Silvio Berlusconi and Veronica Lario divorced after 23 years, 1 month of marriage. The settlement was reportedly about $36M. See the full timeline.
Figures are reported estimates. Last updated Oct 2026.
Initially ordered 3M euros/month, later reduced by an Italian appeals court.
Silvio Berlusconi, the Italian media tycoon who served as prime minister of Italy three times, and Veronica Lario, an actress born Miriam Bartolini, met in 1980, when she was performing at a Milan theater that he attended. They began a relationship, had three children, Barbara, Eleonora and Luigi, and married in 1990. Berlusconi had been married before, to Carla Dall'Oglio. Lario gave up her career to raise the children and lived mainly in the family's villa near Milan.
Berlusconi's fortune was built on property development, television and publishing. He founded Fininvest and built Mediaset into the largest commercial broadcaster in Italy, and he also owned the football club AC Milan, which won several European titles under his ownership. He entered politics in 1994, founding Forza Italia. Forbes at times estimated his wealth in the billions of dollars, and most of it was created before and during the marriage.
The couple lived together from the early 1980s and married in 1990, and the marriage lasted 24 years. In 2009 Lario announced that she wanted a divorce, following reports of Berlusconi's alleged relationships with younger women, including a party in which he was said to have been involved with an 18-year-old. The divorce was finalized in 2014 after a long legal battle. Berlusconi later had a partner, Francesca Pascale, and then married Marta Fascina in 2022, and he died in June 2023.
A court in Milan ordered Berlusconi to pay Lario about €3 million a month in alimony, a sum that was the subject of legal disputes and appeals, which reports said would come to about €36 million a year. Berlusconi's lawyers appealed, and in 2014 the court of appeal reduced the amount. In 2017 a court ruled that Lario had to return a large part of the money paid in alimony, as she was found not to need such sums.
The original award was based on Italian rules that take account of the standard of living of the couple during the marriage. Lario's lawyers argued that she needed to maintain her way of life, given Berlusconi's wealth. Berlusconi's lawyers argued that she already had substantial assets and that the sums were excessive. The matter reflected the difference between wealth and need that is often central to European divorce law.
The alimony order was a heavy burden but did not threaten Berlusconi's holdings in Mediaset or in other companies. He sold AC Milan in 2017 to a Chinese consortium, and his political and business career continued until his death. After his death, his children inherited control of his companies, and Lario's rights were established under the divorce agreement.
The case stands out because the figure was an annual payment rather than a lump sum, and because the amount was later challenged by the payer. It is therefore different from most of the settlements on this list. Like the Murdoch and Jagger divorces, it involved an older, powerful man and a former partner, and it was heavily scrutinized by the press.
Berlusconi was the longest-serving post-war prime minister of Italy. Lario's decision to speak publicly about the end of the marriage was highly unusual in Italy. The Italian press reported that the alimony order was one of the highest in history. The €36 million figure is the annual amount initially reported.
Veronica Lario's reported settlement was about $36 million.
They married in 1990 and divorced in 2014, a marriage of roughly 24 years.
No prenuptial agreement was reported.
Yes, the family is reported to include 3 children.
Initially 3 million euros/month, later reduced by appeals court.
Reported assets include: Cash, Italian properties, Mediaset-linked assets.
The original award was based on Italian rules that take account of the standard of living of the couple during the marriage. Lario's lawyers argued that she needed to maintain her way of life, given Berlusconi's wealth.