- Mr. Berlusconi, dominated Italian public life for decades as a billionaire media mogul, businessman, and prime minister.
- Former Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, who died last month, has left ₹ 900 Crores in his will to his 33-year-old girlfriend Marta Fascina.
- Marta Fascina, a Forza Italia deputy, began a relationship with Mr. Berlusconi in March 2020.
- The larger-than-life character, was Italy’s longest-serving premier but was also plagued by scandal.
Former Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, who died last month, has left 100 million Euros (Rs 9,05,86,54,868) to his 33-year-old girlfriend Marta Fascina in his will, The Guardian reported. The three-time Italian prime minister’s empire is estimated to be worth more than 6 billion Euros.
Ms. Fascina, a Forza Italia deputy, began a relationship with Mr. Berlusconi in March 2020. Though Mr. Berlusconi was not legally married to Ms. Fascina, he reportedly referred to her as his ‘wife” on his deathbed. The 33-year-old has been a member of the Italian Parliament’s lower chamber since the 2018 general election. She is a member of Forza Italia, the party founded by Mr. Berlusconi in 1994 when he first entered politics.
Meanwhile, his business empire will be controlled by his two eldest children Marina and Pier Silvio. The pair, who already hold executive roles in the business, will have a 53 percent stake in the Fininvest family holding. He also left 100m Euros to his brother, Paolo, and 30m Euros to Marcello Dell’Utri, a former senator with his Forza Italia party who served jail time for association with the mafia.
Mr. Berlusconi, who dominated Italian public life for decades as a billionaire media mogul, businessman, and prime minister, died aged 86 on June 12. He was admitted to a Milan hospital for what aides said were pre-planned tests related to his leukemia.
His will was read out in the presence of his five children and other witnesses. In the will, he wrote: ‘I leave the available stock in equal parts to my children Marina and Pier Silvio. I leave all the rest in equal parts to my five children Marina, Pier Silvio, Barbara, Eleonora, and Luigi.’ He signed off his bequest with the words: “Thanks, so much love to all of you, your dad.”
Notably, Mr. Berlusconi served three stints as Italy’s Prime Minister before being banned from politics for six years following a conviction for tax fraud. The larger-than-life character, who once compared himself to Jesus, was Italy’s longest-serving premier but was also plagued by scandal.
Despite being diagnosed with leukemia, he was active in politics to the end as a senator and partner in Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s right-wing government.
He spent much of his life embroiled in legal action, and the cases around his notorious “Bunga Bunga” sex parties, attended by young girls including underage escorts, were only wrapped up in February 2023. He suffered increasing health problems, although he maintained his pride in his appearance, always smartly dressed.
He was hospitalized for 11 days in September 2020 after contracting the coronavirus, describing it as “perhaps the most difficult ordeal of my life”. In April 2023, doctors revealed he was in intensive care suffering from leukemia and a lung infection.
(With inputs from agencies)
