Berlusconi leaves control of his media empire to his two eldest children

The late Italian media tycoon and politician Silvio Berlusconi, who died last month at the age of 86 after a battle with leukemia, has given his two older children, Marina and Pier Silvio, combined control of the Fininvest family holding company. In detail, Berlusconi’s will sees the combined stakes of the two children from the media billionaire's first marriage rise to 53%, with both having equal parts, when they previously held 7.65%. The rest of the holding is split between the three children from Berlusconi's second marriage, Barbara, Eleonora and Luigi Berlusconi.

"Having received the last will and testament of our father Silvio Berlusconi, Marina, Pier Silvio, Barbara, Eleonora and Luigi Berlusconi inform that no subject will exercise overall individual indirect control of Fininvest SpA, previously exercised by the father himself,"  Marina Berlusconi said in a statement in the name of all five siblings.

Marina Berlusconi currently chairs Finivnvest, while Pier Silvio Berlusconi is the CEO of MediaForEurope (MFE), the Dutch-based holding company for media assets Mediaset in Italy and Spain, and the largest stake in Germany’s ProSiebenSat.1.