Ernesto Bertarelli Biography: Net Worth, Age, Height, Ethnicity, Wife, Family Wealth, Religion, Children

Ernesto Bertarelli is a Swiss-Italian billionaire businessman known for biotechnology and elite sailing.

He rose to international prominence after taking the helm of the family-controlled biotech group Serono in the 1990s and later steering its blockbuster sale to Germany’s Merck KGaA.

Outside boardrooms, he became widely recognized in sports after founding Team Alinghi, the Swiss syndicate that brought the America’s Cup to Europe by winning in 2003 and successfully defending it in 2007.

Profile

• Full name: Ernesto Silvio Maurizio Bertarelli
• Date of birth: 22 September 1965
• Age: 60 years old
• Gender: Male
• Place of birth: Rome, Italy
• State of origin: Lazio, Italy
• Nationality: Swiss (Italian-born)
• Profession: Businessman, investor, philanthropist, sailor
• Parents: Fabio Bertarelli (father); Maria Iris Bertarelli (mother)
• Siblings: Dona Bertarelli (sister)
• Spouse: Kirsty Roper (m. 2000; div. 2021)
• Children: Chiara Bertarelli,Falco Bertarelli,Alceo Bertarelli
• Relationship status: Divorced
• Religion: Christian
• Ethnicity: Italian heritage
• Net worth: $11.2 billion

Early Life and Education

Ernesto Bertarelli is now 60 years old and was born on 22 September 1965 in Rome, Italy, to Italian parents (Fabio Bertarelli; Maria Iris Bertarelli) before the family relocated to Switzerland in 1977.

His family name was already closely tied to Serono, the long-established pharmaceutical business that later became one of Europe’s most prominent biotech groups; that corporate legacy shaped much of the practical direction of his early adulthood, including his eventual move into leadership and ownership of the company alongside his sister, Dona.

For higher education, Bertarelli completed his undergraduate studies at Babson College in 1989 and later earned an MBA from Harvard Business School in 1993.

Personal Life

Bertarelli met Kirsty Roper, a former Miss United Kingdom (1988) who later built a music career as a songwriter, while on holiday in Italy in 1997.

Their relationship became a long-running fixture of European wealth-and-society coverage after they married in 2000, building a family life that included time in Gstaad and on the shores of Lake Geneva. They had three children: Chiara, Falco, and Alceo.

After two decades of marriage, the couple’s divorce was announced in October 2021. The split attracted heavy media attention because of the scale of the family fortune and the privacy measures typically used to keep details away from public court filings.

Career

Bertarelli’s business reputation was built primarily through Serono. He became CEO in 1996, and after the death of his father, Fabio, he and his sister inherited ownership in 1998.

Under his leadership, Serono’s strategy was reshaped toward biotechnology, and the company’s revenues grew markedly over the next decade, supported by major therapies including Rebif, a multiple sclerosis drug.

In January 2007, Bertarelli and his family sold Serono to Merck KGaA for about $13.3 billion, creating Merck-Serono. The deal was the defining liquidity event that turned Serono’s long family ownership into a diversified global fortune and laid the groundwork for the investment operations that followed.

Post-Serono, family wealth management has been organized through B-Flexion (previously known as Waypoint Capital), which operates as a multi-strategy investment platform with interests spanning areas such as life sciences, technology, real estate, and asset management.

Bertarelli also served as a board director of UBS AG between 2002 and 2009, reflecting his standing in European finance circles during that period.

Awards and Nominations

• Knight Grand Cross of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic (2003)
• Honorary Doctorate of Marine Sciences, University of Plymouth (2013)
• Member, America’s Cup Hall of Fame (2016)

Net Worth

Ernesto Bertarelli’s net worth in 2024 was estimated at approximately $11.2 billion. The core of this wealth traces back to the family’s ownership of Serono and the 2007 sale to Merck KGaA, after which capital was redeployed through diversified investing under B-Flexion and related investment vehicles.

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