Fiat's heir apparent seen as "great unknown"

By Gilles Castonguay

MILAN (Reuters) - John Elkann, the great-great grandson of Fiat's founder, is about to take charge of the family fortune, but he has yet to prove he is up to the challenge.

Although the 32-year-old has had a hand in overseeing the more than 8 billion euros (6 billion pounds) in assets held by the Agnellis for more than a decade, he has always had advisers by his side.

But his apprenticeship will end on Tuesday when his mentor, Gianluigi Gabetti, nominates him for one of the most important roles within the family, a dynasty whose wealth and power have made them the Italian equivalent of the Kennedys.

At IFIL's annual shareholders meeting, Gabetti will resign as chairman to let Elkann take charge of the family's holding company. Its investments range from Fiat, to Juventus football club to U.S. property manager Cushman & Wakefield.

A close collaborator of the Agnellis, Gabetti, 83, has helped manage the family's assets since the 2003 death of its patriarch, Giovanni Agnelli, known as "l'Avvocato" (the Lawyer).

He has also been grooming Elkann to replace him and take the lead for a family whose members often do not see eye to eye.

In newspaper interviews ahead of the nomination, he has said the time had come for Elkann to take charge. "We have reached the end of the road, John Elkann is more than ready," he told Corriere della Sera.

Few if any outside the family know if this is the case, however.