What happened with Chiara Ferragni? Net worth explored as influencer is fined $1.2 million over Christmas cake scandal

Italian influencer and lifestyle blogger Chiara Ferragni was fined $1.18 million (1.075 million Euros) after her misleading claims related to a Christmas cake she sold. On Friday, December 15, 2023, the Italian Competition Authority (AGCM) penalized the influencer for false marketing and "unfair and misleading commercial practices."

The hefty fine comes after a June investigation by the AGCM into the Ferragni-branded Balocco dessert, called the Pandoro Pink Christmas, which she sold last year. Pandoro is a traditional Italian sweet bread made during Christmas. Ferragni's sweetbread was labeled as being designed by her and sold for over 9 Euros, a price more than twice that sold by the Balocco company.

Following the probe, AGCM found that buyers were tricked into thinking their money would be donated to a pediatric hospital, Regina Margherita. They believed the facility would use it to buy medical equipment needed for the treatment of children with osteosarcoma and Ewing's Sarcoma.

However, Balocco had made a one-time 50,000 Euro donation to the hospital before the promotions for Pandoro Pink Christmas even began, as per Sky News. Therefore, sales of the treat did not influence the donations. Additionally, Chiara Ferragni made no donations to the said facility but two of her companies received a million Euro payment each from Balocco for branding and promotional activities.

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Chiara Ferragni apologizes to her followers, promises to donate 1 million Euros to the Regina Margherita

Ferragni rose to prominence modeling for Guess. She started her fashion blog under the name, The Blond Salad in 2009. Over the next couple of years, the 36-year-olds received several accolades for the blog, including being profiled by Teen Vogue for Blogger of the Moment.

She currently boasts around 30 million followers on Instagram. The influencer has collaborated with several big names in the fashion industry, including Steve Madden, Louis Vuitton, Christian Dior, Chanel, Max Mara, and Tommy Hilfiger. She was a guest judge on Project Runway and was also named among the 30 Under 30 by Forbes in 2015.

While she has several business ventures, her Chiara Ferragni Collection is highly successful, with it being featured as a case study at the Harvard Business School in 2015. She boasts a net worth of over $10 million.

As the controversy brewed, Chiara Ferragni took to Instagram admitting to her misstep and apologizing to her followers. In tears, she stated she made a mistake in good faith and confused a commercial activity with a charitable one. She added she would appeal to the AGCM's decision, calling it a (Translated from Google) "disproportionate and unjust" fine.

The mother-of-two influencer stated she will donate $1 million to the Regina Margherita Hospital. Highlighting that she has learned from her mistake, she remarked she would separate charity from any commercial venture in the future.

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Following the controversy, the Italian Prime Minister, Giorgia Meloni criticized her without outright naming her, saying:

"The real models to follow are not the influencers who make a lot of money by wearing clothes and showing bags... or even promoting expensive cakes that make people believe they are charitable."

In addition to Chiara Ferragni, AGCM also fined Balocco (420,000 Euros). However, Balocco has contested the penalty and stated it would take further action.

Chiara Ferragni had not released any other statement after her apology video on Instagram at the time of writing this article.