Silvio Berlusconi to pay ex-wife Veronica Lario 36 million euros a year

Italy’s former Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi has agreed to pay 36 million euros ($48 million) a year to his ex-wife Veronica Lario, reports say.

Silvio Berlusconi will keep the $100 million villa where the couple lived with their three children, as part of a divorce deal reportedly filed on Christmas Day.

Veronica Lario left Berlusconi in 2009 after he was seen at the 18th birthday party of an aspiring model.

Forbes magazine estimated his wealth at nearly $6 billion in March.

The Corriere della Sera newspaper reported that Veronica Lario had initially asked for $56 million a year.

Silvio Berlusconi, 76, reportedly offered her about $5 million.

The couple met in a dressing room in 1980 after Berlusconi saw Veronica Lario, 56, perform in a Milan theatre.

They were married in 1990.

Silvio Berlusconi has two other children from his first marriage and is currently engaged to 28-year-old Francesca Pascale.

He was Italy’s longest-serving post-war prime minister until he resigned in November 2011.

Silvio Berlusconi says he will to run for office again in 2013.

His third term in office saw slow growth and a national debt of $2.6 trillion and his government was slow to implement austerity measures in response.

Silvio Berlusconi also became embroiled in a series of financial and sex scandals.

Since leaving office, he has been fighting various court cases.

In October 2012, Silvio Berlusconi was sentenced to four years in jail by a Milan court after being convicted of tax evasion.

Silvio Berlusconi is currently appealing against the decision, and commentators say it is unlikely that he will serve any time in jail.