Giancarlo Devasini (born 1964) is an Italian businessman and former physician. He is the chief financial officer of Bitfinex and a co-owner of Tether. According to Forbes, he is the richest person in Italy and was ranked the 24th-richest person in the world, with an estimated net worth of $89.3 billion as of July 2026. He has reportedly held an approximately 45% stake in Tether.
Early life and career
Born in Turin, Devasini graduated in medicine from the University of Milan in 1990. He first worked as a cosmetic surgeon but left medicine after two years to enter the IT industry. There he founded several companies distributing computer components, as well as a food delivery company called Delitzia. In 1995 Microsoft accused him of product piracy, and he agreed to pay a fine to avoid prosecution. Several of his companies later went bankrupt.
Bitfinex and Tether
Devasini took part in founding the Bitfinex trading platform in 2012. When Bitfinex faced financial difficulties in 2018, he used Tether's reserves to keep it operating, a conflict of interest for which he paid a fine of US$18.5 million in New York in 2021 to settle a lawsuit. By 2026 Tether was described as highly profitable, paying $10.9 billion in dividends in 2025, with its USDT stablecoin valued at about $184 billion.
Time in Lugano
Between 2017 and 2023 Devasini lived in Lugano in Ticino, where he established contacts with local politicians. Tether later signed a memorandum of understanding with the city of Lugano to promote cryptocurrencies and blockchain technology.