Assicurazioni Generali is Italy's biggest insurer and Europe's third-largest by premiums written. It is a leading holder of Italian public debt, with a portfolio of EUR36bn at the end of 2024. It owns half of Banca Generali, a wealth manager, which contributed less than 4% of its profits in 2024.
Mediobanca is Generali's biggest shareholder, holding a 13% stake. Two other significant shareholders are Francesco Milleri, who runs Delfin, an investment fund for the family of the late Leonardo Del Vecchio (an eyewear tycoon), and Francesco Gaetano Caltagirone, a construction and media magnate. The two are aligned with Giorgia Meloni's governing coalition and have been critics of both Generali's and Mediobanca's management. It has long been speculated that their goal is to take control of Generali.
In April 2025 Mediobanca offered EUR6.3bn ($7.2bn) to buy Banca Generali, planning to fund the acquisition by selling its stake in Generali. The move would shift Mediobanca's weight towards wealth management and make it harder for Monte dei Paschi di Siena to acquire Mediobanca.
Political history is far too criminal a subject to be a fit thing to teach children.