E rnesto Bertarelli is a Swiss billionaire who, along with his sister Dona, inherited and then sold the Swiss pharmaceutical company Serono. The company was a leader in biotechnology, particularly in developing drugs for female infertility, and was built into a global giant by their father. Ernesto served as the CEO of the company and was the architect of its growth and success in the 1990s and 2000s.

In 2007, the Bertarelli family made a life-changing deal, selling Serono to the German drugmaker Merck KGaA for over $13 billion. Since the sale, Bertarelli has focused on managing his family's vast fortune through his investment firm, Waypoint Capital, which has a diversified portfolio of assets in commercial real estate and life sciences. He is also a world-renowned competitive sailor, famous for founding the Alinghi sailing syndicate, which became the first European team to ever win the prestigious America's Cup in 2003. He is also a major philanthropist through the Bertarelli Foundation.