John Elkann, chair of Ferrari and Stellantis and heir to Italy’s powerful Agnelli dynasty, has reached a settlement with Italian prosecutors to resolve a long-running inheritance tax dispute.
Elkann and his siblings, Lapo and Ginevra, have agreed to jointly pay €183 million (£159 million) to Italian tax authorities, according to multiple reports. The settlement also requires Elkann to complete one year of community service, which could include work at a centre for the elderly or at facilities supporting people with drug addiction.
Elkann’s lawyer, Paolo Siniscalchi, stressed that the agreement does not amount to an admission of liability. Instead, he described it as an opportunity to bring “this painful affair to a swift and definitive close.” If the probation request is granted, proceedings against Elkann will be suspended and, upon successful completion, the charges will be extinguished.
The case revolved around the estate of Elkann’s grandmother, Marella Caracciolo, who died in 2019. Prosecutors had accused the siblings of failing to declare roughly €1 billion in assets and €248.5 million in income, arguing their grandmother was domiciled in Switzerland at the time of her death.
Earlier this week, prosecutors accepted the settlement and requested the dismissal of criminal charges against Ginevra and Lapo Elkann. That request has now been granted.
The inheritance dispute also ties into a wider family feud between the Elkann siblings and their mother, Margherita Agnelli. Margherita, who inherited €1.2 billion after the death of her father Gianni Agnelli in 2003, has long contested agreements she signed in 2004, arguing they unfairly diverted wealth away from her five younger children from a second marriage and towards her three eldest, including John. A separate civil case over Gianni Agnelli’s estate remains ongoing.
Gianni Agnelli, the legendary former boss of Fiat, transformed the company into a global automotive powerhouse before his death more than two decades ago. His grandson John has since emerged as the public face of the family empire, becoming chair of Ferrari in 2018 and of Stellantis in 2021, after earlier serving as Fiat’s chair.
Margherita Agnelli’s lawyers said they welcomed the conclusion of the tax and criminal proceedings, though the civil battle over Gianni Agnelli’s estate continues.
For John Elkann, however, the settlement marks an important step in closing one of the most contentious chapters in the Agnelli family’s modern history.
