The Slatest

Berlusconi To Pay Ex-Wife $48 Million a Year

A 2004 photograph showing Silvio Berlusconi next to his then-wife Veronica Lario

Photo by VINCENZO PINTO/AFP/Getty Images

Former Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi has agreed to pay $48 million a year to his ex-wife Veronica Lario, according to local news reports. That is quite the increase from Berlusconi’s first offer that was reportedly $5m. The 56-year-old lario had initially demanded $56 million, reports the BBC.

Lario, a former actress who married Berlusconi in 1990 asked for a divorce in 2009, scandalously saying: “I cannot stay with a man who frequents minors,” notes the Guardian. At the time, Berlusconi had been photographed attending a party for an 18-year-old. Since then, Berlusconi’s sexual exploits have received lots of attention, particularly his now infamous “Bunga Bunga” parties. The reported settlement comes at a time when Berlusconi is returning to politics before a February election. He is currently engaged to Francesca Pasquale, who at 27 is almost 50 years his junior.