Manfredi Lefebvre d'Ovidio
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Manfredi Lefebvre d'Ovidio | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | 30 April 1953 |
| Education | Sapienza University of Rome (dropped out) |
| Occupation | Businessman |
| Title | Chairman, Silversea Cruises |
| Spouse | Divorced |
| Children | 1 daughter |
| Parent(s) | Antonio Lefebvre d'Ovidio Eugenia Beck |
Manfredi Lefebvre d'Ovidio de Clunieres di Balsorano (born 30 April 1953) is an Italian–Monegasque billionaire businessman. He is the former Executive Chairman of Silversea Cruises, a company founded by his father. In June 2018, he sold two-thirds of the company to Royal Caribbean for US$1 billion, retaining a one-third stake in the company.
Currently he is the Executive Chairman of Abercrombie & Kent Travel Group, the travel conglomerate that owns Abercrombie & Kent, Crystal Cruises, Ecoventura Galapagos, Cox & Kings.
As of February 2026, Forbes estimated his net worth at $2.3 billion.
Family
Lefebvre d'Ovidio grew up in Rome, one of four children born into an Italian family. The son of Antonio Lefebvre d'Ovidio, legal professor and Italian jurist, and Eugenia Beck, of German origin. Antonio Lefebvre d'Ovidio in Italy is referred to as "the father of the maritime law" and is also a key figure of the Lockhead scandal, the biggest case of corruption in times of the First Republic.[1]
Manfredi Lefebvre was involved in a variety of family businesses from an early age and in 2001 became chairman of luxury cruise line,[2] Silversea Cruises.[3] He had two sisters, Elvira and Maria Desiderata (Maruzza), and an elder brother, Francesco (b. 1951).[4][5][6]
Career
In the 1980s, Antonio Lefebvre d'Ovidio founded a shipping company that helped European migrants to move to Australia.[7] With the time, the company shifted from the passenger sector to the cruise industry, and finally in 1994, Silversea Cruises was launched, with two ships purpose-built for the line: the Silver Cloud and the Silver Wind.[8][9]
In 1988 they purchased control of Sitmar Cruises from the Vlasov family and in 1989, merged it with P&O's Princess Cruises unit.[10]
Manfredi Lefebvre d'Ovidio led Silversea through his board position before being named chairman in 2001.[11][2]
He served as Executive Chairman of the Silversea Cruises from 2001 to 2020.[12]
By that time, it added two more vessels (Silver Whisper and Silver Shadow) making it a four ship fleet. As of 2017 Silversea operated nine vessels on worldwide itineraries that call in all seven continents. It has been recognized as one of the World's best with multiple awards from Condé Nast Traveler and Travel + Leisure magazines as well as other travel publications and organizations.[13] Manfredi Lefebvre d'Ovidio was the sole owner of Silversea,[14] until June 2018, when Royal Caribbean agreed to pay about US$1 billion for a two-thirds stake in the company.[15] In August 2018, Bloomberg assessed Lefebvre d'Ovidio as a billionaire.[16] He later stepped down as chairman when the complete takeover was completed, remaining a 2.5% shareholder in Royal Caribbean.[17]
In 2021, he had executive buyouts in Arqit Quantum, a NASDAQ-listed quantum cryptography company. In June 2022, the Lefebvre D'Ovidio family's Abercrombie&Kent Travel Group (A&K Travel Group) bought Crystal Cruises and its two ocean vessels, Crystal Serenity and Crystal Symphony.[18] In the same plan, A&K acquired Cox and King, the world's oldest tour operator and Ecoventura, a company operating its own fleet in the Galapagos Islands. In the same years, the financial group controlled by the Lefèbvre family, Heritage Group, acquired various stakes including 75% of Bucksense Inc, New Cleo, Avatera, Quintessential Beverages, TT, V Dyne, Arqit, Habitas.[19][20] In June 2022, cruise ships Crystal Serenity and Crystal Symphony were purchased in addition to the Crystal Cruises brand.[2]
In January 2024, he joined the Sovereign Order of Malta when he was appointed as Ambassador at Large of the Order for Culture and Philanthropy.[21]
In May 2025, he was appointed President of Heritage Group.[22] In the same month, Lefebvre was appointed Chair-Elect of the World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC). He succeeded Greg O'Hara and officially took office at a ceremony held in September 2025.[23]
As of February 2026, his net worth was estimated at US$2.3 billion.[8]
Lawsuits
Inheritance disputes
Back in 1998, Antonio Lefebvre decided to split his patrimony to prevent his children from fighting for inheritance. He set up several trusts and transferred there the shares owned by the family, assigning each child a part. However, the step only sparked a legal battle between the brothers Manfredi and Francesco, who later sued the sibling and the rest of the family claiming that the delivery of the shares of the holding company didn’t go through as agreed. The legal battle lasted two decades and ended in favour of Manfredi – in 2023, the Bologna Appeal Court confirmed the first ruling made in 2012.[24][25][26]
In 2015 Elvira Lefebvre d'Ovidio sued both Manfredi and Francesco, as well as several companies, claiming to be the sole heir and accusing them of not having the right to manage her assets, including real estate properties and cruise ships. In 2018, Elvira Lefebvre reached an agreement with Manfredi (receiving 30% of the $1.5 bln from selling the Silversea) and withdrew her lawsuit, but the case against Francesco continued. In 2020, the Civil Court of Rome declared her claims against Francesco unfounded and ordered her to pay €500,000 in legal costs. When she pleaded to be unable to pay, the defendants filed a complaint with the Rome Public Prosecutor's Office. The public prosecutor discovered that Elvira Lefebvre “through multiple enforcement actions of the same criminal design, carried out simulated acts to evade the obligations that were being investigated by the Court of Rome and subsequently confirmed by a ruling”. According to the prosecution, in the two years prior to the civil court ruling Elvira Lefebvre emptied her official assets of €40 million through donations and transfers.[27][28]
Casinò di Saint Vincent
In 2012, manager of Casinò di Saint Vincent Luca Frigerio filed a lawsuit against Manfredi Lefebvre d'Ovidio accusing him of embezzlement, fraud and even criminal association, in relation to a dispute between the Casinò and the company Veio (formerly Grand Hotel Billia), which had sold the Grand Hotel Billia to the Casino in 2006. Lefebvre was acquitted of all serious charges: he was neither an administrator nor a partner of Veio, nor a partner of any affiliated company. In the assessment of three magistrates from the Rome Public Prosecutor's Office, the facts reported by the Casinò did not even present the slightest logical basis for constituting a notitia criminis. Lefebvre's lawyer notified Casinò of his intention to seek compensation for damage to Lefebvre's professional image.[29]
Personal life
Cruise industry advocacy
Lefebvre d'Ovidio was a key driver of the unification of the European cruise industry[34] as chairman of the European Cruise Council (ECC) since 2010.[35]
He led the merger of that association with the Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA) of which he has served on the board of directors until 2013.[36] He remains on the board of CLIA Global and serves as chairman of CLIA Europe.[37] He is also active in promoting international tourism efforts as the vice chairman of the World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC), in charge for Europe and a member of the World Economic Forum (WEF).[38] Crystal Ships could belong to him.[39]