By Matthew Debord

Copyright jalopnik

Nothing about U.S. tariff policies is making Elkann’s job any easier. In this of course he isn’t alone: GM and Ford have each guided toward billions less in 2025 profits thanks to hits from the import duties. Japanese and German automakers are adjusting to a new normal, after decades of lowered trade barriers. Elkann hasn’t exactly failed to raise his family’s fortunes – they’re all much richer than they were when this crazy international adventure started.

But he’s still stuck with Stellantis, just as he was stuck with FCA and before that, with Fiat. And he’s been at it for 20 years – Elkann is about to enter his fifties, and he’s still tied to Fiat’s long legacy. On the plus side, the unending financial gyrations of the past two decades have greatly reduced Exor’s overall exposure to Stellantis (it amounts to less than 15 percent of holdings). On the negative side, the auto conglomerate is in trouble, and the traditional car business is looking to be a lot less profitable, if it’s ever consistently profitable at all, in the future. But this is the thing about family businesses, and Elkann knows it: they are very hard to manage, and equally difficult to quit.