Silvio Berlusconi Agrees To Pay Ex-Wife $48 Million Per Year

Silvio Berlusconi has agreed to pay ex-wife Veronica Lario 36m euros ($48m) annually. As part of the alimony deal Berlusconi will be allowed to claim ownership of his $100 million villa, the home where the former couple raised their three children.

The divorce settlement was reportedly filed on Christmas Day, more than two years after Berlusconi and Lario separated. The former couple met in 1980 and wed in 1990.

The couple’s separation occurred after Berlusconi was spotted at the 18th birthday party of aspiring model Noemi Litizia.

At the start of divorce proceedings Berlusconi reportedly offered his ex-wife $5 million per year, countering her initial alimony request of $56 million annually.

Berlusconi is worth an estimated $6 billion according to a March 2012 Forbes report.

The former Italian Prime Minister was Italy’s longest-serving post-war leader until resigning in November 2011. Recently the former prime minister said he played to run for office again in 2013. Another run at office could be met with heavy competition as his last term in office witnessed a $2.6 trillion national debt and the slow implementation of austerity measures.

Berlusconi was found guilty in October 2012 of tax evasion and sentenced to four years in jail by a Milan court, that case is currently being appealed. The former prime minister also become embroiled in a sex scandal, including chargers of paying to have sex with an underage girl in 2010.

Given his recent legal troubles, including a sex scandal that extended to a time before the dissolution of his marriage, Silvio Berlusconi may have gotten off easy, even with $46 million in annual payments to his ex-wife.

Silvio is now dating and engaged to 28-year-old Francesca Pascale.