain a value of a dollar bill. For this reason, USDT is called a “stablecoin.” Someone who owns Bitcoin, for example, can sell it for USDT rather than immediately move the proceeds through a bank. Later, the USDT can be exchanged for Bitcoin or another cryptocurrency.
USDT has become something akin to the digital dollar of the cryptocurrency economy.
By early 2026, approximately $183 billion worth of USDT-related tokens were in circulation. Tether maintains reserves to back those tokens, with much of the money invested in relatively safe, short-term assets, particularly U.S. Treasury securities.
USDT holders generally do not receive the interest earned on the assets backing their tokens. Tether does. With well over $100 billion invested in interest-producing securities, even a few percentage points of annual return can generate billions of dollars. Tether says it earned approximately $10 billion in profit in 2025, largely from returns on the reserves backing USDT.
Devasini was almost 50 when Bitcoin caught his attention. He didn’t emerge from Silicon Valley as a 22-year-old computer prodigy. He was an Italian physician-turned-entrepreneur who recognized the possibilities of a new financial technology largely unknown to the public.
Devasini now owns an estimated 45 percent of Tether, according to Forbes. Because Tether is privately held, there is no publicly traded share price establishing exactly what his stake is worth. Forbes estimates the company’s value by comparing it with publicly traded financial businesses. On that basis, Devasini’s share accounts for the overwhelming majority of his estimated $89.3 billion fortune.
_____
Editor's Note:
To find out more about Tether, the company founded by Giancarlo Devasini, please log on to: https://tether.to/en/
READ HERE THE NEW EDITION - FIRST 2026 PRIMO
—————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————
Please visit our DVDs Page to shop our latest collection of DVDs on all things Italian: Films from Italy's Golden Age, Documentaries on Italian American life, ancient Rome, and religion.
Please visit our Books' page to review our latest inventory of books on all things Italian: cookbooks, history, art and culture.
Other articles to read...
