With the upcoming sale of the Gedi publishing group, the exit of John Elkann and the Agnelli dynasty from Italy is completed. After the sale of the car to the French and of industrial assets such as Iveco, Comau and Magneti Marelli, in Turin only the rubble of an empire that always looks abroad remains. But it cost Italians 220 billion euros in aid.
Citing Molière, his closest collaborators whisper that John Elkann he doesn’t say good morning, at most he lends one. The fifty-year-old Yankee-Piedmontese, who will celebrate his birthday on April 1st, at the head of an uncrowned dynasty that has exploited Italy, is first of all a serial money hoarderalmost completely uninterested in the industry and fleeing from the country that in 40 years he poured into the coffers of the former Fiat 220 billion euros. The estimate, not even approximated too much, is by Federcontribuenti. The vitriolic joke that defines him is from Carlo De Benedetti – another who has tax residence in Switzerland and who has a never-closed poison account with Lingotto – and explains: «Elkann also sells newspapers to get away from Italy and put an ocean between himself and the prosecutors. He has problems with the law. He is already at social services (rejected by the investigating judge, ed.). He tutors problem kids, but he’s the one who needs a tutor: everything he’s touched he’s broken. Gianni Agnelli he was loved, he wasn’t. And that’s his problem.”
The sale of Gedi and the lost “good press”.
The reference is to the penultimate reason why we have returned to talking about the CEO of Exor: the sale of Gedi (Elkann had bought it from De Benedetti’s children, who never forgave them for this) which contains the house organs of the gauche Italian caviar: The Republic And The Pressthe latter held by the Agnellis for almost a century to enjoy, in fact, “good press”. To the point that Maurizio Landinisecretary of the CGIL always very present on the pages of the two newspapers, has set himself up as a “social shock absorber” of the workers’ protests due to the continuous erosion of employment in the former Fiat factories. From 2020 to 2024, the employment of Stellantis has shrunk by 9,600 workersfor this year it is estimated, also considering the related activities, the loss of others 25 thousand employed (the alarm was raised there Fim-Cisl) and in the last four years theInps he delivered 984 million in layoffs to Elkann employees.
Judicial accusations and forced indictment
The last reason why the Lawyer’s favorite nephew (perhaps) has made headlines is that he risks ending up on trial with a couple of not exactly pleasant charges: fraudulent statements and, consequently, tax evasion. The Turin investigating judge Antonio Borretta has ordered, opposing the request of the Prosecutor’s Office which wanted to resolve the case with alternative measures, theforced indictment by John Elkann. He hoped to get away with no criminal penalties for having paid up 183 million to the tax authorities and he accepted the test – he had to take care of the children of the Salesian institute as a tutor Mary Help of Christians of Turinhence De Benedetti’s joke – but at this point in February he will end up in the dock in the certainly not honorable affair linked to the inheritance of his grandmother, the princess Marella Caracciolo Agnelli (the prosecution claims that they disappeared a billion), which sees him as opposed to his mother Margherita Agnelli.
What makes legal practice particularly annoying – it could have consequences on yours moral suitability to remain president of Stellantis and CEO of Exor given that they are both holding companies under Dutch law and in the North they don’t joke about the reputational solidity of the directors – it’s just that the investigating judge accuses Elkann of a sort of concealment of death: he would have tampered with the date of his grandmother’s death for whom he had established – according to the investigating judge – a false residence in Switzerland to defraud the treasury. The same one through which the State fed the dynasty with rivers of money. There is no government, from the Savoy unity onwards, that has not taken citizens’ money and diverted it into the coffers of the “ruling” house in Villar Perosa.
From the ATM state to industrial escape
It was Benito Mussolini to feed and inflate the senator’s factories Giovanni Agnelliit will then be there Christian democracy at the time of Vittorio Valletta to contribute to the post-war rebirth; with Gianni Agnelli the first Republic was very generous up to the kind gifts of Romano Prodi with Alfa Romeo and Telecom. But since John Elkann took over the inheritance – a very uncomfortable word for him – of the family, the process began «take the money and run» to put it with Woody Allen. As long as it was there Sergio Marchionnewhich also moved its registered office to Amsterdam in 2014 Fcaborn from the merger of Fiat and Chrysler, the core business was cars and the brain of the group was anchored in Turin. Once the manager with the blue sweater disappeared, Jaki began to weave his web. It gave rise to the project Stellantisborn five years ago by merging Fca with Psaand began to take jobs away from Italian factories.
On the other hand he got one 6.3 billion guarantee from Giuseppe Conte and has raked in another couple of billion in public aid with one difference: the French state is a shareholder, the Italian one is only a ATM. Elkann opened factories in Serbiain Moroccohas relocated productions to Spainsigned agreements with the Chinese of Leapmotor and has become the European dealer of cars competing with the 500 electric of Mirafiori, throwing the project overboard gigafactory in Termoli.
Dismantling the Lawyer’s legacy
The “grandson” worked to dismantle everything that his grandfather Gianni Agnelli he had built. It sold Magneti Marelli for further 6 billion to the Kkr fund, the Iveco to the Indians of Tata Motors for 3.8 billionit’s giving way Lifenetsold the majority of Comau at the end of 2024. The robotics hub was where the scion that the Lawyer would really have wanted at the head of the empire was formed: Giovannino Agnelli.
He was the favorite nephew, Umberto’s son, he had raised the Piaggio and if he hadn’t died of cancer alone 33 years old he was destined to lead the family. Another death opened the succession to John Elkann, that of Edoardo Agnellicommitted suicide at the end of 2000. There’s the famous one Munich letter of July 1996 in which Gianni Agnelli indicates other heirs and places John only in third place. But since the death of the Lawyer in 2003, John begins to weave the web with his grandmother Marella to conquer the inheritance and head of the group. Which today leads us further and further away from Italy.
Values for sale and double identity
In Turin he maintains a confidential profile, a New York he goes wild with his wife Lavinia and his brother Lapo. The Elkann clan is totally New York. This too duplicity it’s part of the character: officially Catholic, he maintains very close relationships with his father’s Jewish circles Alain Elkann. He was a left-wing publisher but then he sells everything. First the newspapers, then maybe there Juventus. «Our values are not for sale», says Elkann responding to the offer of Tether. But the journalists of Stampa and Repubblica ask themselves: «Juventus yes and us no?».
Ferrari, the symbol that doesn’t fly
Juventus shares are soaring on the stock market. Whoever doesn’t fly is there Ferrari. The management of the Prancing Horse under the presidency of Elkann is the worst in the long and glorious history of the team: seventeen years without a world cup. Luca Cordero di Montezemolowith which Ferrari won 19 titlesdeclared: «He sent me away without even a handshake». This is Jaki: personal heritage 2.8 billion dollarshead of Exor close to 50 billion in turnoverchecked with the 38 percent of the safe December.
But now the judges want to see clearly. Maybe it’s not a good time for Jaki. He also says it Oshowith his irony: in a cartoon Lapo, addressing John, apostrophizes him: «Then I was the stupid boy, eh…».
