By Elvira Pollina
MILAN (Reuters) -Silvio Berlusconi’s eldest children Marina and Pier Silvio will jointly have a majority stake in family holding company Finivest, a source said on Thursday, after the former prime minister’s will was unsealed.
Marina and Pier Silvio Berlusconi, who both have executive roles in the family business, will hold equal stakes jointly worth 53%, the source said, confirming an earlier report from ANSA news agency.
Marina chairs Fininvest while Pier Silvio has been in charge of the MFE-MediaForEurope TV business which has long been the jewel in the family’s crown.
Berlusconi’s five children earlier said in a statement that “no shareholder will exercise overall individual indirect control of Fininvest SpA, previously exercised by their father”.
MFE’s B shares on the Milan stock exchange slipped after the will was made public, losing about 1.2% as of 0735 GMT.
Berlusconi left 100 million euros ($108.66 million) each to Marta Fascina, his partner at the time of his death, and his brother Paolo, according to ANSA which said it had seen a copy of the will.
He was not legally married to his partner Fascina, who is 33, though on his deathbed he would call her his wife.
Berlusconi signed off the bequest to his children with the words, “Thanks, so much love to all of you, your Dad.”
Berlusconi, who founded a business empire based on real estate and then television, died in Milan on June 12 at the age of 86. He was suffering from leukaemia and had recently contracted a lung infection.
Under Italian law, the children have a right to inherit two-thirds of his wealth in equal parts, while the deceased is free to dispose of the remaining one-third how they see fit.
($1 = 0.9203 euros)
(Writing by Federico Maccioni and Keith Weir, editing by Alvise Armellini)
