1. The son of Edoardo Giovanni Agnelli and Aniceta Frisetti, a landowning family who grew up in families rooted in the business, entrepreneurial, and financial environment of Turin on the eve of its industrialization, he was born in 1866 in Villar Perosa, a small town near Pinerolo, Piedmont, still the main home and burial place of the Giovanni Agnelli family.
Giovanni Agnelli studied at the Collegio San Giuseppe in Turin, and then embarked on a military career.
In 1898, he met Count Emanuele Cacherano di Bricherasio, who was looking for investors for his horseless carriage project; Giovanni Agnelli sensed the opportunity and Fiat was founded in 1899.
Giovanni Agnelli was known from the beginning for the talent and creativity of its engineering staff.
Giovanni Agnelli then went public selling shares via the Milan stock exchange.
Giovanni Agnelli began purchasing all the shares he could to add to his holdings.
Giovanni Agnelli asked Giovanni Giolitti to intervene militarily to clear up Fiat's factories; Giolitti refused.
Giovanni Agnelli offered a new contract to workers with wages linked to productivity in a period of economic stagnation.
Gualino and Giovanni Agnelli were involved in a proposal to link Milan, Genoa, and Turin with a high-speed railway and in various projects in cement and automobiles.
Giovanni Agnelli filled several prestigious positions between the two wars and remained focused and propelled Fiat to the international arena.
An acquaintance of Benito Mussolini since 1914, Giovanni Agnelli was appointed in 1923 by Mussolini as a senator for the National Fascist Party.
Giovanni Agnelli was still active with Fiat at the start of World War II.
Giovanni Agnelli was later acquitted, and he died soon after on 16 December 1945 at age 79.