$4.5 B
Leandro Rizzuto’s Sicilian father, the youngest of 11 boys, came through Ellis Island to settle in New York City in 1905; his mom emigrated from Sicily the year before. His dad invented the pin-curl clip and the bristle-brush roller, and sold his inventions to local beauty parlors like the one he ran with his wife. In 1959 Rizzuto left St. John’s University to help his family set up a company to sell the hair products, which soon included their game-changing pistol-shaped hair dryer. Later called Conair, the company moved into small appliances; it acquired Cuisinart in 1989. Today Conair’s brands also include electric toothbrush maker Interplak and hair-product lines Scünci, BaByliss and Rusk. Rizzuto and his children own just under 100% of the company. He also owns the Cuisinart Golf Resort & Spa in Anguilla, which features a Greg Norman-designed 18-hole golf course.
American businessman Leandro Rizzuto has an estimated net worth of $4 billion as of April 2016, according to Forbes. Though a dropout from the St. John’s University, Leandro Rizzuto has made his own name in the world of business. From the sale of his Cadillac, he founded Conair with his parents in 1959. It was the first ever company to have manufactured and produced hot-air hair rollers. It was actually invented by his father. In 1965, the company again began manufacturing pistol-shaped blow dryers. In 1972, the company went public but 13 years later, it became a privately held company due to leverage buy-out. Eventually, Conair expanded and it included several appliance brands like Interplak electric toothbrushes, Cuisinart, Waring, Babybliss, Scunci and Rusk. Aside from Conair, Leandro Rizzuto also owns other valuable properties which include the Anguilla-based CuisinArt Resort.
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