The former prime minister of Italy, who was worth a billion dollars, died on Monday. He left behind a huge business company.
How Berlusconi’s money, which he made by owning some of Italy’s most well-known companies, like the great soccer team AC Milan, will be divided among his five children is not clear yet.
As of Monday, the Bloomberg Billionaires Index said that Berlusconi had a net worth of $7.6 billion.
So how did Italy’s most controversial and longest-serving prime minister since World War II make his money?
Silvio Berlusconi’s Net Worth
The Bloomberg Billionaires Index says that Silvio Berlusconi, who died on Monday at the age of 86, had a net worth of $7.56 billion and was the 303rd wealthiest person in the world.
The tweet below verifies the news of his death:
Silvio Berlusconi, the brash media mogul who revolutionized Italian television using privately owned channels to become the country’s most polarizing and prosecuted prime minister, died at 86.https://t.co/xBscDzdC7i pic.twitter.com/KVIRZ1QRB1
— The New York Times (@nytimes) June 12, 2023
But Forbes, a business magazine, said that his own wealth was worth $6.9 billion. He gives his money to his five kids.
Berlusconi came onto the political scene for the first time in 1993, when he ran for prime minister with his new political party, Forza Italia.
Between 1994 and 2011, when he left office, he had been prime minister for more than nine years.
Forbes says that he became a billionaire for the first time in 1988.
Berlusconi was born in Milan in 1936. He has been one of the most important people in Italian politics over the past 30 years.
After he got his law degree in 1961, he worked as a door-to-door seller and then as an entertainer on cruise ships.
How Did Silvio Berlusconi Make Money?
Media tycoon
The man who was Italy’s prime minister four times got into politics when he was 57 years old. But before that, in the late 1960s, he made a lot of money as a property developer and became known as a television mogul.
In the 1970s, he grew his business portfolio by starting Telemilano, a TV cable company, and buying two other cable stations in Italy.
In 1978, he added these outlets to Fininvest, the family holding company he had just set up. Berlusconi bought big shares of AC Milan and some of Europe’s biggest media companies through Fininvest.
Reuters says that at the end of 2021, Berlusconi held 61.3% of the holding company.
Fininvest has a 48% stake in MediaForEurope, which used to be called Mediaset (MDIUY). This makes Fininvest the biggest owner of MediaForEurope. The broadcaster has a market value of €1.6 billion ($1.7 billion) and runs commercial TV programs in Italy and Spain. It also has a big stake in ProSiebenSat.1 (PBSFF) in Germany. Fininvest also owns 53% of Mondadori, which is Italy’s largest book and magazine distributor.
After 31 years of control, Fininvest reportedly sold AC Milan for €740 million ($796 million) in 2017.
In a tweet on Monday, the club said it was “deeply saddened” by Berlusconi’s death and saddened by the “passing of the unforgettable Silvio Berlusconi.”
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Legal Woes
Berlusconi was involved in a lot of government and business problems at the same time.
During his nearly 20 years in politics, he was tried on at least 17 charges, including stealing, tax fraud, and taking bribes. He always denied doing anything wrong, and many of the cases were thrown out on appeal.
In 2012, a court in Milan found that Italy’s former leader had not paid enough taxes. Prosecutors found that Berlusconi and the directors at Mediaset bought TV rights to movies and then sold them at higher prices. Prosecutors say those who took part in the scheme were able to dodge a big tax bill.
What Now?
Berlusconi has two wives and five children.
All of his children have big stakes in Fininvest, but his oldest daughter, Marina, 56, has been in charge of the company since 2005 and is said to be the most likely to run her father’s business empire.
Pier Silvio is 53 years old and is the CEO of MediaForEurope. As buyers thought about what might happen to the company’s ownership after Berlusconi’s death, its shares rose as high as 10% on Monday before falling back to a 2% gain in the late afternoon.
Reuters says that Berlusconi’s three children from his second marriage own a combined 21.4% of Fininvest. Marina and Pier Silvio each owns 7.7% of the company.
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