Silvio Berlusconi's wife seeks £39m a year, threatening to 'make things messy'

Published on Thursday 26 November 2009 21:40

ITALIAN prime minister Silvio Berlusconi's estranged wife has demanded a maintenance settlement of £39 million – a year.

Mr Berlusconi, 73, a billionaire media tycoon, has responded by offering a "more reasonable 2 million a year".

His wife, Veronica Lario, 53, a former topless actress, is now threatening to "make things messy" unless he agrees to the settlement – scuppering his hopes for a quiet split.

The demand comes after it emerged that Ms Lario had filed papers blaming the Italian premier "entirely" for the split.

Ms Lario announced she was leaving Mr Berlusconi after it emerged he had attended the 18th birthday party of underwear model Noemi Letizia, giving her a 5,400 gold and diamond necklace.

She claimed he had never been to any of their three children's birthday parties and that she was "fed up" of being with a man who "associated with minors".

It also emerged earlier this year that high-class escorts had been among guests invited to parties hosted by Mr Berlusconi at his official residences in Rome and Sardinia.

And this week, escort Patrizia D'Addario, 43, published a book detailing a night with Mr Berlusconi in which she claimed he deserved a "place in the Guinness Book of Records for his sexual stamina".

Mr Berlusconi has reportedly already paid Mrs Lario 54m and is "willing to negotiate on the reasonable 2m a year maintenance".

He is also prepared to let her keep her fully furnished villa at Macherio near Milan where she lives with two of their three children, Luigi, 21, and Eleonora, 23, while Barbara, 25, lives in Switzerland.

The family has a vast portfolio of homes across Italy in Milan, Tuscany and Rome, a luxury home on the island of Sardinia, and property in London, the Caribbean and the United States.

Mr Berlusconi, one of the world's richest men, is said to be worth about 5.6 billion. Through his Fininvest holding company, he owns TV stations, football club AC Milan, publishing companies and investment firms.

Britain's largest divorce settlement was 48m, granted in 2006 to insurance magnate John Charman's former wife, while Heather Mills secured 46m from former Beatle Paul McCartney.

Mr Berlusconi met his wife 30 years ago when he saw her topless on stage in a play called The Magnificent Cuckold. At the time, he was still married to his first wife, Carla Dell Oglio.

Two years ago, their marriage was in the spotlight after Mr Berlusconi told two women at a TV awards dinner that if he wasn't already married, he would marry them.

His furious wife wrote a letter to the Italian media in which she demanded – and got – a public apology from her husband.