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Gilberto Benetton poses on Dec. 16, 2009 in Paris.BERTRAND GUAY/AFP/Getty Images

Gilberto Benetton, who drove the expansion of the family clothing business known for its colourful sweaters and provocative advertisements into investments in agriculture, real estate, highways and other non-woolen enterprises, died on Oct. 22 in Treviso, Italy. He was 77.

A spokesman for the family’s holding company, Edizione, confirmed the death without specifying the cause.

Mr. Benetton and his three siblings founded the Benetton Group in 1965, manufacturing and selling colourful sweaters for the Italian market. They opened their first store abroad, in Paris, in 1969.

Benetton expanded rapidly, eventually selling apparel through 5,000 franchised shops worldwide and building United Colors of Benetton brand recognition through unorthodox ad campaigns that used striking images: of a dying AIDS patent, of a priest and a nun kissing, and others.

Edizione is valued at US$13.6-billion.

The early success of the family’s venture was rooted in the different talents of the four Benetton siblings. Giuliana was the designer and wool expert; Carlo was in charge of purchasing and production; Luciano was the salesman, leader and public face; and Gilberto was the financial brain.

“Our fortune was to be four siblings with completely different features but no jealousy,” Gilberto Benetton told the financial daily Il Sole 24 Ore in a 2009 interview. “Being complementary and blindly trusting each other, we were able to express ourselves to the fullest.”

Their non-apparel holdings include the infrastructure group Atlantia, which the family controls. It drew scrutiny this summer when a viaduct it operated collapsed in Genoa, killing 43 people. Gilberto was on the board of Atlantia, Italy’s largest toll road operator. The disaster weighed heavily on Gilberto, who was ill and troubled by the death of his brother Carlo in July, Italian media reported.

Gilberto Benetton was born on June 19, 1941, in Treviso, Italy. His father, Leone, owned a car rental company and died when the children were young. His mother, Rosa, was a homemaker.

Gilberto studied accounting. Giuliana, his older sister, developed a passion for knitwear. The family business started with a yellow sweater she had knitted for Luciano. His friends liked it so much that they ordered some.

As vice chairman of Edizione, Gilberto spearheaded Benetton’s diversification into the food and beverage industry in the 1980s. In 1995, he led the acquisition of Italy’s highway rest stop restaurants, and he later branched out into infrastructure and transportation, buying the concession to operate almost half of Italy’s toll roads.

Also in the 1990s, Gilberto Benetton pushed to invest in major Italian companies, including Telecom Italia and the influential investment bank Mediobanca, as well as a real estate company selling prestige properties globally and a large agriculture concern near Rome.

This year, the infrastructure group acquired its Spanish rival, Abertis, making it the largest toll road operator in the world.

A sports lover, Benetton and the family bought the basketball, volleyball and rugby teams in Treviso, where he continued to live. The family now owns only the rugby team.

Along with his siblings Giuliana and Luciano, Benetton leaves his wife, Lalla; two daughters, and three grandchildren.

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