Friday 17 June 2022 05:04 PM Swiss billionaire Ernesto Bertarelli buys 80-room Belgravia mansion for ... trends now
Swiss billionaire Ernesto Bertarelli has bought an 80-room mansion in London's exclusive Belgravia area for £92MILLION - despite splashing £400million last year to divorce his ex-wife, who was once crowned Miss UK.
The bio-tech tycoon, 56, has bought the luxurious 19th century home, which comes with its own 20-metre swimming pool, luxury gym and cinema.
Italy-born Bertarelli made his money from his family’s fertility drug company Serono - which was sold for over $13 billion in 2007.
The billionaire also an investor in Crosstree Real Estate Partners, which owns The Standard Hotel opposite St Pancras railway station in London.
Kirsty Bertarelli joined the super-rich after meeting bio-tech tycoon Bertarelli, 56, at a dinner party in Sardinia. The couple are pictured in August 2007 (right) and October 2014
A reported £350million settlement made her the richest British-born divorcee at the time. The Queen's personal fortune is estimated at around £365million. Pictured: Kirsty and Ernesto Bertarelli in July 2010
According to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, the family fortune is valued at about $18.4 billion - meaning his latest pad in Belgravia seems to makes just a small dent in his pocket.
Bertarelli also co-chairs the Bertarelli Foundation, which focuses on marine conservation and research.
And Forbes estimates that he is the 228th richest person in the world.
But the billionaire took a hit after divorcing his wife Kirsty Bertarelli last year - which made her Britain's richest divorcee at the time.
Last year, Bertarelli and his ex-wife were jointly listed in 14th place in the Sunday Times Rich List with a fortune estimated at a staggering £9.2billion – bigger than the gross domestic product of many countries, including the Bahamas, Brunei and Armenia.
The model and pop songwriter, 50, secretly divorced her billionaire husband Ernesto after 21 years together.
