(Read Juventus of Turin, §7)
by Emilio Parodi and Giulio Piovaccari
MILAN, May 19 (Reuters) – A court in Turin is expected to rule in the coming weeks on a family dispute over the inheritance of Italian empire Agnelli, founder of the Fiat car group.
The case concerns the estate of Gianni Agnelli, former boss of Fiat and symbol of the economic boom of post-war Italy, who died about twenty years ago.
It pits Giovanni’s daughter Margherita – who inherited 1.2 billion euros – against three of his eight children, the eldest of whom, John Elkann, is the current chairman of Ferrari and car manufacturer Stellantis, which today controls the Fiat brand.
Margherita, a 67-year-old artist and philanthropist, is calling for the cancellation of the “Geneva pacts” she signed after her father’s death, so as not to harm her five other children from a second marriage, according to reports. sources close to the heiress.
These agreements were signed in 2004 after the death of his father the year before and when Fiat was on the verge of bankruptcy.
As part of a first pact, Margherita received goods, works of art and cash. In exchange, she then renounced all influence in the Dicembre company, a key element in the control of Exor, the holding company of the Agnelli family. A provision which thus consolidated the position of John Elkann, successor designated by Gianni Agnelli.
John Elkann, 47, now runs Exor, which has stakes in a number of companies, including the Italian press and Juventus football club Turin.
The second pact settled in advance the terms of the succession of Marella, Margherita’s mother, who died only in 2019 at the age of 91.
If the Turin court rules in her favor, Margherita could claim half of her late mother’s inheritance and a share in the Elkann family business.
The verdict is expected by the summer. (Report Emilio Parodi and Giulio Piovaccari; French version Nathan Vifflin, edited by Jean-Michel Bélot)
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