John Elkann — chair of both Ferrari (RACE) and Stellantis (STLA) and head of the powerful Agnelli family investment firm Exor — is facing a fresh legal challenge from his mother over the estate of his grandfather, Gianni Agnelli, the patriarch of Italy’s most famous industrial dynasty.
During a hearing in Turin on Monday, lawyers for Margherita Agnelli presented what they described as a previously undisclosed handwritten amendment to Gianni Agnelli’s will. The note, dated January 20, 1998 and shown to Reuters, allegedly directs that roughly 25% of the holding company Dicembre — the vehicle that controls Exor — should be assigned to Gianni’s only son, Edoardo, who died in 2000. A separate document from 1996 had pointed to John Elkann, Gianni’s grandson, as the beneficiary, which is what ultimately occurred when the estate was settled.
The emergence of the note could reignite questions over control of Dicembre, a key Agnelli-family holding owned by Margherita’s three children from her first marriage — John, Lapo, and Ginevra Elkann. Exor itself holds major stakes in Ferrari and is the largest investor in Fiat-to-Jeep maker Stellantis.
Margherita Agnelli has long been locked in inheritance disputes with her children over Gianni’s estate, which has been managed since his death in 2003. Her lawyers argue that when Gianni’s will was opened in February 2003, only the 1996 document was known to the heirs. On that basis, Gianni’s widow, Marella Caracciolo, transferred a 25.37% stake in Dicembre to John Elkann, giving him a controlling position in the family’s investment arm. Margherita’s legal team contends that the portion earmarked for Edoardo should have remained with her and Marella, not been passed on to John.
Margherita inherited €1.2 billion ($1.4 billion) after her father’s death but now seeks a larger share of the estate for her five children from her second marriage. Her lawyers told the court that the newly surfaced note casts doubt on the 2004 settlement agreement that established the current management of the Agnelli estate and saw her exit Dicembre’s capital.
John Elkann’s legal team rejected that argument on Monday, saying the alleged new document “has no bearing” on the agreements reached in 2004 and does not alter the established ownership structure of Dicembre.
Adding to the intrigue, the handwritten note surfaced during a separate criminal investigation by Turin prosecutors into alleged tax evasion. That probe concluded earlier this month with Elkann agreeing to a year of community service.
The case has once again laid bare divisions inside the Agnelli dynasty — one of Italy’s wealthiest and most influential families — whose fortune and control of flagship companies have shaped the country’s industrial landscape for more than a century. Whether the newly presented note will alter the balance of power at Exor or simply deepen the family rift remains to be seen.
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