Patrizia Reggiani Martinelli, 49, is shown at the funeral of her former husband, Maurizio Gucci, in Milan, in an April 3, 1995 file photo. AP Photo/Luca Bruno

Patrizia Reggiani — better known as "Lady Gucci," the infamous orchestrator of her ex-husband Maurizio Gucci's assassination — could soon be handed a massive inheritance despite her murder conviction, following a court ruling that could give Reggiani control of her late mother's 20 million euro (just shy of $23 million) fortune.

Reggiani served 18 years in prison for the 1995 premeditated murder of her ex-husband, who had been heir to the Gucci fashion house fortune. She was sentenced in 1998 to 29 years in prison, but got an early release in 2016.

On Monday, a Milan court invalidated the will of Reggiani's mother, Silvana Barbieri, saying irregularities rendered the document legally void.

The contested will had left all of the family's assets to an entity called the Fernando and Silvana Reggiani Foundation, which was formed, headed and run by former family lawyer Maurizio Enrico Carlo Giani. But the Milan court found that evidence cited during recent proceedings undermined the document's validity.

According to Italian media reports, Barbieri executed her will from her hospital bed in 2018 at the age of 90, with the assistance of a notary and her lawyer, Giani.

Barbieri's housekeeper was present during the meeting at the hospital and recorded the proceedings on a phone. That recording has become central evidence in the case, as judges identified discrepancies between what was captured in the audio and the contents of the notarized will, contributing to the decision to invalidate the final testament.

Giani was separately investigated in a criminal case over alleged undue influence over the contents of the will, but he was acquitted in 2024.

The housekeeper testified during recent proceedings that Barbieri herself instructed her to record the meeting and preserve the recording, in case "there were problems" later.

The case now moves to Milan's Court of Appeals. If it upholds the ruling, Reggiani — now 77 and living in Milan — would be reinstated as the primary heir to her family's fortune. The vast estate's estimated 20 million euro value includes real estate holdings and high-yield rental assets in Milan.

Despite having hired a hit man to kill her ex-husband, Reggiani still receives approximately $1.5 million in alimony annually from his estate. An Italian appeals court ruled that she was entitled to the payouts because the divorce settlement was signed in 1993 — two years before Gucci's murder — and thus remains binding.

The couple's two daughters, Alessandra and Allegra, have repeatedly argued that it is morally unacceptable for their mother to receive the alimony, but courts have consistently upheld the appeals court's ruling.

The couple married in 1972 and became a fixture in the international jet-set scene, with homes in New York and Milan and a mega-yacht to ferry them to vacation destinations. Their divorce was finalized in 1994.

One year later, as Gucci walked into his office building, a well-dressed hitman fired three shots that killed him.

In November 1998, after a five-month trial, Patrizia and her four accomplices were found guilty of premeditated murder.

Director Ridley Scott brought the drama to the big screen in 2021 in his movie "House of Gucci," starring Adam Driver as Maurizio Gucci and Lady Gaga as Patrizia Reggiani.


Maurizio Gucci's ex-wife Patrizia Reggiani Martinelli, right, talks to her mother Silvana Barbieri in a Milan courtroom, Oct. 29, 1998, during a break in final arguments before Reggiani was convicted of orchestrating the murder of her ex-husband, fashion scion Maurizio Gucci. AP Photo/Luca Bruno

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