Michele Ferrero, the richest man in Italy because of his famous Ferrero Rocher chocolates and Nutella spread, died on Saturday at 89 at his home in Monaco.

Actually, the addition of hazelnut to the Nutella recipe was to save on chocolates when Ferrero's father, Pietro, was still an unknown pastry maker. Michele made the first paste of Nutella in Alba in April 1964, reports Tribune.

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Pietro's bakery in Alba is in Piedmont, an Italian region known for its hazelnuts. The initial name of Pietro for the paste he created was supercrema gianduja, which he rebranded to a more international-sounding name, according to Quartz.

When Pietro died of a suspected heart attack while biking in South Africa in 2011, younger brother Giovanni became the company's chief executive, BBC reports.

After 50 years, the annual production of Nutella in 11 factories around the world is 365,000 tons, with Germany, France and Italy as its biggest buyers.

Other than the Ferrero Rocher round chocolate balls, the company makes also Mon Cheri and Kinder chocolates and Tic Tac candies. The company has more than 22,000 employees, with a yearly turnover of eight billion euro.

Forbes estimates the Ferrero family's wealth at $23.4 billion and places them on the 30^th spot as the richest family in the world.

Italian President Sergio Mattarella, in a statement, said, "Ferrero was a leading light in Italian business for many years, always managing to stay on trend thanks to his innovative products and his tenacious and cautious work. Italy remembers him with gratitude."

TagsMichele Ferrero, nutella, Ferrero Rocher, Italy's richest man, chocolates