Nutella has a devoted fan base that supports Nutella cafes and even a Nutella-themed hotel in Napa Valley. But no one might love it more than Giovanni Ferrero, the Italian billionaire who built a multibillion-dollar fortune from the chocolatey spread.

Ferrero's father invented Nutella in 1964, and its immense popularity in Italy helped grow the family chocolate shop into a multibillion-dollar business that now also produces Ferrero Rocher, Tic Tac mints, Kinder chocolate, and Butterfinger bars, Forbes reported. Despite the ubiquity of its products, both Ferrero himself and the company have maintained an extremely low profile, to the point where their security measures have been compared to those of NASA.

A representative of the Ferrero Group did not immediately respond to Business Insider's request for comment on Ferrero's net worth, career, or personal life.

Keep reading to see what we know about the secretive billionaire at the helm of one of the world's largest confectionery empires.