Milan, Aug 24 (IANS/AKI) Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi’s estranged wife Veronica Lario has rejected a divorce settlement, which means the couple may face off in civil court. The billionaire politician in May offered his second wife 300,000 euros a month and the use of the Macherio villa outside Milan in a legal settlement to end their marriage.
Lario filed for divorce last year after revelations that her billionaire husband had attended the 18th birthday party of an aspiring model who said she called him ‘Daddy’.
Berlusconi, 73, presented Naples underwear model Noemi Letizia with a 6,000 euro necklace when he attended the party at her family’s home in 2008.
Soon after La Repubblica daily reported Berlusconi had attended the party, Lario said her husband was ‘unwell’ and announced she could not remain with someone ‘who dated minors’.
A former actress, Lario had demanded 3.5 million euros a month from her husband, who owns Italy’s three biggest private television stations, as well as other media assets.
Berlusconi’s fortune was estimated to be worth over 6.5 billion euros in 2009. The US-based Forbes magazine’s rich list ranked him as Italy’s second richest man.
A courtroom battle could mean that personal details of Berlusconi’s life would become public domain.
