Ardoino and Devasini: who are the Italian billionaires investing in cryptocurrencies

There are two of Italy's richest entrepreneurs at the helm of Tether, at the head of a company that invests in cryptocurrencies and has the secret dream of changing the world

Among the new Italian billionaires according to Forbes are two investors in cryptocurrencies: Giancarlo Devasini and Paolo Ardoino, respectively chief financial officer and CEO of Tether, a blockchain stablecoin platform that aims to simplify the use of flat currencies digitally.  

The ten Italian billionaires according to Forbes 

The year 2024 was an incredible year, from the point of view of economic development and innovation. Forbes magazine compiled, as it does every year, its list of Italian billionaires, revealing an almost surprising fact. It seems, in fact, thatthe number of Italian billionaires has increased considerably: 265, in fact, are the new faces of the Italian financial elite. An important number, which is part of a larger and more international list, full of interesting names - and above all much younger than in the past. But above all, there are two investors in cryptocurrencies on the list, confirming how it is a growing and increasingly important sector, both economically and socially. 

The list of the top ten richest people in Italy is composed as follows: in first place is Andrea Pignataro, former trader at Salomon Brothers and founder of Ion Group, with assets of 27.5 billion. He is followed by Giancarlo Devasini and Paolo Ardoino of Tether, with assets of 9.2 billion and 3.9 billion respectively. Bringing up the rear is the Beretta family, with assets of 2.4 billion, Marina and Pier Silvio Berlusconi, with assets of 2.1 billion, and Alessandro Rosano of the well-known moccasin company HeyDude. Finally, three more heirs of the Berlusconi family, Barbara, Eleonora and Luigi, round off the top ten with assets of 1.2 billion.

Ardoino and Devasini, visionaries and investors in cryptocurrencies

Amongst the well-known names and more or less illustrious personalities, the most outstanding are the top management of Tether, Giancarlo Devasini and Paolo Ardoino, both because of their young age and their crucial role in the cryptocurrency world. Their success story is exemplary, in some ways aspirational. Above all, it is a story of ordinary people, who start from the bottom and thanks to a revolutionary idea manage to realise a great dream.

 Paolo Ardoino, contemporary hero 

Paolo Ardoino is a young computer science researcher at the University of Genoa trying to make ends meet on a salary of €800 a month. In 2009 came the first call: a job offer in London, to take part in an entrepreneurial project that was both ambitious and risky, as all great adventures can be. Paolo drops everything and moves to London and from that moment on, his life is transformed, gradually but radically. Paolo's dream is to breathe new life into a financial system, such as ours, which is now too antiquated and tied to processes that are decidedly out of date. 

Ardoino: meeting with Devasini and the Italian dream 

Paolo is ambitious but determined and his idea proves to be providential: it is the meeting with Giancarlo Devasini, however, that shakes things up once and for all. When Paolo and Giancarlo's lives meet, the latter is already a successful entrepreneur, who had started his Tether platform with the aim of making his mark in the cryptocurrency world. Paolo thus becomes CEO of Tether and goes from an average salary of €800 to one of the most impressive fortunes in the modern world. 

Paolo Ardoino is not only a successful entrepreneur, but above all a courageous man driven by an invisible but extremely powerful force, a passion that is difficult to describe in words. Paul's vision is noble, more than ambitious: to provide financial access to all, regardless of their economic status, completely revolutionising access to currency as we know it. This is the great power of digital currency, this is the world of cryptocurrencies - which we should all get closer to sooner or later.

Want to stay up-to-date on the crypto world? Add the site to your favourites and check out our guide on cryptocurrencies.