Silvio Berlusconi’s business empire explained

Silvio Berlusconi, the former Italian prime minister and billionaire media mogul who died on June 12 at the age of 86, controlled a diverse business empire through the Fininvest family holding and several related companies, Reuters reports.

FININVEST

Berlusconi, who made his name by building a media empire in the 1980s and as the 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 per cent of Fininvest, while Pier Silvio and Marina Berlusconi, his two children from his first marriage, each owned a 7.65 per cent stake.

Barbara, Eleonora and Luigi Berlusconi, and his other three children, together owned 21.42 per cent of Fininvest.

Marina Berlusconi has been chairwoman of Fininvest since 2005.

MEDIAFOREUROPE

Formerly known as Mediaset, Italy's top commercial broadcaster MediaForEurope (MFE) (MFEB.MI) 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 per cent 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 the German TV group ProSiebenSat.1Media. (PSMGn.DE), with a 29.9 per cent stake.

French media giant Vivendi (VIV.PA) holds some 23 per cent of MFE, mostly through a trust dubbed Simon Fiduciaria.

MONDADORI

Fininvest owns 53 per cent 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 per cent 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.