Every Monday for the past 30 years, Marina Berlusconi and her brother Pier Silvio have dined with their father and his closest entourage at their residence outside Milan , to discuss business and political issues.
There was no such dinner this week at Villa San Martino, an 18th-century estate. Instead, Marina, the eldest of Silvio Berlusconi’s five children, was woken at dawn by a call from his father’s closest companion, Marta Fascina, She told her that the three-time prime minister and media mogul was reaching the end of her life and that she should hurry to the hospital, according to people close to her daughter. He was pronounced dead later that morning.
Marina, 56, who has chaired the 4 billion-euro family holding company Fininvest for more than two decades, has struck an unlikely alliance with his father’s 33-year-old partner, a lawmaker for his party Forza Italia, And have been together since 2020 with the Octogenarian.
The two women, who held hands and were visibly distraught during Berlusconi’s state funeral on Wednesday, were regulars at a Monday dinner that also included former cabinet secretary Gianniletta and childhood friend Fedele Confalonieri, who is chairman of the family-owned media group Mediaset, run by CEO Marina Silvio.
Marina was a motherly figure, once described by Berlusconi as the woman to succeed his beloved mother Rosa after her death in 2008. Her name has resurfaced after Berlusconi’s death as the apparent political successor, but aides and confidants say her recent involvement in behind-the-scenes political discussions was only motivated by a desire to “protect” her ailing father. After Berlusconi was hospitalized in April, doctors said he had been battling leukemia for some time.
According to a person close to the family, the former prime minister often asked Marina to run for parliament in order to eventually succeed him at the helm of the party. “But she will reiterate that party leadership is not inherited like a corporation,” the person said.
According to a close confidante, Marina’s “close and affectionate relationship” with Fascina was also fueled by her desire to keep the aging tycoon at bay from “political vultures”. The confidante said Fascina was “absolutely loyal to Silvio”. “Marina trusted her more than her father’s political allies,” said Lorenzo Castellani, a professor at Lewis University.
A former public relations manager at AC Milan football club Berlusconi owned until 2017, Fascina rose through the party ranks and, with Marina’s backing, overhauled the top ranks.
In one example of the daughter’s and girlfriend’s cooperation, analysts say, they succeeded in limiting access to the San Martino villa to Licia Ronzulli, Berlusconi’s closest political aide.
Ronzulli, a former MEP and Forza Italia MP, has been the most influential party member for years along with Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani.
But after several political mishaps early in the administration of Berlusconi and Prime Minister Georgia Meloni caused public tensions, Marina and Fassina advised the elderly tycoon to oust Langzuli from his inner circle.
According to people close to the two women, Marina took it upon herself to repair the relationship with Meloni, with whom she has since developed a close working relationship.
She is expected to use the new relationship to secure her family’s control of the media empire, which has expanded beyond television to publishing and production, amid structural changes in the industry and growing competition from streaming platforms struggling. The 2016 takeover by French rival Vivendi (which the Berlusconi family called “hostility”) highlighted those struggles, although they have since been reversed.
With potential new takeover bids looming, Marina is expected to play a decisive role in approving or blocking such attempts, Castellani said.
The Berlusconi family say goodbye to their father © Piero Cruciatti/AFP/Getty Images
Marina is married to former ballet dancer Maurizio Vanadia and has two children, one of whom is named after her father. She and her four siblings each own between 7% and 8% of Fininvest. The holding company also controls publisher Mondadori and lender Banca Mediolanum.
Forza Italia’s treasurer, Alfredo Messina, said Berlusconi, who had guaranteed Forza’s debts, now owed the party 90 million euros, meaning that if the heirs (all long-term donors) or) to recover the money, the party could face bankruptcy. “Forza Italia’s financial situation depends on Marina and her siblings,” Castellani said.
Marina and Pier Silvio, born of Berlusconi’s first marriage to Carla Elvira Dall’Oglio, who met at a Milan tram station, will inherit half of Berlusconi’s 60% stake in Fininvest. His children from his second marriage to actress Veronica Lario — Barbara, Eleonora and Luigi — eventually The remaining 30% of the shares will be divided equally.
Such a distribution will give Marina and Pier Silvio greater control over the family business they have run for many years. In a statement, Fininvest said there would be absolute “continuity” following the death of its founder.
A person close to the holding company said the late former prime minister had exercised caution after his death to prevent family feuds over money.
“He’s appalled by the infighting in the Agnelli family and wants to avoid it at all costs,” the person said, referring to an ongoing legal battle between heirs to carmaker Fiat.
Berlusconi’s fortune includes global properties, yachts, the Monza football team and other additional assets worth 2 billion euros, which will also be divided between his children and – if she is included in the will – Fasina, He was not legally married to Fasina.
“Marta oversaw everything including the political side,” said another person close to Fininvest. “Marina is so grateful for what she has done for her father,” the source added.
Fascina assisted the former prime minister through all of his hospital stays, including the last. “She went into the hospital with Silvio and came out only with him,” the confidante said.
When Berlusconi was wheeled out of the hospital through the back door in May, Fascina was seen on video nudging security guards to protect her frail partner from paparazzi hiding in treetops.
Long gone are the days when Berlusconi, then prime minister, made world headlines for his so-called bunga bunga parties. This year, the courts have cleared him of any wrongdoing in a case involving an underage woman, a huge relief to his family. Following the decision, Marina said the “allegations are notorious and baseless”.
The bigger concern now is securing lasting peace within Berlusconi’s extended family, his business empire and his faltering political party.
“Everyone realizes it’s ultimately up to Marina, the matriarch of the Berlusconi family,” said the confidante.