10. Mother and son
As John Elkann launches Fiat into a bold new era, the inheritance dispute with his mother spirals into something much bigger.
John Elkann has dragged Fiat back to profitability and a global scale even his grandfather couldn’t match, but his inheritance dispute with his own mother is becoming much more than a distraction. The investigation into his grandfather Gianni’s will has now prompted a criminal inquiry.
The audio of this episode was updated on 28 October 2026 to better reflect John Elkann’s position on an ongoing legal dispute with his mother, and latest legal developments.
Presenter: Sofia Bettiza
Series producer: Simon Tulett
Producer: Bob Howard
Fact-checkers: Adriana Urbano and Randa Darwish
Music: Thomas Ross Fitzsimons
Sound engineer: Richard Hannaford
Series editor: Matt Willis
With special thanks to Jennifer Clark, Michele Masneri, Rachel Sanderson, Andrea Colli, and, also, Octavia Woodward.
Senior commissioning producer: Sarah Green
Commissioning editor: Jon Manel
Inheritance is a BBC Long Form Audio production
More episodes
Previous
Next
You are at the last episode
Featured
-
.
Podcast
-
![]()
Inheritance
The family dramas shaping some of the world’s biggest businesses: Italy’s uncrowned kings
