There are people who have the magic ball to gamble on businesses that at first do not seem very profitable. But due to changes in the situation or legislation, from day to night they manage to increase their assets in unthinkable valueseven for themselves.
Something like this happened to Danilo Iervolinonow a mega businessmanwho initially began his career as a promoter of virtual universities in Italy. And thanks to the pandemic, the number of students who enrolled in their academy tripled.
How Danilo Iervolino, the Italian billionaire, made his fortune
Born in 1978 in the city of Palma Campania, located at the foot of Vesuvius and with a population of around 16,000 inhabitants, Iervolino He grew up in a family environment that valued education. His father, Antonio, was a lawyer and ran a network of private schools in the area. Iervolino studied humanities, Latin and ancient Greek at the public school in his hometown, before graduating in economics from the Parthenope University in Naples, an hour’s drive away.
After obtaining his university degree, He got his first job at the nearby University of Salerno, thanks to the recommendation of a professor who was impressed by his thesis on franchising and who knew his father. That’s when he began to develop online master’s programshis first foray into virtual education.
A trip to the United States The early 2000s marked a turning point in his life. There, she observed that the online education It was much more widespread than in Italy. This contrast inspired her: “I love America, how it celebrates ingenuity, creativity and success,” she says. She was inspired by the University of Phoenix model and its effective online education, something Italy had not yet adopted.
The push toward online education in Italy began to take shape when the government passed a law in 2003 allowing the creation of virtual universities. In 2006, Iervolino put his vision into action by joining with his brothers to found the Pegasus Universitya virtual institution that became one of the pioneers of the sector in the country.
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He went from being a university magnate to having media outlets and an Italian soccer club.
Forbes
However, this venture coincided with a difficult period after the death of his father. Iervolino regrets that his father could not see his dream come true: “Unfortunately, my father did not live to see my university” he declares. Despite this setback, the university began to grow slowly. In the 2006-2007 academic year, Pegasus It had only 65 students, according to data from the Italian Ministry of Education.
Over the years, the number of students gradually increased and by 2010, the institution offered more than 200 courses to more than 1,200 students. The real growth came in 2013, when Pegaso had more than 30,000 students enrolled. Two years later, Iervolino acquired Universitas Mercatorum, an online university launched by the Italian Chambers of Commerce, focused on entrepreneurs and part-time workers interested in education.
This success attracted the attention of investors, and in August 2019, Iervolino sold 50% of Multiversitywhich included Pegasus and Mercatorum, to CVC Capital Partners for $250 million. However, the success was interrupted by the Covid-19 pandemicwhich led to a national lockdown in Italy in March 2020. Despite this, the focus on distance education during the pandemic led to an increase in Multiversity’s enrollment and revenue.
As Italy began to recover in 2021, Multiversity had surpassed 100,000 students and had become one of the largest online universities in Europe, with revenues of $289 million in the year. Feeling that he had achieved his goal of transforming education in Italy, Iervolino sold his entire stake in Multiversity in October 2021.
With more than $1 billion to invest, Iervolino diversified his interests. In December 2021, he acquired the team Italian football Salernitanasaving him from expulsion from Serie A. He also expanded his participation in BFC Mediaa media conglomerate, and acquired L’Espressoa leading Italian research journal, in June 2022.
Danilo Iervolino’s net worth in 2024
According to the specialized site Forbes, Iervolino’s personal wealth is around 1 billion dollars. That is why he is part of the top 3 billion millionaires in the world.
