Rocco Commisso, an Italian immigrant who used the creation of Mediacom Communications to make him one of the wealthiest residents of New Jersey, died last weekend.
He was 76.
Commisso was the outspoken owner of Italian soccer club Fiorentina and a minority
owner in the relaunched Cosmos, but he is best known on these pages as the state’s
wealthiest resident, according to a list released by Forbes.
Even though his company was based in New York, he lived in Bergen County.
Last summer, Commisso was listed as the second-richest resident at a net worth of
$5.6 billion (good for No. 270 in the country).
Commisso, who frequently was in the top spot, trailed John Overdeck (No. 172) but still
outpaced Peter Kellogg (No. 298).
Both Fiorentina and Mediacom announced Commisso’s death early Saturday without
providing a cause.
“After a prolonged period of medical treatment, our beloved president has left us, and
today we all mourn his passing,” Fiorentina said. “His love for Fiorentina was the
greatest gift he gave himself.”
Commisso was born in Calabria and immigrated to the United States at the age of 12.
After making Mediacom into one of the United States’ biggest cable television
companies, Commisso purchased Fiorentina in 2019 and became known for speaking
out against Italy’s bureaucracy and inability to build new stadiums.
