The salary, assets and income of Silvio Berlusconi, the leader of Forza Italia who was included by Forbes in the ranking of the ten richest people in Italy.
How much does Silvio Berlusconi earn? This is the question that many Italians have been wondering for some time, even before the leader of Forza Italia decided in 1994 to enter politics, with the attention that is now all directed towards his state of health after admission to intensive care.
Silvio Berlusconi has always been considered one of the richest people not only in Italy, but in the whole world. The former Knight is the classic example of what the Anglo-Saxons would call a self-made man.
Starting from his jobs as an entertainer on cruise ships, Silvio Berlusconi built a veritable economic empire, with Forbes magazine placing him 352nd in its ranking of the richest men in the world with an family fortune estimated at 7 billion dollars.
So let’s see Silvio Berlusconi’s tax returns and how the Fininvest galaxy is made up, the holding company that owns all the shares of the family of the former Prime Minister.
How much does Silvio Berlusconi earn? The birth of an economic empire
Silvio Berlusconi in his political career he has always exploited not only his great media power, but also that aura of a successful man. One of his first political slogans was precisely to propose his business model for Italy to make the country great.
The Italians immediately placed great trust in Silvio Berlusconi. In fact, it was difficult not to acknowledge the leader of Forza Italia for having had enormous entrepreneurial success starting almost from scratch and initially focusing on building blocks.
To understand how much Silvio Berlusconi earns, we need to start from the beginning of his entrepreneurial success. After a degree in Jurisprudence obtained with honors, the one who is now one of the most powerful men in Italy starts earning a living as a door-to-door salesman and singer together with his lifelong friend Fedele Confalonieri on cruise ships.
Having started working as a real estate agent launched him into the construction world, with Berlusconi founding Edilnord in 1963. Five years later, the first coup takes place: land is purchased in Segrate, where the Milano Due district will be built a few years later.
A great deal that projected Berlusconi into the Lombard building elite, so much so that in 1977 he also obtained the recognition of Cavaliere del Lavoro. But the big turning point came a year later, with the purchase of Telemilano and the birth of the holding company Fininvest.
The Fininvest galaxy
In January of 1979, after a series of mergers, Fininvest S.p.A. was established in Milan, a holding that includes all of Silvio Berlusconi’s companies. Transformed Telemilano into Canale 5, the climb to Italian TV begins.
Thanks to the network system, which consists of recording broadcasts one day before and then transmitting them simultaneously via cassette the following one on several regional broadcasters, Canale 5 in the short term practically manages to broadcast its channels throughout Italy also thanks the purchase of Italia Uno and Rete Quattro.
Given the growth of the sector, Berlusconi also founded the advertising agency Publitalia ’80. Subsequently, all of Berlusconi’s television apparatus passed under the control of the company Mediaset which he founded.
In addition to television, Berlusconi in those years acquired Standa, founded Mediolanum operating first as an insurance company and then as a bank, the Mondadori publishing house, the Milan football team and the film production company Medusa which will then merge into Mediaset.
To comply with the Mammì Law of 1992, Berlusconi sells TELE+ (the future Sky) and transfers to his brother Paolo both the newspaper Il Giornale and Edilnord, the company operating in the construction sector from which this economic empire was born.
The Heritage
It is difficult to answer exactly the question of how much Silvio Berlusconi earns. The authoritative magazine Forbes estimates a personal assets of 7 billion dollars, which lead him to be the 352nd richest man on the planet and the third richest in Italy.
After Fininvest in 1991 arrived to record revenues of 10,000 billion old lire, the group in recent years has recorded a clear decrease mainly due to the results recorded by Mediaset.
In the Fininvest financial statements, which has over 17,000 employees, for 2019 the turnover was 5.1 billion which led to a profit of 220 million for a dividend of 84 million.
For 2020 an article in Calcio & Finanza speaks of 120 million in total profits for Berlusconi from his four holding companies in which he holds the majority, choosing however to set aside the profits. The budget 2021 then saw a turnover for the Biscione of 6 billion of net profits of 360 million.
Salary and tax returns
After being elected to the European Parliament in 2019, as MEP Silvio Berlusconi earned a salary ranging between 16,000 and 19,000 euros per month, with the amount varying according to the frequency with who attended the sessions.
Now that he is senator again, Berlusconi is entitled to a gross monthly allowance of 11,555 euros. Net, the figure is 5,304.89 euros, plus a per diem of 3,500 euros plus a reimbursement for mandate expenses of 4,180 euros and 1,650 euros per month as lump sum reimbursements between telephones and transport.
In the 2013 tax return, the last as a senator and which refers to 2012 as the tax period, the leader of Forza Italia declared, in addition to substantial movable and real estate assets, a overall income of 4,515. 298 euros.
In the 2020 tax return, published on the Parliament website under the heading "asset register of party leaders", Silvio Berlusconi declared a total income of 47,498,367 euros.
In the latest tax return published, that of 2021 which refers to 2020 as the tax period, Berlusconi’s total income despite the crisis due to Covid has risen to 50,662,939 euros.
Original article published on Money.it Italy 2023-04-07 13:32:00. Original title: Quanto guadagna Silvio Berlusconi? Patrimonio e reddito del leader di Forza Italia
Argomenti
