Carlo De Benedetti
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Carlo De Benedetti (born 14 November 1934) ''"Sfide perse e vinte: Repubblica-Mondadori"'', ''Gazzetta di Mantova'', 10 March 1998, webpage

is an Italian
industrialist A business magnate, also known as an industrialist or tycoon, is a person who is a powerful entrepreneur and investor who controls, through personal enterprise ownership or a dominant shareholding position, a firm or industry whose goods or ser ...
,
engineer Engineers, as practitioners of engineering, are professionals who Invention, invent, design, build, maintain and test machines, complex systems, structures, gadgets and materials. They aim to fulfill functional objectives and requirements while ...
, and
publisher Publishing is the activities of making information, literature, music, software, and other content, physical or digital, available to the public for sale or free of charge. Traditionally, the term publishing refers to the creation and distribu ...
. He is both an Italian and naturalized
Swiss Swiss most commonly refers to: * the adjectival form of Switzerland * Swiss people Swiss may also refer to: Places * Swiss, Missouri * Swiss, North Carolina * Swiss, West Virginia * Swiss, Wisconsin Other uses * Swiss Café, an old café located ...
citizen. He was awarded the
Order of Merit for Labour The Order of Merit for Labour () is an Italian order of chivalry that was founded in 1923 by King Victor Emmanuel III of Italy, Vittorio Emanuele III. It is awarded to those "who have been singularly meritorious" in agriculture, industry and co ...
by the Italian state in 1983,http://www.cavalieridellavoro.it/cavaliere.php?numero_brevetto=1985 the ''Medaglia d'oro ai benemeriti della cultura e dell'arte'' (gold medal of culture and art)http://www.quirinale.it/qrnw/statico/onorificenze/decorato.asp?id=6&ono=2 and the
Legion d'Honneur The National Order of the Legion of Honour ( ), formerly the Imperial Order of the Legion of Honour (), is the highest and most prestigious French national order of merit, both military and civil. Currently consisting of five classes, it was ...
in 1987. De Benedetti is chairman of the Rodolfo De Benedetti Foundation (''Fondazione Rodolfo Debenedetti'') in Milan, which he founded in 1998 in memory of his father. It promotes research into
economic policy ''Economic Policy'' is a quarterly peer-reviewed academic journal published by Oxford University Press, Oxford Academic on behalf of the Centre for Economic Policy Research, the Center for Economic Studies (University of Munich), and the Paris Scho ...
decisions regarding the labour market and welfare systems in Europe."Profile: Carlo De Benedetti"
Festival of Economics of Trento, 2012
In 2020, De Benedetti spent
The euro sign () is the currency sign used for the euro, the official currency of the eurozone. The design was presented to the public by the European Commission on 12 December 1996. It consists of a stylized letter E (or epsilon), crossed by t ...
10 million setting up '' Domani'', a new liberal newspaper headquartered in
Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...
.


Early life

Born into a wealthy
Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...
family on 14 November 1934, Carlo De Benedetti is the brother of Italian senator Franco Debenedetti, whose surname is different owing to a spelling error. In 1943, during the
World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
, the De Benedetti family fled to
Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...
. After returning to Italy, he received a degree in
electrical engineering Electrical engineering is an engineering discipline concerned with the study, design, and application of equipment, devices, and systems that use electricity, electronics, and electromagnetism. It emerged as an identifiable occupation in the l ...
from the
Polytechnic University of Turin The Polytechnic University of Turin (, abbreviated as PoliTO) is the oldest Italian Public university, public Institute of technology, technical university. The university offers several courses in the fields of Engineering, Architecture, Urban ...
, and in 1959 began to work in his father's manufacturing business, the ''Compagnia Italiana Tubi Metallici Flessibili''. He helped improve company profits consistently and in 1972 acquired the ''Gilardini'' company, of which he became president and CEO until 1976.


Career

De Benedetti left Italy to return to
Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...
in 1975, owing to possible terrorist threats during the Anni di Piombo period of Italian domestic terrorism. For a brief period from 4 May to 25 August 1976, he was appointed
CEO A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a chief executive or managing director, is the top-ranking corporate officer charged with the management of an organization, usually a company or a nonprofit organization. CEOs find roles in variou ...
of
Fiat Fiat Automobiles S.p.A., commonly known as simply Fiat ( , ; ), is an Italian automobile manufacturer. It became a part of Fiat Chrysler Automobiles in 2014 and, in 2021, became a subsidiary of Stellantis through its Italian division, Stellant ...
. According to De Benedetti, his resignation from Fiat was caused by his decision to lay off 65,000 workers, which was refused by Fiat head
Gianni Agnelli Giovanni "Gianni" Agnelli (; 12 March 192124 January 2003), nicknamed ("The Lawyer"), was an Italian industrialist and principal shareholder of Fiat S.p.A., Fiat. As the head of Fiat, he controlled 4.4% of Italy's GDP, 3.1% of its industrial ...
; others say that he was suspected of trying to build up a takeover of power within the company, with the backing Swiss financial groups. In November 1976, De Benedetti acquired the CIR Group, thereby also obtaining control of the national newspaper ''
La Repubblica (; English: "the Republic") is an Italian daily general-interest newspaper with an average circulation of 151,309 copies in May 2023. It was founded in 1976 in Rome by Gruppo Editoriale L'Espresso (now known as GEDI Gruppo Editoriale) and l ...
'' and the newsmagazine ''
L'Espresso () is an Italian progressive weekly news magazine. It is one of the two most prominent Italian weeklies; the other is the conservative magazine . Since 2022, it has been published by BFC Media. From 7 August 2016 to 10 September 2023, it was ...
''. In 1978, he became CEO of the Italian manufacturer
Olivetti Olivetti S.p.A. is an Italian manufacturer of computers, tablets, smartphones, printers and other such business products as calculators and fax machines. Headquartered in Ivrea, in the Metropolitan City of Turin, the company has been owned b ...
, where he remained until his resignation in 1996. As president of Olivetti, since 1983, he quickly and ruthlessly reorganized the company, switching its focus from mechanical
typewriters A typewriter is a Machine, mechanical or electromechanical machine for typing characters. Typically, a typewriter has an array of Button (control), keys, and each one causes a different single character to be produced on paper by striking an i ...
to
computers A computer is a machine that can be programmed to automatically carry out sequences of arithmetic or logical operations ('' computation''). Modern digital electronic computers can perform generic sets of operations known as ''programs'', ...
. In the 1980s, along with other leading business figures, he founded the
European Round Table of Industrialists The European Round Table for Industry (previously known as the European Round Table of Industrialists), abbreviated ERT, is a cross-sectoral forum and advocacy group in the European Union consisting of some 60 European industrial businesspeople wo ...
, of which he was vice president until 2004. In 1985, he became a member of the European Advisory Committee of the
New York Stock Exchange The New York Stock Exchange (NYSE, nicknamed "The Big Board") is an American stock exchange in the Financial District, Manhattan, Financial District of Lower Manhattan in New York City. It is the List of stock exchanges, largest stock excha ...
. In 1995, De Benedetti founded the
telecommunications Telecommunication, often used in its plural form or abbreviated as telecom, is the transmission of information over a distance using electronic means, typically through cables, radio waves, or other communication technologies. These means of ...
companies Omnitel and Infostrada. In 1997, he created the
Gruppo Editoriale L'Espresso GEDI Gruppo Editoriale S.p.A., formerly known as S.p.A., is an Italian media conglomerate. Founded in 1955, it is based in Turin, Italy, and controlled by the Agnelli family through Exor. The company is known for publishing newspapers ''La Re ...
(''L'Espresso Editorial Group''), merging the ''
L'Espresso () is an Italian progressive weekly news magazine. It is one of the two most prominent Italian weeklies; the other is the conservative magazine . Since 2022, it has been published by BFC Media. From 7 August 2016 to 10 September 2023, it was ...
'' and ''
La Repubblica (; English: "the Republic") is an Italian daily general-interest newspaper with an average circulation of 151,309 copies in May 2023. It was founded in 1976 in Rome by Gruppo Editoriale L'Espresso (now known as GEDI Gruppo Editoriale) and l ...
'' editorial groups. Carlo Caracciolo was appointed president of the group. De Benedetti assumed the presidency in 2006 after the death of Caracciolo. On 26 January 2009, at a press conference, De Benedetti announced his decision to retire from all his executive positions in the CIR Group, keeping at the request of the board of directors only the position of chairman of the Espresso Group. All the executive positions in the CIR Group were given to the then chief executive Rodolfo De Benedetti.


Media businesses and politics

De Benedetti once controlled ''
La Repubblica (; English: "the Republic") is an Italian daily general-interest newspaper with an average circulation of 151,309 copies in May 2023. It was founded in 1976 in Rome by Gruppo Editoriale L'Espresso (now known as GEDI Gruppo Editoriale) and l ...
,'' Italy's main
centre-left Centre-left politics is the range of left-wing political ideologies that lean closer to the political centre. Ideologies commonly associated with it include social democracy, social liberalism, progressivism, and green politics. Ideas commo ...
newspaper; ''
L'Espresso () is an Italian progressive weekly news magazine. It is one of the two most prominent Italian weeklies; the other is the conservative magazine . Since 2022, it has been published by BFC Media. From 7 August 2016 to 10 September 2023, it was ...
,'' a major news magazine; and ''
La Stampa (English: "The Press") is an Italian daily newspaper published in Turin with an average circulation of 87,143 copies in May 2023. Distributed in Italy and other European nations, it is one of the oldest newspapers in Italy. Until the late 1970 ...
'', a newspaper published out of Turin. In 2012, he handed control of his family media company to his sons, who later sold it to the Agnelli-Elkann family against his wishes. In 2020, he founded ''Domani'', a daily newspaper independent of political parties, to service liberal readers. The newspaper's ownership wouldeventually be transferred to a non-profit foundation. De Benedetti has often been identified with the Italian centre-left. He had a long-standing feud with
Silvio Berlusconi Silvio Berlusconi ( ; ; 29 September 193612 June 2023) was an Italian Media proprietor, media tycoon and politician who served as the prime minister of Italy in three governments from 1994 to 1995, 2001 to 2006 and 2008 to 2011. He was a mem ...
, and he once controlled the main centre-left-leaning Italian newspaper (''La Repubblica'') and newsmagazine (''L'Espresso''). He was called a "foe of Berlusconi" by ''
The Wall Street Journal ''The Wall Street Journal'' (''WSJ''), also referred to simply as the ''Journal,'' is an American newspaper based in New York City. The newspaper provides extensive coverage of news, especially business and finance. It operates on a subscriptio ...
''. In October 2005, De Benedetti reportedly offered
Benjamin Netanyahu Benjamin Netanyahu (born 21 October 1949) is an Israeli politician who has served as the prime minister of Israel since 2022, having previously held the office from 1996 to 1999 and from 2009 to 2021. Netanyahu is the longest-serving prime min ...
, then the
Finance Minister of Israel The Israeli Ministry of Finance () is the main economic ministry of the Government of Israel. It is responsible for planning and implementing the Government's overall economic policy, as well as setting targets for fiscal policy, preparing the dr ...
, the position of Italian finance minister, which Netanyahu declined. De Benedetti later said it had been a joke. Ehud Gol, the Israeli ambassador to Italy, had introduced the men.


Judicial affairs


Banco Ambrosiano

De Benedetti became deputy chairman of the Italian bank
Banco Ambrosiano Banco Ambrosiano was an Italian bank that was established in 1896 and collapsed in 1982. The Vatican-based Institute for the Works of Religion, commonly known as the ''Vatican Bank'', was Banco Ambrosiano's main shareholder. The Vatican Bank was ...
in 1981 by acquiring 2% of the capital; he left after only 61 days. In April 1992, De Benedetti and 32 other people were convicted of fraud by a
Milan Milan ( , , ; ) is a city in northern Italy, regional capital of Lombardy, the largest city in Italy by urban area and the List of cities in Italy, second-most-populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of nea ...
court in connection with the collapse of the bank."Court Convicts Financier, 23 Others in Billion-Dollar Failure of Italian Bank," ''
Rocky Mountain News The ''Rocky Mountain News'' (nicknamed the ''Rocky'') was a daily newspaper published in Denver, Colorado, from April 23, 1859, until February 27, 2009. It was owned by the E. W. Scripps Company from 1926 until its closing. the Monday–Friday ...
'', April 17, 1992
Benedetti was sentenced to six years and four months in prison; the sentence was in final instance overturned in April 1998 by Italy's Supreme Court of Cassation.


SME affair and Mondadori settlement

In 1985,
Romano Prodi Romano Prodi (; born 9 August 1939) is an Italian politician who served as President of the European Commission from 1999 to 2004 and twice as Prime Minister of Italy, from 1996 to 1998, and again from 2006 to 2008. Prodi is considered the fo ...
, then president of the state-owned IRI (Institute for Industrial Reconstruction), tried to sell the IRI share in SME (a former state-owned agency, later turned food industry conglomerate) to De Benedetti, who was then president of Buitoni (a food industry belonging to the CIR Group), for 497 billion. Other offers for SME included most notably one for a
joint venture A joint venture (JV) is a business entity created by two or more parties, generally characterized by shared ownership, shared returns and risks, and shared governance. Companies typically pursue joint ventures for one of four reasons: to acce ...
with
Fininvest Finanziaria d'investimento Fininvest S.p.A., also known as Fininvest, is an Italian holding company controlled by the Berlusconi family and managed by Silvio Berlusconi's eldest daughter Marina Berlusconi. Structure The Fininvest group is com ...
, a media group owned by entrepreneur and future Italian prime minister
Silvio Berlusconi Silvio Berlusconi ( ; ; 29 September 193612 June 2023) was an Italian Media proprietor, media tycoon and politician who served as the prime minister of Italy in three governments from 1994 to 1995, 2001 to 2006 and 2008 to 2011. He was a mem ...
. The sale to De Benedetti was later blocked by the then Italian prime minister
Bettino Craxi Benedetto "Bettino" Craxi ( ; ; ; 24 February 1934 – 19 January 2000) was an Italian politician and statesman, leader of the Italian Socialist Party (PSI) from 1976 to 1993, and the 45th Prime Minister of Italy, prime minister of Italy from 1 ...
, and SME remained state-owned until almost 10 years later. De Benedetti brought IRI to court in an attempt to appeal the block; the court, presided over by judge Filippo Verde, denied his case in 1986. In 1995, Berlusconi and the lawyers
Cesare Previti Cesare Previti (born 21 October 1934 in Reggio Calabria) is a former Italian politician, disbarred lawyer, and convicted criminal. Along with Marcello Dell'Utri, he was a close friend and right-hand of Silvio Berlusconi and founder of Forza Ital ...
, and Attilio Pacifico were accused of having bribed Filippo Verde and Renato Squillante to fix the trial against De Benedetti. According to the judges, as there was no evidence that the sentence of the Civil Court of Rome was bought, the defendants were acquitted of this charge; however, it was proved that judge Renato Squillante was "on the payroll" of Fininvest through Pacifico and Previti (crime of corruption in judicial acts committed but time-barred). Berlusconi was acquitted both of the corruption charge relating to the SME sentence and of the corruption charge relating to the cash payments made by Previti to Squillante (as recounted by Stefania Ariosto) and to the Orologio bank transfer of 1991. The Mondadori settlement was part of the Segrate War, a judicial-financial clash between De Benedetti and Berlusconi for the ownership of the Italian publishing house Arnoldo Mondadori Editore, which was won in court by Berlusconi. Another trial arose from the payment of bribes to obtain the award favourable to Berlusconi's side, and saw among the defendants Berlusconi himself and his closest collaborators, including Previti. This trial was merged in 2002 with the IMI/SIR trial. In 2013, the Supreme Court of Cassation sentenced in final instance Berlusconi's Fininvest to pay €494 million to De Benedetti's CIR Group.


Tangentopoli

In 1993, during the ''
Mani Pulite (; ) was a nationwide judicial investigation into political corruption in Italy held in the early 1990s, resulting in the demise of the First Italian Republic and the disappearance of many political parties. Some politicians and industry leade ...
'' (Clean Hands) political-corruption investigations, De Benedetti was arrested and admitted to having paid a ₤10 billion bribe to government parties in order to obtain a purchase order from
Poste Italiane Poste Italiane (, , abbr. PT) is the Italy, Italian postal service provider. Besides providing postal services, Poste Italiane offers communications, Postal savings system, postal savings products, logistics, and Financial services, financial a ...
(the Italian postal service) for obsolete
teleprinter A teleprinter (teletypewriter, teletype or TTY) is an electromechanical device that can be used to send and receive typed messages through various communications channels, in both point-to-point (telecommunications), point-to-point and point- ...
s and computers. In May 1993, he was officially put under investigation but never went to trial for this episode, the
statute of limitations A statute of limitations, known in civil law systems as a prescriptive period, is a law passed by a legislative body to set the maximum time after an event within which legal proceedings may be initiated. ("Time for commencing proceedings") In ...
having expired. "PPTT poste tangenti", ''La Republica'', 21 May 1993, web:
LR21
"Quell inchiesta contesa", ''La Republica'', 31 October 1993:


Personal life

From his first marriage in 1959 with Mita Crosetti, De Beneddetti had three children: Rodolfo, married to the writer Emmanuelle de Villepin; Marco, married to the journalist Paola Ferrari; Edoardo, married to Ilgi Suna Erel. In 1997, De Benedetti married the actress Silvia Monti, with whom he moved to
Lugano Lugano ( , , ; ) is a city and municipality within the Lugano District in the canton of Ticino, Switzerland. It is the largest city in both Ticino and the Italian-speaking region of southern Switzerland. Lugano has a population () of , and an u ...
in Switzerland. In 2009, he acquired Swiss citizenship, citing emotional reasons. Although he declared his intent to continue paying taxes in Italy, he was criticized for having made this choice for tax reasons. De Benedetti responded that he has always paid taxes in Italy. In 2010, he moved his civil residence to Dogliani, in the
Piedmont Piedmont ( ; ; ) is one of the 20 regions of Italy, located in the northwest Italy, Northwest of the country. It borders the Liguria region to the south, the Lombardy and Emilia-Romagna regions to the east, and the Aosta Valley region to the ...
region in Italy. In 2015, he announced that he had moved his registered residence and tax domicile to St. Moritz in Switzerland.


Honours

* Knight of the
Order of Merit for Labour The Order of Merit for Labour () is an Italian order of chivalry that was founded in 1923 by King Victor Emmanuel III of Italy, Vittorio Emanuele III. It is awarded to those "who have been singularly meritorious" in agriculture, industry and co ...
, 1983 * Italian Order of Merit for Culture and Art Golden medal, 1987.Sito web del Quirinale: dettaglio decorato.
* Officer of the
Legion of Honour The National Order of the Legion of Honour ( ), formerly the Imperial Order of the Legion of Honour (), is the highest and most prestigious French national order of merit, both military and Civil society, civil. Currently consisting of five cl ...
, 1987. * Member of the
Royal Swedish Academy of Engineering Sciences The Royal Swedish Academy of Engineering Sciences (, IVA), founded on 24 October 1919 by King Gustaf V, is one of the royal academies in Sweden. The academy is an independent organisation, which promotes contact and exchange between business, ...
, 1987. *
Decoration of Honour for Services to the Republic of Austria The Decoration of Honour for Services to the Republic of Austria () is a state decoration of the Republic of Austria. It is divided into 15 classes and is the highest award in the Austrian national honours system. History The Decoration of Hono ...
Silver medal, 2006.


References


External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:De Benedetti, Carlo 1934 births 20th-century Italian Jews Carlo Fiat people Italian people of Jewish descent Italian publishers (people) La Repubblica people Living people Members of the Royal Swedish Academy of Engineering Sciences Officers of the Legion of Honour Olivetti people Polytechnic University of Turin alumni Recipients of the Italian Order of Merit for Culture and Art Recipients of the Medal for Services to the Republic of Austria Recipients of the Order of Merit for Labour