Giancarlo Parretti (born 23 October 1941) is an Italian financier, who has bought, sold, and operated numerous businesses.

Early life

Parretti was born in Orvieto, north of Rome, Italy. He worked as a waiter in London before moving to Sicily.

Career

Real estate

In Sicily, Parretti claimed to have used government aid to buy and sell at least four hotels. In 1983, he bought three Italian insurance companies and two years later sold them to a Geneva-based merchant bank, Sasea Holdings.

Parretti once was an owner and chairman of the 300-hotel Melia Hotel chain, and Renta Immobiliaria S.A, a Spanish real estate company. He was once a partner of the Spanish newspaper El Mundo.

Media industry

From 1979 to 1981, Parretti was chairman of Siracusa Calcio, and partners with Gianni De Michelis and Cesare De Michelis in the daily newspaper "Il Diario", that was published between 1979 and 1981.

In 1986, Parretti gained control of Le Matin de Paris, a Socialist newspaper in Paris, which went bankrupt a year later.

Pathé

In 1989, he took over Cannon Film Group Inc.