ITALIAN Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi's hopes for a "quiet" divorce settlement have been shattered as his wife is demanding a share of his £5.6 billion empire.
Veronica Lario is also insisting their three children get an equal share of his Fininvest holding company – of which Mr Berlusconi's two children by a previous marriage also have a sizeable stake.
Ms Lario, 53, announced she was leaving the 73-yea
r-old politician after it emerged he had attended the 18th birthday party of model Noemi Letizia, giving her a £5,400 gold and diamond necklace.
It prompted Ms Lario, Mr Berlusconi's second wife, to reveal that he had never been to any of their three children's birthday parties and that she was "fed up" being with a man who "associated with minors".
According to reports yesterday, she has filed paperwork for the divorce in a Milan court in which she "blames him entirely" for the split – setting the scene for a messy court battle.
It could mean that Mr Berlusconi will have to explain before a judge the exact nature of his relationship with Ms Letizia, from Naples, which he has always insisted is "nothing spicy".
He could also be asked about further revelations during the summer when it emerged that escort girls had been among guests invited to parties he had hosted at his official residences.
One report said "experts on inheritance and business law" had been hired by Ms Lario's legal team.
It explained: "It will be a difficult division because of the number of people involved. There are two children from the first marriage – Marina and Piersilvio have contributed largely to the growth of the company and they will want to point their prerogative out."
It said that initial attempts by Ms Lario's defence team to "put forward a suitable package" for the couple's own three children had been rejected.
Mr Berlusconi's empire includes three TV stations, newspapers and a publishing house.
He also has a finance company which deals in insurance and investments.
Getting divorced in Italy is a lengthy process and usually takes between three and seven years, with a legal separation of at least a year needing to be granted first by a judge.
Ms Lario's three children – Eleonora, Barbara and Luigi – from her marriage to Mr Berlusconi are all members of the Fininvest board and have a 7 per cent stake in the company. They remain close to their mother.
Mr Berlusconi is the majority shareholder of Fininvest with 60 per cent, while the remainder is divided equally with his two older children – Marina, who is deputy president of Fininvest, and Piersilvio, who also holds several key positions.
