Son of billion-dollar family behind Fiat, Ferrari and Juventus achieves important victory after 20 years of struggle

John Elkann records a hard-fought victory in the twenty-year battle with his mother Margherita Agnelli. At stake is the legacy of Italy’s most iconic billion-dollar empire, which includes Fiat, Ferrari and Juventus.

The court in Turin has allowed Elkann (together with his brother Lapo and his sister Ginevra) to retain temporary control over the listed conglomerate Exor and the rest of the immense Agnelli empire through the family company Dicembre. That doesn’t just include some of the world’s best known and most loved car brands such as Fiat, Chrysler, Ferrari, Alfa Romeo or Jeep. Also the legendary football club Juventus, the prestigious magazine The Economist and recently even the Dutch Philips are now (partly) family owned.

READ ALSO. Battle between heirs of Fiat: mother and son have been embroiled in legal scandal for 20 years

Elkann was barely 28 years old when, two decades ago, after the death of his grandfather Gianni Agnelli (who turned car manufacturer Fiat into a superpower in his own country), he suddenly took control of the billion-dollar empire of one of Europe’s most iconic industrial families. Twenty years later, he is still under discussion within his own family.

Despite serious accusations of fraud made by mother Margherita, the court in Turin sees no problem with the legal structure and design of Dicembre. This is the family company above the complex Agnelli empire, which is controlled by John Elkann and controls the listed investment company Exor through the intermediary vehicle Giovanni Agnelli BV. Although, according to the verdict, there is still some uncertainty about the authenticity of a number of documents that Gianni Agnelli’s grandson submitted to the court in his defense.