DOMENICO DOLCE and Stefano Gabbana have been named billionaires for the first time, according to Bloomberg’s Billionaires Index. Their eponymous label is valued at $5.3 billion (£3.3 billion), taking into account the €1.1 billion (£910,000,000), the firm made before tax and interest in 2011.

Dolce, who owns a 41.8 per cent stake in the brand, is thought to have a net worth of $2.2 billion (£1.3 billion), Gabbana controls a 40 per cent stake – accumulating in an estimated wealth of $2.1 billion (£1.3 billion).

The designer duo join fellow Italian Sandro Veronesi, the owner of lingerie group Calzedonia Group, who is worth $1.9 billion (£1. 1 billion);LVMH boss Bernard Arnault, who is valued at $30.1 billion (£18.7 billion); and Zara boss Amancio Ortega, whose estimated $57.4 billion (£35.8 billion) fortune makes him the third richest person in the world – coming second only to Microsoft chairman Bill Gates and Mexican business magnate Carlos Slim Helú.

source vogue.co.uk