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Ernesto Bertarelli. Photo by Rama.

Top 10 Remarkable Facts about Ernesto Bertarelli

Ernesto Silvio Maurizio Bertarelli was born on 22nd September 1965. He is a Swiss billionaire businessman and philanthropist of Italian origin. His family moved to Switzerland in 1977 after he was born in Rome to Italian parents. He received his BA from Babson College in 1989 and his MBA from Harvard Business School in 1993.

The family’s wealth was estimated to be £11.5 billion in the 2017 edition of The Sunday Times Rich List, an increase of £1.72 billion over the previous year.

According to the Swiss magazine Bilanz, the family fortune is worth CHF13.5 billion. Bertarelli and his family have an estimated net worth of $20.2 billion as of April 16, 2021, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.

1. Bertarelli became CEO of Serono in 1996

Pietro, his grandfather, worked for Serono, a pharmaceutical company founded in 1906. Pietro Bertarelli became the company’s managing director in 1935, a position he held until his son, Fabio Bertarelli, took over in 1965.

Bertarelli became CEO in 1996 and, along with his sister Dona, inherited ownership after his father died in 1998. Revenue increased from $809 million in 1996 to $2.8 billion in 2006 after the company shifted its focus from pharmaceuticals to biotechnology.

The company rose to prominence after discovering a natural hormone used to treat female infertility, as well as treatments for multiple sclerosis and growth hormone deficiency.

2. Bertarelli currently co-chairs the Bertarelli Foundation

Bertarelli and his family sold the company to Merck KGaA of Germany for US$13.3 billion in January 2007, forming the new company Merck-Serono. At the time, his family split an estimated $9 billion stake, which was added to previous share sales when the company floated on the New York Stock Exchange in 2000, and is now primarily invested through his B-Flexion (formerly Waypoint Capital)investment vehicle.

Bertarelli currently co-chairs the Bertarelli Foundation, which focuses on marine conservation and neuroscience research, with his sister Dona.

3. Bertarelli served on the board of directors of UBS AG from 2002 to 2009

Ernesto Bertarelli. Photo by Rama.

The family’s wealth is primarily managed by B-Flexion, which invests through six separate specialist investment managers in areas such as Swiss real estate and US life sciences. 

Kedge Capital is an investment management firm that specializes in hedge funds, private equity, and real estate; Northill Capital is an asset management firm; Crosstree is a UK real estate investment fund; and Gurnet Point Capital is a Boston-based fund that invests in healthcare and life science companies.

In addition to these businesses, B-Flexion, which is headquartered in Geneva and has offices in Jersey, Boston, San Francisco, and Luxembourg, manages its own investment portfolio, which includes healthcare provider Affidea, medical technology company Esaote, and allergy immunotherapy group Stallergenes-Greer.

4. Bertarelli led a consortium that won the bid for the former Merck Serono site in Geneva

Ernesto Bertarelli. Photo by Rama.

On May 22, 2013, it was announced that a consortium led by Bertarelli and comprised of Hansjörg Wyss, the École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), and the University of Geneva had won the bid for the former Merck Serono site in Geneva. It had been put up for sale when the company announced in April 2012 that it would be closing its Geneva headquarters.

The joint initiative is called Campus Biotech, and its goal is to transform the site into a “center of excellence in healthcare, biotechnology, and life sciences.” As part of this, the EPFL and the University of Geneva are expected to occupy approximately 15,000m2 of the site.

It was announced in October 2013 that Campus Biotech will be the heart of a new Swiss neuroscience valley, with the research groups involved in the Human Brain Project and the Blue Brain Project, as well as the majority of scientists from the Center for Neuroprosthetics, moving there in 2014. 

His connection to this sport stems from his childhood in Monte Argentario.  The Bertarelli family boats that sailed in the regatta fields around Porto Santo Stefano and Porto Ercole inspired the name Alinghi. 

5. Ernesto founded the yachting team, Alinghi in 2000

A yatch. Photo by Ibrahim Mushan.

Bertarelli founded the yachting syndicate Team Alinghi in 2000, which won the Louis Vuitton Cup in 2003 while representing the Société Nautique de Genève, before defeating Team New Zealand in Auckland to win the America’s Cup.

It was the first time a team won the coveted sailing trophy on its first try, and the victory brought the Cup to Europe for the first time. Russell Coutts and Brad Butterworth, the skipper and tactician of Team New Zealand’s 2000 crew, were among the sailors hired by Team Alinghi.

6. He was the only Swiss national on Team Alinghi

Bertarelli was Team Alinghi’s only Swiss national, serving as navigator in 2003 and then as an afterguard runner and grinder when Team Alinghi defended the America’s Cup in Valencia in 2007. Alinghi beat Team New Zealand by one second in race 7 to retain the America’s Cup, winning the series 5-2.

7. Bertarelli has been a member of the America’s Cup Hall of Fame since 2016

In recognition of his achievements, Bertarelli was named Chevalier de la Légion d’honneur by French President Jacques Chirac in 2003, and the Cavaliere di Gran Croce by Italian President Carlo Azeglio Ciampi. 

The Golden Gate Yacht Club filed numerous legal challenges against Société Nautique de Genève and Bertarelli’s efforts to organize the 33rd America’s Cup following their 2007 victory in Alinghi.

The race finally took place in Valencia, Spain, in February 2010. Bertarelli was the primary helmsman of his boat Alinghi 5, which lost both races by a wide margin to the challenger USA 17. 

Alinghi now competes in the Extreme Sailing Series, which it most recently won in 2016, as well as the one-class D35 championship on Lake Geneva during the summer. 

8. Ernesto Bertarelli is the richest person in Switzerland

This is according to Forbes magazine’s annual assessment of wealth and assets, which was published in 2021.

Ernesto Bertarelli made the majority of his fortune from his 65 percent stake in Serono. Bertarelli’s stake in that company was sold to Merck for $8.6 billion in 2006, and he has since diversified his holdings. He owns half of Serono’s headquarters in Geneva. 

9. Ernesto Bertarelli purchased a $113 million mansion in London

A mansion. Photo by Nick Romanov.

The house was built in the nineteenth century and has more than 80 rooms. The property has been extensively renovated in recent years and now includes a cinema, gym, and a 20-meter swimming pool.

The purchase highlights a turnaround in demand for London’s best homes since the pandemic.

10. He recently divorced his wife

Divorce papers and rings. Photo by Cunaplus_M.Faba.

Bertarelli met Kirsty Roper, a former Miss UK and songwriter, in 1997 while on vacation in Italy. The couple married in the year 2000 and has three children. The couple lived in Gstaad and also had a home on the shores of Lake Geneva.