If the former Prime Minister will have marked the political history of Italy, he is also – and above all – a self-made entrepreneur.
A billionaire not quite like the others. Loved or hated, Silvio Berlusconi, who died on Monday June 12 at the age of 86, left his mark in the history of Italy. If we remember that this assumed amateur of women much younger than him, including call girls, known for a string of scandals in which he was involved, his blunders that have become legendary, his repeated lawsuits and his diplomatic brilliance, “Il Cavaliere” was also a formidable businessman.
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The former head of the Italian government certainly leaves a political legacy, but a colossal financial legacy. He was one of the richest men on the peninsula with a fortune estimated at the beginning of April by the American magazine Forbes at 6.4 billion euros.
An empire
His heritage is a reflection of his life as an entrepreneur: incredible. Born on September 29, 1936, Berlusconi, the son of a Milanese bank employee, began working as an entertainer on cruise ships where he sang and told funny stories. With a law degree, he launched into business, beginning an irresistible ascent that raised questions about the origin of his fortune, about which he had always remained unclear.
But it is above all in the television sector that his creative genius as a great communicator expresses himself, who sprinkles his programs with women in undress. The Berlusconi family’s holding company, Fininvest, created 45 years ago, has three television channels, newspapers and many other holdings. It now weighs around 3 billion euros, with Mediaset, the second television group in Italy after public television Rai, the press group Mondadori and Banca Mediolanum, of which Finivest holds 30%, i.e. a stock market value of almost two billion.
His five children will share the inheritance
Beyond the financial participations Silvio Berlusconi owns private jets, yachts and other luxury villas on the French Riviera, in Rome, Lampedusa and especially in Arcore near Milan and in Sardinia on the very popular Costa Smeralda where his villa Certosa is one of the most expensive in the world with its 126 pieces.
One key question remains: who will inherit this empire? Father of five children from two marriages, Silvio Berlusconi was a grandfather several times. If he alone owned 61% of Fininvest, his first two children from a first marriage 7.65% and the following three a little less. The inheritance should therefore be played out in the family knowing that the eldest, Marina, is already president of the Holding and of Mondadori. Pier Silvio, the second, directs Mediaset. The five children could, however, obtain the same number of shares.