Andrea Pignataro
Italian financier; founder and chief executive of the financial software and data company ION Group
| Andrea Pignataro
| |
|---|---|
| Born | 10 6 1970 (age 56 years old (as of 2026)
) Bologna, Italy |
| Occupation | financier, former bond trader |
| Known for | Founder of ION Group |
Andrea Pignataro (born 10 June 1970) is an Italian financier and former bond trader who founded the London-based financial data and technology company ION Group, where he is chief executive.[1] On 20 October 2026 the Forbes Real-Time Billionaires list ranked Andrea Pignataro 50th in the world, with an estimated net worth of US$40.62 billion; Forbes lists the source of wealth as Financial software.[1][2] In the annual World's Billionaires list published in 2026, Forbes had ranked Andrea Pignataro 46th, at US$42.6 billion.[3]
Early life and education
Forbes gives Pignataro's birthplace as Bologna, and the Corriere di Bologna reports that he was born there in 1970 and attended the Liceo Galvani.[1][4] The Corriere della Sera described him in 2023 as a Bologna native holding a British passport.[5]
Business career
According to Forbes, Pignataro founded ION in 1998 while working as a bond trader at Salomon Brothers. Forbes says ION Group had net assets of US$31 billion in 2024 and owns businesses including the financial-markets platform Dealogic and the trading-software group Fidessa. It describes the group as having five main divisions: markets, analytics, core banking, corporates and credit information.[1]
Italian acquisitions and bank stakes
In November 2023 the Corriere della Sera reported that ION had invested €5.7 billion in Italy over the previous three years, more than any other group. It had bought software, data and analytics companies, including Cerved and Cedacri, and announced a deal for Prelios. The paper also reported that Pignataro had paid €50 million for 2% of the bank Monte dei Paschi di Siena (MPS), taken a 9.4% stake in Banca Illimity and acquired 32% of the Cassa di Risparmio di Volterra.[5] The Corriere di Bologna later put his Italian acquisitions over five years at about €6 billion. It described him as a shareholder in MPS and Illimity and as owner of the Cassa di Risparmio di Volterra.[4]
2023 cyber incident
ION said that ION Cleared Derivatives, a division of ION Markets, had a cyber-security incident beginning on 31 January 2023 that affected some of its services. It said the affected servers had been disconnected.[6]
Wealth
Forbes gives the source of his wealth as financial software. It also says he owns luxury villas and hotels on the island of Canouan in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines.[1]
Wealth history
Forbes has included this entry in its annual World's Billionaires list in 3 of the editions from 2001 to 2026 checked for this profile, starting with 2024. The table gives the rank and estimated net worth in each annual list.[3][1]
| Year | World's Billionaires rank | Net worth (US$ bn) |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 65 | 27.5 |
| 2025 | 53 | 34.2 |
| 2026 | 46 | 42.6 |
Philanthropy
No documented philanthropy by Pignataro was found in the sources checked.
Political activity
No party donations, political office or lobbying registrations in his name were found in the sources checked.
Controversies and legal issues
Italian tax-residence dispute
Italian tax authorities disputed whether Pignataro had been resident abroad for tax purposes. Il Resto del Carlino reported that a Guardia di Finanza audit had argued he was tax-resident in Italy from 2013 to 2023. It said the claim, including interest, came to about €1.2 billion.[7][8] His lawyers, Facchini Rossi Michelutti, said that on 29 May 2025 the Bologna office of the Agenzia delle Entrate had formally closed its assessment with a settlement. They said the agreement implied no admission of guilt or evasion and that he had lived in London and then Switzerland for more than 30 years.[8][7] The reported settlement was €280 million, payable over five years.[7][8]
In October 2025 the Corriere di Bologna reported that Bologna prosecutors had asked for the related criminal investigation for an inaccurate tax return to be dropped. Judge Alberto Ziroldi agreed, citing the tax rules' "objective complexity and ambiguity" in the relevant years. The paper described the alleged evasion as relating to the tax years 2016 to 2023, and said Pignataro had undertaken to pay €283 million in 16 quarterly instalments.[4] Earlier reports had given the period as 2013 to 2023 and the amount as €280 million.[8][7]
International and political links
This section uses the same ten headings for every profile in this series. Only specific, sourced actions are included; company-level and foundation-level actions are labelled as such. Where nothing was found, the entry reads "No documented involvement found in sources checked."
Israel (investments, operations, donations, contracts, statements)
No documented involvement found in sources checked.
Zionist or pro-Israel organisations and lobbying groups
No documented involvement found in sources checked.
Jewish communal charities
No documented involvement found in sources checked.
Gulf states
No documented involvement found in sources checked.
China
No documented involvement found in sources checked.
Russia
No documented involvement found in sources checked.
India
No documented involvement found in sources checked.
Palestinian or Arab causes
No documented involvement found in sources checked.
Home government
No documented involvement found in sources checked.
Other international links
For his stakes in Italian banks, see Business career; for his holdings in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, see Wealth.[5][1]
See also
External links
Notes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 Forbes, Forbes profile record for Andrea Pignataro (Forbes data feed behind forbes.com/profile/andrea-pignataro/) Forbes, live record, read 20 October 2026, accessed 20 October 2026.
- ↑ Forbes, Forbes Real-Time Billionaires data feed Forbes, live; downloaded 20 October 2026 11:51 UTC, accessed 20 October 2026.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Forbes, Forbes World's Billionaires list data feed, annual editions 2001–2026 (one file per year at this path with the year substituted; all 26 files downloaded and read) Forbes, annual lists; downloaded 20 October 2026, accessed 20 October 2026.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 Marco Madonia, Andrea Pignataro, archiviata l’inchiesta sull’evasione fiscale del secondo uomo più ricco d’Italia: «Norme troppo complesse, non era consapevole». A rate pagherà 283 milioni di euro Corriere di Bologna, 22 October 2025, accessed 20 October 2026.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 Mario Gerevini, Pignataro, la mappa del potere del finanziere italiano (con residenza svizzera): da Illimity a Mps Corriere della Sera, 7 November 2023, accessed 20 October 2026.
- ↑ ION Group, Cleared Derivatives Cyber Event ION Group (press release), 31 January 2023, accessed 20 October 2026.
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3 Chiara Gabrielli, Pignataro e il maxi accordo: "Gli interessi economici si trovano all’estero, nessuna evasione fiscale" il Resto del Carlino, 9 June 2025, accessed 20 October 2026.
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 8.3 Il Sole 24 Ore, Andrea Pignataro, accordo da 280 milioni con l’Agenzia delle Entrate sul contenzioso fiscale Il Sole 24 Ore, 8 June 2025, accessed 20 October 2026.