Bob Guccione
Penthouse founder
Died when: 79 years 307 days (958 months)Star Sign: Sagittarius
Robert Charles Joseph Edward Sabatini Guccione (/ɡuːˈtʃoʊni/ goo-CHI-oh-nee;December 17, 1930 – October 20, 2010) was an American photographer and publisher.
He founded the adult magazine Penthouse in 1965.This was aimed at competing with Hugh Hefner's Playboy, but with more explicit erotic content, a special style of soft-focus photography, and in-depth reporting of government corruption scandals and the art world.
By 1982 Guccione was listed in the Forbes 400 wealth list, and owned one of the biggest mansions in Manhattan.However, he made some extravagant investments that failed, and the growth of free online pornography in the 1990s greatly diminished his market.
In 2003, Guccione's publishers filed for bankruptcy and he resigned as chairman.