Giovanni "Gianni" Agnelli, (Italian: [ˈdʒanni aɲˈɲɛlli]; 12 March 1921 – 24 January 2003), also known as L'Avvocato ("The Lawyer"), was an influential Italian industrialist and principal shareholder of Fiat. As the head of Fiat, he controlled 4.4% of Italy's GDP, 3.1% of its industrial workforce and 16.5% of its industrial investment in research. He was the richest man in modern Italian history.