Silvio Berlusconi’s Fortune
Silvio Berlusconi, who passed away at 86 years old on June 12th, was the third richest man in Italy according to the Forbes 2023 billionaires ranking. With a fortune of 6.9 billion dollars, half of which represented by listed shares on the Stock Exchange, to which are added various companies, the Monza soccer team in Serie A and investments in digital companies, a yacht, a fleet of three jets and a helicopter, and much more. Then there are the real estate properties: among the most famous residences Villa San Martino in Arcore, the Roman residence of Palazzo Grazioli, the summer villas in Sardinia and Lampedusa. Not to mention the properties abroad.
The Berlusconi Family Dynasty
The real “safe” of the Berlusconi family, however, is Mfe (MediaforEurope), the name of Mediaset after its transfer to Amsterdam, which is worth 1.7 billion euros on the Stock Exchange and is controlled by the Fininvest holding for 48.2% (with the French Vivendi as the second shareholder at 23.35%). With his death, the former prime minister left his heirs a real empire. But the Berlusconi family dynasty is also large: two ex-wives, five children and 16 grandchildren. Marina and Pier Silvio, both born from Berlusconi’s first marriage to Carla Elvira Lucia dall’Oglio, are mainly responsible for the family business. The former prime minister had entrusted Marina with the leadership of Fininvest and Mondadori, while Pier Silvio had been designated as his successor in the Mediaset televisions, now Mfe. A supposed injustice that had made the second wife, Veronica Lario, frown, from whom he had three other children: Barbara, Eleonora and Luigi. Berlusconi had already long ago entered his five children into the Fininvest capital, but he had reserved the most important part of the parent company: 61.2%. Marina and her brother Pier Silvio own 7.65% each of Fininvest. Barbara, Eleonora and Luigi, on the other hand, hold a package of 21.42%.
Berlusconi’s Last Wishes
Now that Berlusconi is dead, what will happen? Who will get the “treasure” he had built over the years? How will the shareholdings and dwellings be divided? Several observers argue that, most likely, it will be the children who will receive most of the inheritance. But there are no certainties at the moment. Doubts and questions can only be answered when the former prime minister’s last wishes are made known. And, as Repubblica notes, his will is destined to deeply reshape the control structure of the family group. If he hypothetically decided to distribute his 61.2% equally to his five children, each of them would receive an additional 12.24%. Just do the math to see that the three children of Veronica Lario would have more than 58% of Fininvest, while Marina and Pier Silvio would find themselves with about 19.9% each (the sum does not make 100 because Fininvest holds 2% of its own shares). For now, however, it is only speculation.
