Who will take over Silvio Berlusconi's €6bn empire?

Italy is marking the decease of ex-Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi with a spectacle befitting the expansive soap opera of his life.

The one-time cruise vocalist who led Italy with nary anterior governmental acquisition built a media empire and had a drawstring of wives and girlfriends.

The Archbishop of Milan volition pb Berlusconi's authorities ceremonial successful the city's expansive cathedral connected Wednesday.

Italy is holding a time of nationalist mourning.

All Italian and European flags connected nationalist buildings person been lowered to half-mast.

This benignant of tribute is unprecedented for a erstwhile premier minister. A authorities ceremonial is simply a privilege usually reserved for popes, warfare heroes and serving ministers.

Milan is simply a metropolis profoundly associated with Silvio Berlusconi - this is wherever helium was calved and wherever helium started his career, selling vacuum cleaners.

Maxi-screens person been acceptable up successful the main square, which filled during the greeting with radical coming to accidental a last farewell.

Behind the scenes, a existent succession communicative is besides playing out.

During his lifetime, Berlusconi amassed a immense empire that spanned media, existent estate, finance, cinema and athletics - arsenic good arsenic a almighty governmental enactment that is portion of Italy's existent government.

He was 1 of Italy's richest men. According to Forbes, his concern assets are worthy astir €6bn (£5.15bn).

But helium ne'er publically indicated who should pb his concern empire aft his decease and determination are besides large questions implicit the aboriginal of the Forza Italia enactment helium created.

Berlusconi has 2 children from his archetypal matrimony and 3 from his second. All of them person stakes successful Fininvest, his holding company.

The aboriginal of his concern interests volition apt beryllium connected however helium has chosen to administer the 61% involvement helium had successful Fininvest.

Will determination beryllium adjacent shares for all, oregon much for the 2 eldest children, Marina and Pier Silvio, who person held absorption roles successful the empire since the aboriginal 1990s?

Other invaluable assets are undoubtedly Berlusconi's galore luxurious villas. They could beryllium tricky to walk connected to his offspring successful an adjacent way.

His Villa San Martino successful Arcore, north-east of Milan, covers 3,500 sq m and dates backmost to the 18th Century. He besides has homes astatine Lake Maggiore, successful Rome, Cannes, the Caribbean and elsewhere.

The jewel successful Berlusconi's crown of properties is Villa Certosa, a mansion successful Sardinia that helium bought successful the 1970s.

He hosted satellite leaders there, from Vladimir Putin to George W. Bush. It has 126 rooms and looks similar a taxable parkland - including a fake volcano that erupts lava. Its worth is estimated astatine €259m.

People adjacent to the household person described Berlusconi arsenic "the glue" who kept his children united.

There has been nary quality truthful acold implicit who takes implicit the empire - that is expected to autumn to his oldest kid Marina, 56, considered closest of the 5 to her father.

The large question is whether that household unity tin beryllium maintained present that Berlusconi has gone, and what interaction that mightiness person connected the aboriginal of his concern empire.

His decease could beryllium disastrous for the aboriginal of his governmental party. Can Forza Italia past without its charismatic creator - oregon could it autumn isolated successful a substance of months?

He was the eventual populist leader, and unsurprisingly, the enactment helium created was wholly shaped astir his persona.

His right-hand man, overseas curate Antonio Tajani, has categorically denied its aboriginal is astatine risk: "It's unthinkable that the enactment would disappear."

But Forza Italia's stock of the ballot had already slipped to 8% successful past September's wide election.

Many Italians who backed the enactment did truthful due to the fact that they were Berlusconi loyalists and it volition beryllium tricky to name a successor they volition lukewarm to.

In reality, enactment members volition astir apt look to the Berlusconi household to marque a decision.

Will the 2 eldest, Marina and Pier Silvio, privation to support investing successful their father's governmental creation, oregon volition they crook disconnected the fiscal pat and chopped their losses?

Without their fiscal support, Forza Italia has nary accidental of surviving. Berlusconi heavy funded his enactment - reportedly injecting it with astir €100m.

There is immoderate speculation that Marina could win him arsenic leader, but for present this remains a rumour. She is seen arsenic much of a behind-the-scenes operator.

Another chartless is Berlusconi's spouse Marta Fascina, who is 53 years his junior. She's an MP successful his enactment and has said respective times that "her passionateness is authorities and she grew up with the story of Silvio Berlusconi".

Berlusconi's eldest girl reportedly blocked his program to wed her past year. So determination is simply a unreality implicit Ms Fascina's aboriginal relation successful her precocious partner's party.

One happening is certain: if Forza Italia does fracture, it would beryllium a large occupation for the different members of Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni's conjugation government.

Political instability looms aft Wednesday's time of nationalist mourning.

In a state truthful well-known for regular governmental crises, a authorities illness triggered by the disintegration of 1 of the conjugation partners does not look specified an improbable scenario.

Until now, Berlusconi's children person avoided the limelight. But his decease mightiness unit them to look from the shadows to instrumentality the reins of his empire.

Berlusconi had wellness occupation for years truthful it is apt helium and his children had thought each of this through.

They mightiness opt for an casual modulation heralded by their eldest sister Marina, alternatively than get into a succession conflict which could spell wrong.