John Elkann entered into view twenty minutes ahead of schedule, the tall, angular-faced forty-something stepping into the Parisian bookstore where he had arranged to meet us, a pink iPhone held to his ear. He then browsed the shelves to purchase three books. At the very moment he was optimistically recommending a book about physics to us – “You’ll find it accessible. My son read it.”–, the store manager came up to us. “Are you Alain’s son ?” she asked. We’d been spotted. If he is, in her eyes, the son of Alain Elkann, an Italian writer, he is above all John Elkann, the head of the powerful Agnelli family. Especially for his compatriots. They all recognize his youthful features, his wavy mane, his careful phrasing. “Elkann, can we take a picture ?” At the bookstore entrance, under the arcades of the rue Rivoli, he had been beckoned by Italian tourists. Dressed in jeans, white high-top sneakers, and a blue jacket with a sweater thrown over his shoulders, the 48-year-old Italian accepted. Back in the store, a bookseller, surprised by this mysterious client’s popularity, inquires “Are you a football player ? A movie star ?” With both hands clutching his bookbag, Elkann laughs, before blurting out “I work for Ferrari.” In reality, his CV is much longer.
Almost 20 years ago, he inherited a sinking ship, the Fiat Group. Today he is at the helm of an energized fleet, despite some headwinds. To the curious, he could introduce himself as the chairman of this prestigious automaker and its primary stockholder. He could evoke Stellantis (Peugeot, Jeep, Fiat, Maserati…), in which he holds the same positions and more. He could cite his shares in the influential magazine The Economist, the reputable Italian newspapers La Stampa and La Repubblica, the bus manufacturer Iveco, CNH – the second largest manufacturer of farming machinery, the electronics specialist Philips, the biological expert Institut Mérieux, Christian Louboutin shoes… He weighs in on their destiny through Exor, the holding company he manages. And we mustn’t forget Juventus, the reason why he’s most often solicited for selfies.
Superstar
Suddenly, Elkann’s eyes leave ours. A delicate voice is summoning him. “Do you know Ronaldo ?” The Portuguese player once donned the colors of the family’s soccer club. Behind a stack of books, his compatriot continues “When I heard he was leaving Juve, I couldn’t sleep.” Standing 1.89 meters tall, Elkann looks down at the bruised fan: “How old are you ?” Response: “6. I was 3 when he left.” Don’t bother trying to find one, no other European leader captures as much attention from his fellow citizens. From Portugal, his brother Lapo nuances: “You know the Italian expression ‘Onori, oneri’… It would be too easy to enjoy the honors (onori) if you didn’t perform the duties (oneri), no ? I’m sure there must be leaders in France who are as much in the public eye as John is.”
To find out, we knocked on the door of Dior, headed by the discreet Delphine Arnault, of the Arnault family, the largest fortune in France, and, depending on the day, in the world. Having lived in Milan, she knows the Agnelli tale by heart: “John Elkann’s grandfather, Gianni Agnelli, considered the King of Italy, is a legend who still commands a lot of respect and admiration”; the clan’s nickname “the Kennedys of Italy”; the tragedies that precipitated the 27-year-old Elkann onto the throne… She met the man she knows by his nickname, Jaki, in Venice. “When you go out for a walk with him in Italy, you quickly realize just how popular he is in the country.” What does Axel Dumas of the Hermès dynasty think ? “Being with John is a lesson in modesty,” admits the Exor director, representative of the 6th generation of his family, in his office lined in drawings of his uncles.
Baptism by fire
Whether he’s speaking in English, French or Italian, Elkann always pauses a few seconds and then unrolls, pulls back, contextualizes… Don’t expect this great reader to rehash the past. Storytelling, anecdotes are not really his thing. We had to depend on those close to him to put together the puzzle of his life, starting with the crucial year of 2004. At 28, he finds himself alone at the reins of the Fiat conglomerate, cofounded by his grandfather’s grandfather in 1899 in Turin. His great-uncle, the capable Umberto Agnelli, has just died; a few years before the clan had lost the flamboyant Gianni as well as the pretender to the throne, Giovannino, struck at the age of 33 by an aggressive cancer. “More than anything, I inherited challenges and responsibilities”, he says.
The state of the accounts at the time is dizzying. Pessimists predict Fiat’s bankruptcy, optimists a bank takeover. Two timebombs are waiting for him on his desk. Tick-tock. The first timer is set for September 20, 2005. Fiat, of which the Agnellis hold 30.06 %, must reimburse 3 billion euros to eight banks. In the event of a default, they will take control of the company. Through an calculating maneuver on the markets, Elkann saves the family business.
The second bomb is trickier to defuse. As of February 2, 2005, Fiat could compel General Motors to buy out its automotive activities, according to an agreement signed in 2000. Given the cataclysmic results of the Italian company, GM wants to pull out. Should the deminer Elkann cut the red wire and go to court ? Or the blue wire and negotiate a payout ? Tick-tock. Elkann hesitates. How will the all-important American business community react ? Red ? Blue ? Elkann needs an oracle to help him decide and thus turns to the financial wizard Warren Buffett. “He said that fighting them in court would be very poorly regarded in the United States,” recalls a witness. Elkann opts for an out-of-court settlement, entrusting negotiations to Fiat’s CEO, the tetchy Sergio Marchionne. On February 6, 2005, the latter is in the United States to seal the deal with Rick Wagoner, his counterpart at GM. At the same moment, Fiat’s directors are meeting in Turin, ready to endorse the deal. But Marchionne calls them. Patience. Wagoner is watching the Super Bowl… Three hours later, at the final whistle, GM signs a check for 1.55 billion euros. “1.55 billion not to buy us out,” underscores a former company member. “Imagine the rotten state of the business.”
Initiatory journey
The heir’s basket is full of problems. It’s difficult to navigate in this complex familial structure, made up of several embedded holding companies confined to Italy. Seeking inspiration, the Turinese turns to influential business dynasties: the Frères in Belgium and especially the Wallenbergs in Sweden, shareholders in Electrolux, Ericsson, AstraZeneca. “They are one of the entrepreneurial families we admire the most: they think long term and believe firmly in people’s abilities and leadership,” explains the Agnelli boss. “I was lucky to get to spend time with them in Stockholm, and they helped us become what we are today.”
His tip hunting leads him to Hong Kong, where he meets with the Jardine Matheson family. He then crosses the Atlantic to consult “the oracle” Warren Buffett. “He is undeniably a source of inspiration, someone who has done extraordinary things. I learned a lot from him: the importance of common sense and the need to maintain logical reasoning when making investment choices.” He also makes friends with the Brazilian Jorge Lemann, founder of 3G Capital fund. At the end of his initiatory journey, Elkann merges his holdings to create Exor, with the world as his horizon. “Its model is relatively hybrid, with the rigor and demands of a listed company combined with an attachment to certain strong brands,” comments Axel Dumas, who sits on the board. “They want to influence their companies as owners – with a long-term commitment–not as financiers.”
Exor goes public on March 1, 2009, with a share price of 6 euros. Fifteen years later, it is nearly 93 euros, outperforming the S & P 500, a benchmark U.S. equity index; the center of gravity has moved to the United States. “In a family business, there is also this feeling of carrying on the work of those who are no longer with us,” adds Dumas. “We see our family’s name on the walls, we see the dead…we try to live up to them.”
Obsession with duration
On this June day in 2015, after an hour and a half’s drive in his Maserati with his wife, John Elkann reaches the Alpine municipality of Trivero. The car’s interior is by Zegna. The 3rd and 4th generations of this other Piedmontese dynasty are waiting for the couple. At 39, this specialist in sharp turns has news to share, notably the recent takeover of Chrysler by Fiat, creating FCA, at the end of 2014.
“He began by saying that only 44 family businesses out of a million live out a century and that one in a billion endure 200 years,” recalls Gildo Zegna from his photo-filled Milanese office. The King of Spain, Giorgio Armani… and a shot of Elkann and Marchionne. Zegna, a former FCA board member, continues “He spoke to us of the importance of alliances, innovation, the behavior of family members. He also insisted upon the fact that it was better to be a minority shareholder in a large group than a majority shareholder in a small group because this offers more potential for growth.” When speaking to the Zegnas, Elkann obviously keeps quiet about the coup he’s cooking up in reinsurance. A sector which, to the contrary of the automobile industry, doesn’t devour capital. At the end of 2015, he acquires PartnerRe for 6.9 billion dollars. Never had the Agnellis ventured so much. Elkann consults Buffett…again. “He was very generous with his time,” he acknowledges. But hadn’t he evoked at Trivero the necessity of adapting the size of one’s business to remain competitive ? Caught up by his own recommendations and the sector’s consolidation, he sells PartnerRe for 9 billion in 2021: 2.1 billion in capital gains. A nest egg for the future.
Process
The Mérieux family and champagne are waiting for them. John Elkann, his three children and his wife, Lavinia Borromeo, arrive at the Auberge du Pont de Collonges, Lyon’s temple of gastronomy, on the other side of the Alps. On the menu this summer 2022: an 833-million-euro engagement. Exor is acquiring 10 % of Institut Mérieux, experts in medical testing and immunotherapy. “It was a meal to get to know each other better,” Alexandre Mérieux tells us in his grandfather’s office. “We talked about background trends, the role of diagnostics in personalized medicine…We occasionally exchanged contacts.” Numbers like that of Stéphane Bancel, formerly of Mérieux, cofounder of Moderna and champion of messenger RNA vaccines.
In search of patient investors, the Frenchie introduces himself to the Italian. The prudent Elkann places a few marbles via an investment fund, as drugs seem complex to him. The connection is made. Bancel soon welcomes him to the hustle and bustle of Boston, the paradise of biotech, along with influential “advisors” from Exor – Jorge Lemann, Tishman Speyer, one of the biggest promoters in the world, and Michael Larson, who manages Bill Gates’s fortune.
The sector is enticing: in the United States, healthcare spending has jumped from 12.9 to 16.7 % in twenty-five years. “Innovation is the key to developing more effective prevention solutions and treatments, which will allow us to control this cost inflation,” foresees Elkann.
In Boston, as at the Mérieux dinner, Benoît Ribadeau-Dumas is piloting Exor’s health strategy, as he has since 2022. Given these millions to spend for Mérieux, the former cabinet director of one-time Prime Minister Édouard Philippe, known for not being one to throw money out the window, suggests consulting a research firm. The head of Exor half-smiles: “If you want…But why don’t we just go to the source ?” The Elkann method reveals itself. You have to sound out the field: in Switzerland, the behemoth Roche; BioMérieux’s partners. “He was watching me pedal, but he had already made up his mind !” confides “BRD,” who will later discover that Elkann had also solicited Mitchell Rales, the head of Danaher, Mérieux’s competitor.
This first taste in Lyon only whet John Elkann’s appetite. In the summer of 2023, for 2.6 billion, he swallows a large portion of Philips, becoming its leading shareholder. Under a low Dutch sky in Eindhoven, the Agnelli heir strolls through the Philips mansion, now a museum. A building that echoes his personal story. He is fascinated by Philips’ ability to renew since 1891. “The perfect alliance of permanence and reinvention,” underlines Ribadeau-Dumas. “An exact reflection of what he did and wants to continue to do for his own company.”
Cousins in luxury
Elkann is on offense. He who, as a child, would cough up his lungs in the middle of the field, has organized a soccer tournament to close the Agnelli family reunion for the last seven years. The competition takes place at the Continassa, their adored Juventus’s training center. In the past it’s been held in the actual stadium. This year, six teams of eleven players hailing from the United States, Argentina, Portugal, France and all of Italy have matched up. Elkann’s squadra was eliminated in the first round. “I learn from defeat.”
Before lacing up his cleats, Elkann explains to his cousins, coming from eleven branches of the family, how he wets his shirt for them in the business field. “It’s a moment for the family to share and exchange about what unites us.” He answers all their questions. Or almost. This summer he dribbled a cousin who wanted to know if the CEO of Renault, Luca de Meo – formerly of Fiat – was going to join Stellantis. Like a good captain, Elkann ensures that the eleven branches of the Agnelli family bond. During the last event, he was seen scolding the Brandolinis, who were all huddled together. “Yak came and told us: ‘Mingle ! Get to know each other ! Go talk to our Argentinian cousins.’ And he’s right.” laughs Cornelia Brandolini d’Adda. The interests of this tribe, made up of a hundred associates, are grouped together in the Giovanni Agnelli BV holding company, which controls 57.07 % of Exor (86.29 % of the voting rights). Since 2009, they have received approximately 800 million in dividends. “Yaks is very patriarchal, very ‘soft power’. Even my 97-year-old grandmother is grateful to him,” confides his cousin.
Only Elkann works for the family businesses. “Everyone is free to choose whether to get involved or not,” he nuances. But who are these Agnellis ? Princes, counts, entrepreneurs, financiers, actors, athletes, organizers of the Olympic Games, Giorgio Armani’s nephew, the designer Diane von Furstenberg’s children…
His friend Jeff Bezos
When Jeff Bezos calls from the United States, it’s late in Europe. Amazon’s founder tries to remember: was it his friend Diane von Furstenberg who first introduced him to John Elkann a dozen years ago ? At Sun Valley, where she was with her husband, the businessman Barry Diller, at that conference that brings together titans of the media and technology ? What is certain is that Bezos was intrigued by this young man who had managed to turn around the family empire. Since then, their relationship has gone beyond business. “We’re very supportive of each other,” confides Bezos. They get together several times a year. Their conversations range from “normal things” (vacation, children) to high stakes: electric and self-driving cars, artificial intelligence, the future of the media … “John spends a lot of time, in a very thoughtful and deliberate way, forming his opinions and then considering how these future trends are going to affect his companies. It’s not surprising that he does this, but I’d say the quality with which he does it is very impressive.”
During a dinner in 2010, Ajay Banga discovers the same curiosity in Elkann that struck Bezos. The Indian-American had just become managing director of the giant Mastercard. “John kept asking questions. His curiosity was what struck me. He had read everything he could access about me and the company Mastercard and came very prepared,” recalls the man who now presides over the World Bank. “And of course, I discovered he knew a great deal about India – almost like he was half-Indian !” Elkann even knows a few words in Hindi. At dessert, he mentions his appetite for some shares in Mastercard. The first link with Banga is forged. The two men meet again at the China Development Forum. Their complicity grows, nourished by their shared proximity with the Furstenberg-Diller couple. Roland-Garros 2019 seals their friendship. In the VIP loge to which Banga had invited Elkann, a pause in the action on the court turns into a financial thriller when a leak reveals a possible union between FCA and Renault. Journalists lay siege to trap the chairman and primary shareholder of the Italian-American automaker. Emergency security has to be called in to save him !
Like Bezos, once a protector, Banga has emerged as a mentor. Elkann offered him the chairmanship of Exor, a position he held from May 2022 to April 2023. From his office in Washington, Banga calls himself a “big brother.” Available at any time.
His big sisters
Beginning 2020, Christine Lagarde is confined in Frankfort. Fear, doubt and urgency reign. In the midst of the Covid storm, the president of the European Central Bank must devise innovative solutions to dampen the shock. Her telephone rings. It’s Elkann on the line. “He was one of the first to contact me to tell me that things were going very poorly,” she tells us. “He said it was imperative to find other financing solutions without which the industrial sector would collapse.” The former president of the International Monetary Fund evokes her “friend.” “In moments of crisis, when you don’t really know where things are going, I need to have trusted contacts. He’s one of them.”
Their relationship goes back to her time as French Minister of the Economy (2007-2011) when they began rubbing shoulders at the ultra-confidential conferences – Bilderberg, Sun-Valley, Google Camp – that bring together the most influential world decision-makers, as well as in a more intimate context. “His relationship with the truth is a rare thing at this level of responsibility. He’s candid. He doesn’t mince his words.” At CERN’s 70th anniversary, Exor’s CEO whispers to Lagarde his impressions on the multilingual presentation by the President of the European Commission, Ursula Van der Leyen… What was Elkann doing amongst heads of state and Higgs boson explorers ? He was the guest of Fabiola Gianotti, CERN’s director-general, a friend who owes him a debt of gratitude. In June 2018, she confides in him about her difficulties financing her Science Portal, an education initiative. The Swiss donations were insufficient, might he have any leads in Italy ? “Whether it be for small things or big things, John always keeps his word,” notes Gianotti. Elkann proposes to get back to her at the end of July. She doesn’t put much stake in it. The meeting is set for the day after FCA’s CEO Sergio Marchionne’s sudden death. She knows how close they were. Still, he calls her: the FCA Foundation (future Stellantis) is signing a check for 45 million Swiss francs, the largest received by CERN. And that’s not all. Elkann promises to make some calls to complete the fundraising. Anonymous contributions pour in from all of affluent Europe.
Jaki and the Chocolate Factory
Occasionally, on the banks of the Pô, far from the luxury boutiques, a procession of very presidential sedans double-parks to drop off passengers at a small boutique. Let’s push open the door. Yellow boxes, old photos of Turin, and especially the smell of cocoa. In 2019, Elkann saved this chocolate factory from ruin. “He says it often: here too we are developing a survival instinct !” confides his associate, Alessandro Pradelli. Despite its low profile, this is the activity Elkann consecrates the most of his time to in proportion to its size. Sometimes he takes on the role of tour guide, welcoming from Hong Kong Michael Kadoorie, owner of the Peninsula hotels, or Patrick Collison, founder of the payment platform Stripe.
In the private lounge, we are intrigued by a double-handled mug. It’s a copy of a present given to Mark Zuckerberg (Facebook) and his spouse, Priscilla, during their visit. A nod to their first meeting over hot chocolate. Two other gifts are ready: one for Sam Altman, cofounder of OpenAI, the other for Kimbal Musk. Who knows if the latter has been warned by his brother Elon… When it was his turn, the founder of Tesla received a little silver case in which he discovered seven capsules and his mission: to sow the precious contents – Columbian cocoa beans and hazelnuts from Cravanzana in Piedmont– on Mars. The head of SpaceX’s response is posted in the boutique: “Ad astra” (“To the stars”). What wouldn’t you do for a friend ?
One night in June 2023, Elkann receives a message from Musk. He’s not on the red planet, but in Paris, like the Italian. The Texan is having a hard time getting over his jetlag. Night is falling. Would Elkann like to join him for a stroll along the banks of the Seine ? He would so like to see the embassy of his native South Africa. The Turinese goes to meet him, a bottle of grappa under his arm. “Cheers, Elon ! – Salute, John.” Once, twice, x times… The SpaceX and Exor’s bosses’ escapade continues to the wee hours of the morning.
From Turin and elsewhere
“John is from nowhere and somewhere,” suggests Christine Lagarde. His “nowhere” includes Paris, Rio and London – where he lived as child and adolescent– but also, and especially, New York, where he was born. “It’s a fundamental country for me. I owe it my life.” The story begins in the clamor of the Second World War. His French grandfather, Jean-Paul Elkann, and his Italian grandmother, Carla Ovazza, flee antisemitism to New York, before returning to Europe. His parents, Alain Elkann and Margherita Agnelli, move there in 1975, far from the Italy of the Years of Lead. While the couple is expecting John, a tragedy unfolds in Turin. Carla Ovazza is held hostage for thirty-five days. “As children, whenever we went back to Turin,” recalls John’s sister Ginevra Elkann, “we were always protected by bodyguards, and we drove around in armored vehicles.”
This land of asylum becomes a land of conquest. Stellantis, Ferrari, Philips and CNH record their best results there. “Our job consists in being competitive, and America is our biggest market. I do not feel insecure. Look: Fiat became FCA then Stellantis… What’s important is having realistic ambition and the humility to understand what it means to be ready to compete.” Since 2014 and Chrysler, Elkann spends nearly three months a year across the Atlantic with his family in New York. From meeting to meeting with investors on Wall Street and thinking heads, he weaves his web. The rest of the year, he makes stopovers there. “Unlike other Europeans who think they understand Silicon Valley in just a few months, John has built deep connections there. He is skilled at identifying what’s essential and focuses on getting to know those who will shape tomorrow, » observes Zanny Minton Beddoes, editor-in-chief of The Economist. In Palo Alto, California, at the end of October, Elkann was meeting with Jamie Dimon, the big boss of JPMorgan, along with former British Prime Minister Tony Blair, former American Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Axel Dumas, who are (like him) international advisors to the American bank.
His “somewhere” is Turin, where he unpacked his bags as an 18-year-old student. “I am viscerally Italian and open to the world.” The Turino-New-Yorker knows by heart all the accusations of non-Italianity that have been brought against him: his first name, his last name, his way of expressing himself. No matter how many gestures he makes to demonstrate what a good citizen he is, the green-white-red police always catch up with him. His pledge to bring the Champions League back, not to Turin, but to Italy, doesn’t count, not more than his efforts to create a national sailing team, his financing of university chairs around the world to celebrate Italian know-how, or his convincing Google to set up its European base in Sicily. His detractors only see Fiat, merged into Stellantis. That he rescued the automaker doesn’t count either; they point to the loss of jobs.
To hear them tell it, the United States and France were the big winners in the merger of FCA and PSA, despite Rome’s generosity in public aid. His cousins stand united. “We went from being a provincial business to a fortress – today it may be under attack, but it is able to hold back the siege,” summarizes Lupo Rattazzi. Tiziana Nasi, a native of Turin, admits she’s a bit nostalgic: “Of course it pains me to see our city slow down. But we can’t forever carry companies that are no longer in the race.”
The Juventus religion
The Juventus Basilica rises up to the north of Turin. On the second floor, where white and black reign supreme, Maurizio Scanavino awaits us. He manages the club and presides over the Gedi press group (La Stampa, La Repubblica…) – two economically complex, passionate worlds. He met Elkann in an austere boarding school in his youth. At the time, one was a pontiff, the other at the bottom rung of this strange structure’s social ladder. To be clear, Scanavino was the pope supervising daily life. Order reigned: compulsory conferences, regular reports to the father superior, daily chores, common toilets… And soccer, of course: Elkann wore Juve’s colors, Scanavino, those of the rival team from Torino. In spite of everything, the first befriended the second, to the point of entrusting him with his precious golden-record team.
Some of France’s greatest players have graced the pitch: Platini, Deschamps, Zidane, Trezeguet, Thuram, Matuidi, Rabiot, Pogba. But what makes the team unique is its tie with the Agnelli family. Just read the messages celebrating their 100-year anniversary– a world record !–: ”infinite love,” “limitless affection,” “pride,” “memories,” “belonging,” “shared shots,” ”I was born Juventino, I will die Juventino,” etc. All signed by Agnellis.
One name is missing: Andrea Agnelli. Under the presidency of this cousin (2010-2022), Juve reached the summit before sinking into a tragic spiral. “The club went through a very difficult period,” says a friend. “John had to juggle between his cousin and the challenge of managing Juventus and protecting the Agnelli family.” The bianconero (“black and white”) bulldozer seemed unstoppable with its nine consecutive national titles and two finals in the Champions League. Until the fateful day in April 2021 when Andrea Agnelli tries his hand by launching an inter-club competition without the greenlight of the European Federation (UEFA). In forty-eight hours, the project collapses. Six months later, suspicions of false accounting statements prevail. End 2022, he has to step down from both the presidency of the club and his position on the board of Exor and Stellantis. In sporting terms, Juve loses points in the standings and their European ticket. Quite a financial gash.
To dress the wounds, Elkann chooses Scanavino. “The project remains very ambitious and competitive,” underscores the manager and friend. “It’s more in synch with reality.” With 199.2 million in losses and a turnover falling to 394.6 million, the challenge is immense. “We still have champions, strong players. We’re banking more on the young people at our training center. The costs and opportunities for adding value are not the same.”
Amongst the messages honoring the 100-year union between Juve and the Agnellis, there is, of course, a declaration of love from Elkann and from his three children. The youngest wrote a single word: “family.”
His nest
John Elkann makes the introductions. Facing us, a brunette whose tennis arm is praised. It’s his mischievous 12-year-old daughter Vita, who immediately corrects her father’s shot. Actually, her real talent is kickboxing. We take a step back. The family portrait widens. To the left, his elder son (Leone, 18), to the right, the younger (Oceano, 17) and in the middle, their mother, Lavinia Borromeo. The merry band, all sports addicts, is getting ready to follow the American gymnast Simone Biles at the Olympic Games. Their faces are familiar; John Elkann had shown us pictures of their escapade at the Berkshire Hathaway meeting, piloted by Warren Buffett.
The sons claim to read The Economist and La Stampa, two titles in the family newsstand. Really ? The nods of the two female members of the “Casa Elkann” confirm it. The elder, sensing our skepticism, explains. Each day a thick packet of newspapers arrives at their home. As children, his brother and he, both crazy about soccer, only had eyes for La Gazzetta dello Sport, the peninsula’s leading sports daily. But in the Elkann-Borromeo household, picking and choosing out of the pile was out of the question ! The couple invented a little trick: read and summarize three articles from La Stampa per day to gain access to the Gazzetta.
Their education is set in stone. Before turning 18, they have four internships ahead of them: one in design, two in customer service, and another outside. In a restaurant, a zoo, a campground, with an architect… It’s common to cross paths with one of them observing one of their father’s activities or participating in philanthropic actions. Preparing the succession ? Yes and no. “The healthiest approach is not imposing a choice: it’s about neither forcing them to work in the family businesses nor dissuading them. It’s important that their interests lead them to make the best choice for them.”
We admit it here to John Elkann: three or four people showed us one of his latest family photo reports (he’s nuts about them). We see him buying a mattress to move his son onto an American campus, carrying it up the stairs with his sons “like a normal person,” underlines a friend. To this latter, we mention our encounter with the family and what one of his children confided to us: their parents don’t want to make the same mistakes that theirs did. Our interlocutor: “John says exactly that, word for word.”
The War of the Inheritance
At each of our interviews, John Elkann can’t help but mention his mother. In Turin, he jabs “I’m completely serene because I have done absolutely none of the things they are accusing me of.” One week earlier, the city’s public prosecutor had ordered the precautionary seizure of 75 million euros from the assets of the Elkann siblings– John, Lapo and Ginevra – and their collaborators. The plaintiff ? Their mamma, Margherita Agnelli. To be exact, the latter was targeting her own mother, Marella Caracciolo, who died in 2019… But, since the three Elkann grandchildren are her heirs, according to a will dating from 2011, the courts are calling them to account. And that is just one front of a war that began two decades ago. With ongoing trials in Italy and Switzerland, the saga has captivated the media: prime-time television programs are consecrated to it, television drones have flown over the Elkann’s villa in Turin, his address and those of his children’s schools have been divulged…
It all begins on January 24, 2003, upon the death of Gianni Agnelli, the patriarch of Fiat. His succession generates a fight between his wife Marella and their daughter Margherita. After bitter negotiations, the two parties, declaring residency in Switzerland, come to an agreement. The terms: the daughter, Margherita, renounces her claim to any inheritance at her mother Marella’s death in exchange for a large piece of Gianni Agnelli’s pie. She receives money, apartments, paintings, etc. of an estimated worth between 1.2 and 3 billion euros. Marella retains the usufruct of properties and has her own assets. All this is supplemented by a monthly annuity of 583,333.50 euros paid by Margherita.
The arrangement doesn’t end there. Margherita sells her share (37.5 %) in the family holding company (Dicembre), indirectly a Fiat shareholder, to her mother for 105 million. What does Marella do, of her own accord ? She sells, just after, bare ownership of her shares (41.29 %) to her three Elkann grandchildren for 80.936 million euros. Her five other grandchildren, born of Margherita’s second marriage to Serge de Pahlen, some of whom are still minors at the time, are not involved in this transaction. The eldest sibling, John, having already received shares as a gift from his grandparents, consolidates his majority (60 %).
With all this wealth, Margherita de Pahlen finds it hard to celebrate. What if the shares she sold had been undervalued ? What if foreign assets had been hidden from her ? Her entourage speaks of hundreds of millions of dissimulated assets. In 2007, she files a complaint against her father’s family, but it is rejected by the courts. At the same time, the opposing side takes action to secure the 2004 agreement, without making headway. The conflict stalls before flaring up again in 2019 after Marella’s passing. The crossfire multiplies -– the three Elkanns insisting that the courts validate the 2004 deed, their mother claiming to be Marella’s heir. “I have made multiple attempts in the hope of finding peace, the last after my grandmother’s death. I visited my mother,” replies Elkann. But there has been no reconciliation on the banks of the Leman. Quite the contrary.
Margherita de Pahlen’s thesis ? She contests Marella’s Swiss residency, claiming that she was living in Italy– where it is impossible to disinherit a child. The police have made multiple raids of Elkann’s home, his lawyers and those close to him, seeking indications of fraud. They are also investigating the share transactions between Marella and her grandchildren. When we contacted her, Marguerita de Pahlen let her entourage insist that her rights could be restored to the detriment of her three eldest children.
When she gave up her shares in 2004, at the moment her son John was becoming the head of the family, she didn’t imagine she was making a mistake. Wasn’t she the one who added, on the agreement she signed with her mother, the words “in the spirit of conciliation” ? Five years later, dividends started pouring in again and according to her cousin Lupo Ratazzi, their stocks’ value “multiplied tenfold” in twenty years. “She took everything: the money, the houses, the paintings,” corrects Elkann. “What we have today, we owe to our hard work and our sense of responsibility.”
The “Russian” stepfather
Elkann calls him his mother’s husband. Serge de Pahlen. “Let’s just say that, for him, we didn’t exist.” This Frenchman, son of “White Russians” who fled the Bolsheviks, walks into Elkann’s life in 1982 when he’s 6 years old. For a long time, Pahlen was Vice President of Fiat International, responsible, notably, for Russia. He had an office, in Moscow, which was closed following the Margherita-Marella agreement. At 80 years of age, Pahlen now runs a little Russophile publishing house in Switzerland. The Agnellis who have spent time with Pahlen describe him as a man of few words, always in the shadows, who bewitched his wife. “People said that Serge was a spy, but it was a joke !” recounts an Agnelli. They stopped laughing when they read Putin’s People (HarperCollins), in which journalist Catherine Belton accuses Pahlen of having ties to the KGB. When contacted, the concerned contests this hypothesis just as he did when the book was published. “Wouldn’t Gianni have known ? What interest would a Russian agent have in Fiat ?” asks an Agnelli. Without engaging in a conspiracy theory, Fiat was of great interest: the number one employer in Italy, influential Communist groups in its factories, a Gianni Agnelli who was intimate with the former American Secretary of State Kissinger, an Agnelli Minister of Foreign Affairs, etc. The Agnelli family remembers Pahlen rubbing shoulders with Oleg Deripaska, an aluminum oligarch sanctioned by the EU. And one particular scene resurges from the past. It takes place at the Agnelli domain, Villar Perosa. There is a crowd at the family property; Gianni is there, his wife too, just like Margherita and Serge de Pahlen. A friend of the latter is making conversation poolside – sports, cuisine. “It was Vladimir Putin,” reports an Agnelli, “before he was Vladimir Putin.” Serge de Pahlen, on the other hand, speaks of simple professional meetings related to his activities at Fiat.
A mother with “weak nerves”
Imagine the Parisian apartment where the adolescent John Elkann lived for six years. Located on the ground floor of a Haussmannian building, a wide corridor leads to a living room with a heteroclite decor. From this room, there is access to two wings: one houses the three Elkann children, the other, the Pahlen clan. Religious icons, paintings by Margherita. A mystical wind swirls between the walls. The mother, who converted to her husband’s orthodox religion, slips religious figures into her family’s bags and sends her children to religious retreats where the flag of the Russian empire is raised. The elder children, baptized Catholic, must follow along. At school, Russian replaces Italian. “Religious fanaticism, bigotry,” according to John Elkann. “She wanted us to adhere to her husband’s orthodox world and imposed it on us, in a way, so that he would accept us. To no avail.”
While popes occasionally lead prayers at their large table, nightly dinners are often in two shifts: first the Pahlens, then the Elkanns. This apartment’s sacred breath reaches the Alps. In Turin, it’s said sotto voce that the elder children are called “the three little Jews.” Their grandfather, Jean-Paul Elkann, was then President of the Consistoire Central Israélite of France.
Rumors also circulate about fury. That of Margherita de Pahlen. “She’s naturally a violent person, full of resentment. She denigrated our father… Dialogue is impossible with her. Faced with this inability, she becomes violent, verbally or physically,” describes John Elkann. “She can’t stand not being right. The slightest opposition was punished. The situation got worse when she started her new life: having three children from a preceding marriage was a problem.” We question him: “Did she slap you ?” Prolonged silence. “More than that. Of all of us, Lapo got the worst of it.” His sister Ginevra declares: “My mother was a woman with weak nerves.” As for the younger son, Lapo, whose life long provided fodder for the newspapers, he limits himself to these words: “If John and Ginevra want to talk about it, they’re obviously free to do so. I personally would like to keep it to myself.” Through the intermediary of her lawyer, Margherita Agnelli de Pahlen told us that she “prefers not to answer, having always felt an equal affection for all of her children. We personally find it very strange that this alleged abuse has been reported after no less than forty years, strangely coinciding with a legal dispute that Margherita was not the first to initiate against her children.”
In this Parisian mare’s nest, the older brother becomes “the elder in all senses of the term,” recalls his younger sister. After their parents’ divorce, he takes care of everything– luggage, toothbrushing, prayers… Lapo and Ginevra may well have insisted: “Jaki, you’re not mom !” he ensures that the rules are respected. “He had a deep, unfailing attachment to our mother. He supported her unstintingly,” insists Ginevra. “But when he needed her most, when he found himself alone with Fiat, she turned her back on him.”
Respite comes as the family grows. “The more children our mother had, the less she was on our back, giving us more freedom,” underlines the Agnelli boss. Every Friday night, the Pahlens go to their country house. The elder children stay in Paris, hosting their cousin Cornelia (Coco) and their friends. “I don’t want to paint this period as only dark,” nuances John. “Yes, there was no social life as a family, but we had our own social life with our friends.” Lapo’s room is the epicenter of their adventures, with Valse de Vienne by François Feldman and Changes by David Bowie as the soundtrack. Young John agrees to watch Twin Peaks with Coco and Ginevra – they adore the horror series even if it terrifies them… The elder keeps a watchful eye.
Ferrari, the red sun
We are waiting for him at the end of the line of ultra-exclusive Daytona racing cars in the Ferrari sanctuary. He finally appears in his presidential guise: navy blue suit and fitted tie. The workers, who should have already finished their day, polish what already shines. The president winks at us. He knows we have an appointment, but he’s making the shop rounds, listening to anecdotes about his grandfather Gianni who had the brilliant idea of taking a stake in the company in 1969. “Ferrari is a truly unique, exceptional company, which must continue to make exceptional products with evolving technologies,” he insists.
In the Agnelli jewelry box, Ferrari shines with a special luster. Even if Stellantis, Philips and CNH pay higher dividends, the prancing-horse brand is the most beautiful diamond. And to think that, until 2015, the company scraped by within FCA… Since its independence, it has been making its way on Wall Street, with a nine-fold increase in its share price and margins worthy of the luxury sector. But Ferrari is more than just the numbers, no matter how impressive they may be. It’s the sport that shapes the myth.
The Scuderia is housed in a building with a red and black façade. Behind a half-open iron curtain, Formula 1 mechanics are hard at work. “Our sport is quite special: a thousand-person team with two cars and two drivers. It’s very passionate,” judges Charles Leclerc, F1 driver for Ferrari. Having just won the Italian Grand Prix at Monza, the Monegasque appears on screen. The pressure is immense as Ferrari’s last title in the F1 constructors’ standings dates back to 2008 and that of its drivers to 2007. “John never sets objectives; it’s clear enough for us, only winning matters. He cares more about our behavior, our attitude.” So, when Leclerc appears over-committed, the safety car Elkann catches up with him. “Charles, you should reread the book !” he nudges. A book by Mike Clayton– that Elkann gave him– entitled Learning how to say no.
Yet, Elkann knows how to say yes. And sometimes, when it’s about Ferrari, in less time than it takes to get around the track. In the midst of Covid, Maranello proposes an insane project: return to endurance racing by taking part in the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Only one question preoccupies Elkann: “Are we sure to win ?” Thirty minutes later, it’s sì. “He saw the interest in going back into endurance as a means of reinforcing our clients’ fidelity,” underlines Antonello Coletta, head of endurance activities. In 2023, Ferrari builds a village, in the heart of the Sarthois circuit, for its customers. John Elkann arrives to pamper them with wife, children, sister and nephews in tow. Under the president’s black jacket, a bright orange and black supporter t-shirt with enormous Ferrari logos. Impossible to miss. The atmosphere is electric. In the trials, the cars never managed to hold up 24 hours. Sunday, June 11, 2023 at 4:13 pm, a miracle takes place. After 342 laps, a Ferrari crosses the finish line victorious. Bis repetita, in 2024. John Elkann breathes in the roar of the engines. Ferrari is his breath of fresh air.
The “After Tavares”
In the living room of the historic Agnelli family home, visitors discover two F1 miniatures and two documents in a display case. The first shows Fiat’s accounts from 1900. The second propels us to September 16, 2010, the day of the General Assembly meeting that acted the demerger of Fiat. On one side, Fiat, Jeep, Ferrari, etc. and on the other, CNH and Iveco. Elkann congratulates himself on turning the page on “difficult years, dark times.” He relates “Beginning in 2004, with the arrival of Mr. Marchionne, things changed, not because the problems had changed, nor the difficulties or complexity, but the manner of confronting them. […] we no longer wanted to live in a world of fairy tales, but in reality.”
Fifteen years later, Stellantis – born of the marriage FCA-PSA in 2021 to cushion rising fixed costs, pool R & D, and maximize scale effects to finance electrification and connectivity– is at a crossroads. “Stellantis must become competitive in the electric vehicle sector,” insists its executive president “when facing new competition like Tesla or the Chinese manufacturers.” The lights are yellow. The American market is running out of steam after several record years. Turnover has fallen 27 % compared to the third trimester of 2023, deliveries by 20 %. Profitability is deteriorating. Cash is melting away. The share price is plummeting. “It is essential to keep in mind that nothing is ever lost, nothing is ever gained” nuances the Agnelli boss, whose family is the group’s largest shareholder.
He must designate a director by June 2025, following the dismissal of Carlos Tavares. “He often makes audacious, successful choices. His ability to spot talent has always impressed me,” confides Ferrari director Delphine Arnault. Will the casting for Stellantis follow a breakaway logic ? After all, Elkann recruited Marchionne, a certification whiz with no automotive experience, for Fiat. More recently, he chose Benedetto Vigna, physician and inventor, for Ferrari.
The future boss will have to meet certain immutable criteria: embrace innovation, be an enemy of bureaucracy, avoid routine. Something important to know about Elkann the recruiter: “Behind his polite, charming facade lies a ruthless businessman. When something isn’t working, John wants it to change.”
Unsinkable
Giovanni Soldini faces us in a Milanese café. The name of this skipper may ring a bell. In 1999, it was he who diverted his solo race in treacherous seas to save the shipwrecked Isabelle Autissier. Once a year, he welcomes Elkann on his boat. He tells his story.
March 2012. A challenge for the Elkann-Soldini team: sail from Miami to New York in record time. But a tropical storm and then a dead calm dash the hopes of the Maserati crew. For Elkann, the sky becomes an enemy. He has to get back to New York on D-Day– according to the race plan– to fly to Tokyo. To evacuate him, Soldini connects to the internet via satellite, searches for a solution on Google, and then solicits backup from a small diving boat on shore. The boat appears and attempts to tie up to the Italian’s sailboat. In vain. The sea won’t give way. “The fog, the current, the cold… ” lists Soldini. But Elkann has made up his mind. He pulls on a thick yellow wetsuit and dives in. A few strokes in the Atlantic and “Ciao !” from the other boat. Already far away. §
The Agnelli Empire
% of capital held by Exor
14.9 %
Stellantis
22.9 %
Ferrari
26.9 %
CNH
17.5 %
Philips
63.8 %
Juventus de Turin
27.1 %
Iveco (trucks, buses)
34.7 %
« The Economist »
10 %
Institut Mérieux
Exor also holds shares in Christian Louboutin, La Stampa, Tag-Energy… In addition, Exor has entered that asset management business with Lingotto (managing 6 billion dollars). Investments include: Rolls-Royce, Ocado, Moderna…
Milestones
April 1, 1976 Born in New York
From 1988 to 1994 Lives in Paris, where he earns his baccalaureate degree
December 18, 1997 Becomes a member of Fiat’s Board of Directors
2000 Engineering degree from Polytechnic University of Turin
2000-2002 Beginnings at General Electric
May 27, 2004 Appointed Vice President of Fiat
May 13, 2008 Becomes Chairman of Ifil (future Exor in 2009)
April 21, 2010 Appointed Chairman of Fiat
February 11, 2011 Becomes CEO of Exor
October 12, 2014 Appointed Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of FCA
July 21, 2018 Becomes President of Ferrari
January 16, 2021 Appointed Executive Director and Chairman of Stellantis
May 24, 2022 Hands over the presidency of Exor, retaining his position as CEO.
1.2
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billion euros
The weight of the Agnelli holdings in the Fiat group in 2003.
30
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billion euros
The weight of Exor held by the Piedmontese family in Stellantis, Ferrari, CNH, Iveco… at the end of 2024.
