ROME (Reuters) – Silvio Berlusconi, the former Italian prime minister and billionaire media mogul who died on Monday at the age of 86, controlled a diverse business empire through the Fininvest family holding and several related companies.
FININVEST
Berlusconi, who made his name by building a media empire in the 1980s and as owner of European soccer champions AC Milan, used Fininvest, a family holding company with assets worth 4.9 billion euros ($5.3 billion) at the end of 2021, to manage his interests.
Before his death, Silvio owned 61.3% of Fininvest, while Pier Silvio and Marina Berlusconi, his two children from his first marriage, each owned a 7.65% stake.
Barbara, Eleonora and Luigi Berlusconi, his other three children, together owned 21.42% of Fininvest.
Marina Berlusconi has been chairwoman of Fininvest since 2005.
MEDIAFOREUROPE
Formerly known as Mediaset, Italy’s top commercial broadcaster MediaForEurope (MFE) is controlled by Fininvest, which owns a 48% stake. Its chief executive is Pier Silvio Berlusconi.
It operates free-to-air TV channels as well as streaming services in Italy and Spain. It also owns movie production and distribution company Medusa and holds a 40% stake in privately-held Italian broadcasting tower group EI Towers.
MFE had consolidated revenues of 2.9 billion euros in 2021.
It is the single biggest investor in German TV group ProSiebenSat.1Media., with a 29.9% stake.
French media giant Vivendi holds some 23% of MFE, mostly through a trust dubbed Simon Fiduciaria.
MONDADORI
Fininvest owns 53% of Italy’s leading publisher, Mondadori, which dominates the domestic book market.
Marina Berlusconi has been Mondadori’s chairwoman since 2003. She also sits on MFE’s board.
BANCA MEDIOLANUM
Fininvest owns a 30% stake in the 6 billion euro Italian asset manager Banca Mediolanum.
AC MONZA
After selling AC Milan in 2017 in a 740 million euro deal, Fininvest bought smaller soccer club AC Monza the following year. The team won promotion to Italy’s Serie A league in 2022 for the first time and ended their debut season in the middle of the table.
($1 = 0.9281 euros)
(Reporting by Elvira Pollina, graphics by Sara Rossi; Editing by Keith Weir)
