The eighth Portraits podcast is dedicated to Anna Bonomi Bolchini. In Piazza Affari they called her the “queen of money” and “Anne of miracles”. Certainly, for almost half a century she was the lady of Italian finance. Born from the relationship between a concierge, Maria Gironi Galbiati, and Carlo Bonomi, heir to a dynasty of building entrepreneurs who adopted her in 1929, Anna began her climb in 1940 when almost thirty years old, upon the death of her father, she came into possession of a substantial real estate assets made up of 154 buildings concentrated mainly between the Central Station and around Piazza Cinque Giornate. As her legacy, Carlo di lei leaves her with construction sites already open and active, building areas that will prove to be a treasure. Anna doesn’t let herself be disoriented by the new load of responsibilities. Nor by the fact of living in an era where deals are still concluded with a handshake, where sales are punctuated by “promissory notes” signed on pieces of newspaper or on bricks on construction sites. In 1960 you created the Postalmarket company, which you personally managed until your death on 24 April 2003. And you set out to conquer the stock market. Thus he began to build, piece by piece, an empire made up of real estate, financial companies such as Invest, insurance companies such as the Milano, Italia and Fondiaria companies, banks such as Credito Varesino, industries such as Mira Lanza and Saffa, and even agricultural companies such as Sella&Mosca. Until the big leap with Montedison. This is her story. Happy listening.
