The Italian Succession: Spotlight turns on Silvio Berlusconi’s five children from two marriages as they carve up billionaire media tycoon’s empire following his death
- Berlusconi died in hospital on Monday after suffering from Leukaemia
- Now attention turns to how his vast media empire will be divided up
With the death of former Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi on Monday, there is one word that will be on the tip of everyone’s tongues in Italy: Succession.
The scandal-tarnished businessman – who died aged 86 – built Italy’s largest media company from scratch before transforming the country’s political landscape.
Now, five children from two separate marriages are set to carve up his empire.
While it may sound familiar, this is not HBO’s hit series Succession, but rather the reality of what comes next for Fininvest, Berlusconi’s multi-billion euro company.
All five of his children – Marina (56), Pier Silvio (53), Barbara (38), Eleonora (36) and Luigi (34) – hold a stake in the company, which is composed of several other companies and is also the largest shareholder of MFE – Media For Europe.
With the death of former Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi on Monday, there is one word that will be on the tip of everyone’s tongues in Italy: Succession. Following his death, five children from two separate marriages (pictured) are set to carve up his empire
While it may sound familiar, this is not HBO ‘s hit series Succession (pictured), but rather the reality of what comes next for Fininvest, Berlusconi’s multi-billion euro company
In addition to building his vast media empire, Berlusconi was prime minister for three spells, running from 1994 to 1995, 2001 to 2006 and 2008 to 2011.
The larger-than-life character, who once compared himself to Jesus, was Italy’s longest serving post-war premier, but was also plagued by scandal.
For decades, the larger-than-life character dominated the limelight. He was embroiled in several sex scandals – most notably around his ‘Bunga Bunga’ parties – and was also accused of corruption and of having ties to the mafia.
Nevertheless, he wielded huge influence through his television and newspaper interests – he effectively invented commercial TV in Italy – his ownership of AC Milan football club, and his sheer wealth as Italy’s richest person for a decade.
His children have managed to stay relatively under the radar. This has been put down largely to Berlusconi’s control of much of the Italian media landscape. With his death, they will now be forced to step out from his shadow.
Unlike in HBO’s Succession, many consider the answer to who will succeed Berlusconi as being fairly clear-cut: his eldest child Marina.
But it could prove to be more complicated than that, with the 86-year-old tycoon never publicly naming an heir.
Marina Berlusconi, Berlusconi’s eldest daughter, is widely seen as he business successor
Pier Silvio Berlusconi, who was put in charge of the family TV network Mediaset
Barbara (left) and Eleonora – Berlusconi’s third and fourth eldest children. Neither were given high-profile executive roles in the management of their father’s businesses, although Barbara took a senior role in running football club AC Milan, which her father owned
Luigi Berlusconi (pictured in 2018) – Berlusconi’s youngest child – assumed the task of representing his side of the family at Fininvest, where he is a board member, on the back of his focus on finance and wealth management
Berlusconi’s first two children were born from his first marriage to Carla Dall’Oglio. He married Dall’Oglio in 1965, divorcing 20 years later in 1985.
READ MORE: Italy’s scandal-hit former PM Silvio Berlusconi dead at 86: Billionaire tycoon famed for notorious ‘Bunga Bunga’ sex parties dies after leukaemia battle
The eldest, Marina (born August 1966) and Pier Silvio (April 1969) have both been directly involved in running Berlusconi’s companies since soon after their father made his entry into Italian politics in the early 1990s.
He had three more children with the woman who would go on to be his second wife, actress Veronica Lario. They married in 1990 after Berlusconi saw her go topless in a role at a Milan theatre, but she divorced him in 2010 over his taste for teenage girls, which landed him in legal trouble and scandalised many of his supporters.
Barbara (July 1984), Eleonora (May 1986) and Luigi (September 1988), the children Berlusconi had with Lario, have not had high-profile executive roles in the management of their father’s businesses, as is the case with the older children.
Under Italian law, his children have a right to inherit two thirds of his wealth in equal parts, while the deceased is free to dispose of the remaining third how he pleases.
The way Berlusconi decided to divide up his assets among his heirs will only be known once any will is opened.
The one third of assets which can be assigned freely can be used to pick a leader for the Fininvest companies provided other assets are sufficient to compensate the others, said Emanuele Lucchini Guastalla, a law professor in Milan.
Marina Berlusconi
People familiar with the matter told Reuters his eldest child, Marina, who already chairs Fininvest, is the most likely to take the reins of Berlusconi’s empire.
His eldest daughter has led Fininvest’s board since 2005.
In addition to MFE, the family holding company also controls publishing house Mondadori and has a big stake in asset manager Mediolanum.
People familiar with the matter told Reuters his eldest child, Marina (pictured), who already chairs Fininvest, is the most likely to take the reins of Berlusconi’s empire
Former Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi’s daughter, Marina Berlusconi, arrives at ‘San Raffaele’ hospital in Milan, April 6. Berlusconi died at the hospital on Monday
Prior to 2005, Marina served as deputy chairperson at Fininvest for nine years.
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’.
A mother of two, Marina is married to a former La Scala ballet dancer, and was named the world’s 100th most powerful woman by Forbes from 2004 to 2010.
She has seen her leadership at Fininvest grow in importance over the past decade as her father’s health faded.
In a 2018 television interview, Berlusconi said Marina was the child closest to him and that he consulted daily with her before taking any decision, which he also used to do with his mother before she passed away.
‘Silvio put her down to work when she was barely more than a child,’ Vittorio Giovanelli, a former director of Berlusconi’s Rete4 TV channel, wrote in a 2003 book, adding he started bringing Marina to business meetings in 1985.
‘She listened and took notes for hours, she would never stop.’
However, there were signs of tension between Marina and her father in 2022. It is understood she blocked his plans to marry his girlfriend Marta Fascina – an Italian MP – who is 53 years younger, and younger than all five of his children.
Nevertheless, they had a ‘fake’ ceremony last year, and while he was not legally married to Fascina, he still on his deathbed he would call her his wife.
Pier Silvio Berlusconi
Second in line in the Berlusconi family is Pier Silvio, the tycoon’s eldest son.
He was put in charge of the family TV network Mediaset, while being tutored by Fedele Confalonieri – an old school friend of Berlusconi’s.
News of Berlusconi’s death on Monday sent shares of MFE-MediaForEurope broadcaster soaring, fitting a pattern of market reaction to updates on his worsening health in recent months.
Pier Silvio Berlusconi
Rather than a sign of disrespect for the billionaire who made his fortune in commercial television before going into politics, the buoyancy of the shares reflects the options that could open for the company as its founder exits the scene.
MFE, 48% owned by the Berlusconi family’s Fininvest holding, runs commercial TV channels in Italy and Spain, and has built a substantial stake in Germany’s ProSieben.
Led by Pier Silvio, it has pursued European expansion from its Italian roots to try to hold its own against the U.S. streaming giants that take a growing chunk of viewers.
In a fast-changing media landscape, some investors seem to be betting that with the founder out of the picture, his heirs may be more open to seeking a partner for MFE, or selling to a larger rival.
B-shares in MFE rose as much as 10.3% on Monday and were up by 6.4% at 9.49 a.m. (0749 GMT) giving it a market capitalisation of 1.7 billion euros.
The market clearly considers Pier Silvio a capable pair of hands.
Barbara, Eleonora and Luigi
A young Silvio Berlusconi in the garden of his villa near Milan, with his daughters Barbara (left) and Eleonora whom he had from his second wife Veronica Lario in 1994
Barbara Berlusconi, the daughter of Italy’s former prime minister Silvio Berlusconi, leaves San Raffaele hospital on Monday after the news broke that he had died
Eleonora Berlusconi, daughter of Berlusconi, leaves the San Raffaele Hospital on June 12
Berlusconi’s three children from his second wife are not as involved in their father’s business as those from his first.
Barbara took a senior role in running AC Milan football club until it was sold off in 2017, and she is even reported to have dated one of its Brazilian stars – Alexandre Rodrigues da Silva, commonly known as Pato – before they later split.
She is now understood to be raising five children she herself had with two partners.
Less is known about Barbara’s younger sister Eleonora, who prefers to go by Eleonora Bartolini instead of using her father’s surname.
According to The Times, she moved to London and bought a Victorian house in Ladbroke Grove with her British partner, model Guy Binns.
Luigi – Berlusconi’s youngest child – assumed the task of representing his side of the family at Fininvest, where he is a board member, on the back of his focus on finance and wealth management.
He stayed in Milan and is an investor in start-up businesses.
Pictured: Luigi Berlusconi arrives at San Raffaele Hospital in April
Marina Berlusconi (right) and her mother Carla Elvira Lucia Dall’Oglio (left) are seen together in this file photo from 2009. Dall’Oglio divorced from Berlusconi in 1985
Berlusconi had three more children with the woman who would go on to be his second wife, actress Veronica Lario. They married in 1990 after Berlusconi saw her go topless in a role at a Milan theatre, but she divorced him in 2010 over his taste for teenage girls
Berlusconi’s eldest children Marina and Pier Silvio already hold eight percent of Fininvest each, while Barbara, Eleonora and Luigi share a 21.4 percent stake.
This raises the question of how the controlling 61 percent share will be divided up.
There are a number of options. It could be divided equally, or more could be handed to the older children who have management roles in their father’s company.
One can only speculate what divisions the final decision could cause.
Speaking to The Times, Italian journalist Sandro Orlando said: ‘It’s all about how the 61 per cent is divvied up and what roles he leaves the three younger children — and I expect to see some rancour.’
He added that the relationship between the older children and their three younger step-siblings has been cold, especially since their mother split with Berlusconi.
However, having not previously had operational roles within the company, experts say it is unlikely the younger trio will challenge Marina who – it is understood – they all trust to make them the most money as shareholders.
They are reported to have been in-line for a share of a €90 million dividend that was produced by Fininvest in February, Orlando told The Times.
But there is a potential plot twist that could throw a spanner in the works.
Berlusconi’s death may not change things at Fininvest, but it has left a gaping hole in Italian politics, particularly at the head of the tycoon’s Forza Italia party.
Berlusconi created Forza Italia in the 90s and, with the backing of his vast media empire, he propelled himself to power.
Despite all the scandals, the party today is a key partner in prime minister Giorgia Meloni’s coalition government, giving her the majority needed to form a government last year.
But while he was able to leverage his influence to take him to the top of Italian politics, he also used it to quash any potential successors within the party.
Pictured: 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
As a result, there are few who could step into the void left by his death.
Roberto D’Alimonte, a politics professor at Rome’s Luiss university, told The Times that he suspects Marina will step up to take over the party.
‘I suspect the Berlusconi family has decided it needs to control the party and that only a family member can do it,’ he said.
Should that happen, then the Fininvest plotline could take a dramatic twist.
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