Silvio Berlusconi, Italy‘s former prime minister who died last month, has left €100million to his girlfriend and €30million to an associate with mafia ties – in a will described as ‘worthy of a soap opera’.
The billionaire, who was one of Italy’s richest men when he died aged 86, also settled a dispute over which of his five children would take control of his business empire.
The bulk of the tycoon’s portfolio of publishing, banking and TV interests – worth a staggering £5.8billion – has been left to his eldest two children.
Meanwhile, his girlfriend Marta Fascina, who at 33 was 53 years his junior, has been left a huge sum, despite the pair never tying the knot after his children dissuaded him. Berlusconi’s younger brother, Paolo, also inherited €100million.
Disputes over who would inherit what, which are said to have gripped the powerful family after the controversial politician’s death following leukemia treatment on June 12, now appear to have been officially resolved.
In his will, Berlusconi said the bequests for Fascina, his younger brother Paolo, and mafia-linked business associate Marcello Dell’Utri, were in recognition ‘of the love I had for them and the love they had for me.’
Dell’Ultri is the only beneficiary of Berlusconi’s will outside of the tycoon’s family, and said he was moved to tears by his late friend’s decision to bestow such a huge fortune on him.
The businessman and former senator spent more than five years in detention after being found guilty in 2014 of acting as a go-between for the Sicilian Mafia and the Milan business elite, including Berlusconi’s companies, from 1974 to 1992.
Dell’Utri, who comes from Sicily, always denied the charges.
‘I have done nothing but cry since this morning,’ Dell’Utri told the ANSA news agency, saying he did not expect Berlusconi’s bequest and adding it showed ‘the greatness of the man’.
‘He was like a brother to me. We had known each other for more than 60 years. He always helped me. Even at university, he would share his notes,’ the former lawmaker and business executive told ANSA.
Dell’Utri, 81, ran Berlusconi’s advertising agency and helped him found his conservative Forza Italia party, for which he was elected several times in the Italian and European Parliament.
A highly controversial figure at home and around the world, Berlusconi was Italy’s longest-serving Prime Minister and a media mogul tarnished by scandals – including his famous Bunga Bunga sex orgies.
Leftist politician Luigi de Magistris, a former mayor of Naples and an ex-prosecutor, tweeted that the bequests to ‘Mafioso Dell’Utri’ and 33-year-old Fascina were worthy of a ‘soap opera’.
Regarding Berlusconi’s family business, Marina and Pier Silvio Berlusconi will jointly control holding company Fininvest, a financial source said following the reading of his will.Following Berlusconi’s death, his empire has been carved up between his five children from two separate marriages, as well as his partner FascinaPictured: Berlusconi and his 33-year-old partner Marta Fascina, who is a Forza Italia MP. They had a ‘fake’ wedding ceremony last year, and while he was not legally married to Fascina, Berlusconi still on his deathbed he would call her his wife
The two siblings, children of Berlusconi and the media magnate’s first wife Carla Dall’Oglio, will together hold a 53 percent stake in Fininvest. Until now, they held 7.65 per cent.
Marina was widely-tipped to take the reins of the company when news of her father’s death broke, and has led Fininvest’s board since 2005.
Described by people who work with her as a tough and demanding boss, she was catapulted by her father into corporate life in her early 20s and her influence grew when he was forced to take a hands-off role following his entry into politics in 1994.
Fedele Confalonieri, a life-long friend of her father and chairman of MediaForEurope, once likened her tough business drive to a ‘pneumatic drill’.
Her brother Pier, who was put in charge of the family TV network Mediaset, has also been seen by the markets as a safe pair of hands.Marina Berlusconi (left) and Marta Fascina (right) arrive for the state funeral of Italy’s former prime minister and media mogul Silvio Berlusconi, June 14Pier Silvio Berlusconi, seen at his father’s funeral on June 14. He has been seen by the markets as a safe pair of hands
Berlusconi’s other three children, Luigi, Eleonora and Barbara, from his second marriage to Veronica Lario, will together control the remaining 47 percent of Fininvest, a source said.
They previously jointly owned 21.42 per cent, but have not had high-profile executive roles in the management of their father’s businesses, as is the case with the older children.
Berlusconi’s fortune was valued by Forbes at €6.4billion euros (£5.5billion) and he controlled 61.21 per cent of Fininvest.
‘No shareholder will exercise overall individual indirect control of Fininvest SpA, previously exercised by their father himself,’ said Fininvest in a brief statement on Thursday, confirming that the contents of the will had been communicated to the heirs.
The family holding company controls a myriad of companies, including the MediaForEurope (ex-Mediaset) television group, headed by Pier Silvio Berlusconi, Mondadori publishing house, chaired by Marina Berlusconi, and the Mediolanum bank.
Marina Berlusconi, president of Fininvest since 2005, was confirmed in her position at a shareholders’ meeting at the end of June, as was CEO Danilo Pellegrino.
That meeting also approved the payment of 100 million euros in dividends to Fininvest shareholders this year, versus 150 million euros in 2022.
Net profit fell by 44 percent to 200.2 million euros last year – after 2021 earnings were inflated by capital gains from the sale of telecom infrastructure operator Towertel – while sales remained virtually stable at 3.82 billion euros.
Net assets amounted to 4.55 billion euros.
Following the announcement of Silvio Berlusconi’s death, MediaForEurope’s share price soared for several days on the Milan Stock Exchange, with investors betting on a sale of the group or a merger.
Fininvest then cut short the rumours, assuring investors that its activities ‘will continue in a line of absolute continuity in all respects’.
‘In the family, we have never talked about selling Mediaset,’ Pier Silvio Berlusconi said on Tuesday.
