Ft: 'Berlusconi's Villa Certosa for sale for 500 million euro'

Silvio Berlusconi's sons have agreed to sell Villa Certosa on the Costa Smeralda, in Sardinia, for €500 million, the Financial Times (Ft) writes on its front page today, citing three people with knowledge of the transaction. Berlusconi, the newspaper recalls, hosted the most powerful world leaders at the property, including former US President George W Bush, former British Prime Minister Tony Blair and Russian President Vladimir Putin. Among the possible buyers, comments the Ft, are Arab and US billionaires and international hotel groups. The sale will not be publicised, sources point out, and visits are expected to begin this month. The Ft also recalls that the villa was valued at EUR 260 million in 2021. One of the sources commented that the current asking price is higher than the sum the family expects from the sale. The newspaper also points out that Villa Certosa had already been put on the market in 2010 and 2015, but Berlusconi had always denied rumours of a potential sale. According to the media, the newspaper continues, Berlusconi had rejected an offer of €500 million in 2015 from the Saudi royal family, which had previously tried to buy the property.