Lots of people love buying clothes and Gucci is one of the most famous fashion houses in the world. It was started in Italy in 1921 by a man named Guccio Gucci. He was a designer who made leather bags and suitcases and he had a small shop in Florence. The shop was the beginning of the Gucci family business and by 1953 Guccio's four sons, Aldo, Ugo, Vasco and Rodolfo, were a working for the company.
when Guccio son died in 1953, his eldest and Aldo became the head of Gucci took the Gucci label to America, while Rodolfo managed the Italian side of the business.
Aldo's son, Paolo, didn't get on with his father or his uncle, Rodolfo, so he made plans to start his own company called Paolo Gucci. When Aldo discovered this, he sacked Paolo and made it impossible for his son to start his own fashion business. Paolo was so angry that he told the Italian police his father wasn't paying enough tax.
Aldo was sent to prison for a year and a day. After Aldo Gucci died in 1990, his nephew, Maurizio, became the head of Gucci. Unfortunately Maurizio wasn't a very good businessman and in 1991 the company lost $60 million.
This was the worst year in Gucci's history. Maurizio was also having problems with his marriage. One day he went on a business trip and decided not to go back to his wife, Patrizia Reggiani. They finally got divorced in 1994 and a year later Patrizia hired a gunman to murder her ex-husband. On 27th March 1995, the gunman shot and killed Maurizio while he was walking to work. Patrizia was sent to prison for 26 years. Gucci products are still sold all over the world, but there are no members of the Gucci family in the successful company we know today.