John Elkann’s j’accuse: «My mother, a violent woman»

THEn an interview given to the French weekly Le Point, John Elkannin the eye of the storm in recent weeks due to the Stellantis issue, for the first time, discovers a decidedly more intimate side of his life. In fact, he tells the newspaper the tormented relationship with his mother Margherita Agnellipainting a family picture that is not at all idyllic, but rather one of tension and violence.

John Elkann’s outburst: «My violent mother»

The president of Stellantis doesn’t mince words: «He is a naturally violent personfull of resentment” he says of his mother, in what appears to be like an unprecedented outburst in the history of the Agnelli family. And the accusations don’t stop there. Elkann speaks, in fact, of a family environment marked by “verbal and physical” violencewhere “the slightest opposition ended in punishment.”

Margherita Agnelli and her eight children

A situation, explains Elkann, «worsened with the new life (Margherita Agnelli separated from Alan Elkann from whom she had had John, Lapo and Ginevrato marry Serge de Pahlen, a Russian nobleman of German-Balta origin, giving birth to 5 more children): having these three children from a previous marriage was a problem.”

«Lapo suffered more than anyone»

Particularly touching is the reference to his brother Lapo, who according to John was the one who “suffered more than anyone”. To the question, if it were slaps Elkann responds: «Moreover». And to confirm this version, her sister Ginevra also underlined that «at the moment when John needed her most, when he found himself alone with Fiat, she turned her back on him». John Elkann says he made various attempts at reconciliation, all of which failed, including the one after the death of his grandmother Marella in 2019, when according to his story the mother tried to convert them to the Orthodox religion.

The legal battle: a 17 year long story

Behind this family clash hides one of the most complex legal battles on the Italian scene regarding an inheritance. The story began in 2007 and continues today with five different legal proceedings. It all starts from the agreement signed in 2004, a year after the death of Gianni Agnelli. Margherita renounces any claim on the December companythe family safe, in exchange for 1.3 billion euros. At that point, the company was divided between the three Elkann brothers: 60% to John and 20% each to Lapo and Ginevra.

The first complaint

In 2007, Margherita Agnelli reopens the caseasking for an account of his father’s assets. The suspicion is that there was an undeclared “treasure” abroad at the time of the agreement. This first case was declared unfounded by the Supreme Court in 2015. Then, in 2020, Margherita returns to office claiming the nullity of the 2004 agreement. His thesis is that Italian law does not allow him to renounce a future succession, given that his mother Marella Caracciolo was still alive at the time.

The knots still to be resolved

The story becomes further complicated with some collateral issues, which however become decisive. Among these, the residence of Marella Caracciolo and the related tax implications; the mysterious disappearance of precious works of artand, including paintings by Monet, Picasso and De Chirico; and finally the validity of the 2004 agreementaccording to Swiss or Italian law.

John Elkann, between inheritance and family wounds

There is a lot at stake for the family: it involves control of an empire valued at 33 billion euroswhich includes Stellantis, Ferrari, the Gedi publishing group and Juventus. John Elkann’s words, considering them sincere, however, suggest that this battle goes far beyond money, but you touch deep and never healed family wounds. A saga that of the Agnellis which, mixing family drama and high finance, continues to gain Italy’s attention.

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