At 86, the Milanese, who died on June 12, was still at the head of a fortune estimated at 6 billion euros and the majority shareholder of the family holding Fininvest.
From our correspondent in Rome, Quentin Raverdy
© TIZIANA FABI, TIZIANA FABI / AFP
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ATith the death on June 12 of Silvio Berlusconi opens on the other side of the Alps a battle for the political legacy of the boss and founder of Forza Italia, but also for the financial heritage of the one who, at 86, still occupied the 3e place on the podium of Italian fortunes. At the center of all attention: Fininvest, the heart of the machine, launched by the Milanese at the end of the 1970s and which over the decades has become a heavyweight in the media and communication sector, in Italy and elsewhere. of the. Today, the holding at biscione still accounts for nearly 3 billion euros in assets, spread over three companies listed on the Milan Stock Exchange.
Under the Fininvest flag, we find Mediaset, flagship of TV and radio recently renamed MediaForEurope (MEF), Mondadori, a major player in the field of publishing in the Peninsula, and finally shares, up to 30%, in the Mediolanum bank, which specializes in savings management. In addition to this pretty Berlusconian fortune, there are also a number of interests in real estate, including a herd of luxury villas that have made the reputation of the “Cav'”, Milan’s Manzoni Theater and a handful of private jets and helicopters. Without forgetting the keys of AC Monza, a mid-table team in the Italian Serie A. A liner on which Silvio Berlusconi will have kept his hands firmly hung until the end.
READ ALSODeath of Berlusconi: and Silvio became “Sua Emittenza”Despite fragile health, the Cavaliere still owned 61% of the shares of Fininvest, the rest being distributed among his children. Nearly 8% for each of the children from his first marriage: Marina, the “favorite”, president of the group and boss of Mondadori, and Pier Silvio, the “Mister MFE” of the family. And finally 21% for the three offspring of the Silvio Berlusconi-Veronica Lario couple: Barbara who, after having worked for several years in the management of the AC Milan club until its sale in 2017, now sits on the board of directors. of Fininvest alongside his brother Luigi. And Eleonora, the only heiress not to have an active role within the Berlusconian empire.
Complex calculations
With the disappearance of paterfamilias, the Italian media have already brought out the calculators in order to answer a major financial puzzle: how to distribute the loot of the former Prime Minister? Equal shares between each child, making the passage of the Lario branch the future majority shareholders of the holding company? What about Marta Fascina, the last companion of the Cav- 54 years her junior – after their symbolic union in March 2022? Up to a third of the tycoon’s assets could indeed go to the Calabrian deputy, thus reshuffling the cards in the power games within the Milanese company.
READ ALSOSilvio Berlusconi, jester or statesman?
Last April, when Silvio Berlusconi was admitted to intensive care at the San Raffaele hospital in Milan, the markets were not observing a truce. The MediaForEurope share price had jumped, a sign for financial experts that the Cavaliere’s precarious state of health opened up new scenarios for the future of the media group. A partial takeover offer, called “friendly”, carried by the Vivendi group of Vincent Bolloré (second shareholder of MFE), would be in the pipes, even advanced some media already. Not without the approval of the heirs, we warned in the columns of Giornal, the Berlusconian daily recently sold to a member of Salvini’s League. “Without an agreement with the Berlusconi family, none of the group’s assets can become the object of discord or the greed of outside investors,” assured the Italian media. The financial battle of the post-Cavaliere era has only just begun.