Berlusconi €1.7 billion richer makes political comeback

The tide may be turning for Silvio Berlusconi. Banned from public office after a 2013 conviction for tax fraud, the former four-time prime minister was campaigning against then-Prime Minister Matteo Renzi’s proposed reforms while his fortune languished near a five-year low. Then a fight over control of his broadcaster Mediaset broke out with French billionaire Vincent Bollore. 

The struggle spurred investor interest in Mediaset, driving up the share price, and Berlusconi got a further political boost last month when his Forza Italia party won a centre-right coalition victory, positioning him for a potential return to power.

With help from a rally in Italian equities, the self-described "most persecuted man in history" has seen his net worth rise 36.9% from 28 November, 2016, when Vivendi’s chief content officer touted the company’s possible alliance with Mediaset as a way for European media companies to compete with US rivals.

Berlusconi, who’s appealing to the European Court of Human Rights against the ban on holding office, has seen his net worth rise to €7.1 billion, the best performance in the period among the five Italians on the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, a daily ranking of the world’s 500 richest people.

A spokesman for Berlusconi’s Milan-based investment firm, Fininvest declined to comment on his net worth.

Closely held Fininvest has stakes in media, biotechnology and finance, including his two largest holdings, Mediaset, which had a total return of 43% since 28 November 2016, and Mediobanca. which rose 62%t. Italian equities are up 42% in the same period, despite an economy that’s still struggling with high unemployment, rising poverty and a strained financial system.

Berlusconi, who sold Serie A soccer team AC Milan to Chinese investors in April for €740 million, faces a new trial in February, ahead of Italy’s national elections. Last month he was indicted for allegedly bribing a witness to give false testimony about allegations he held "bunga bunga" sex parties and hired an underage Moroccan prostitute. He denies wrongdoing.

"We have been arguing that this was his last time so many times that we must be very careful," said Giovanni Orsina, a professor of political history at Rome’s Luiss-Guido Carli University. "He’s 81 so I assume this is his last election, but he’s resilient. The odds are to bet against him but I would be very careful with any prophecy regarding the man."