Eternally Rich – Everything You Need To Know About Roma’s New Owner Thomas DiBenedetto

The likes of Samuel Eto’o and Zlatan Ibrahimovic have been fighting for column inches thanks to the regular talk of Thomas DiBenedetto.

The American businessman is set to assume control at Roma, barring any sensational takeover twists. And, with the 61-year-old about to change history at Trigoria as Serie A’s first foreign owner, we delve into his background to give you an idea of the man behind the Lupi’s planned renaissance.

Who is he? – Born in Boston in April 1951, Thomas DiBenedetto’s origins can be traced back to Siano, a town near the Italian port city of Salerno. His main associations are with the Boston International Group, of which he has been president since 1983.

The group has assets ranging from sport to property companies, while New England Sport Ventures, the other company in which DiBenedetto is involved, has interests mainly in sport. New England Sport Ventures is chaired by John W. Henry, owner of the Boston Red Sox, and Tom Werner, owner of Liverpool.

What does he do? – Among his other interests, DiBenedetto has decided to invest in football, his passion. Sifting through the list of activities, you can see many other posts; in the US, in fact, he is president of Junction Investors Ltd., the investment managament company, and Jefferson Watermann International, a business intelligence company. In addition, he serves as CEO at Olimpic Partners, a firm specialising in investment in real estate, and previously was the director of ‘NWH Inc’ software company.

Private life – Present in the Forbes archives, DiBenedetto is married to Linda Marrie, for years vice-president at Perksin School – a school for blind children. They have five children, one of whom is Thomas junior, a baseball player who used to play for the Red Sox and last week signed up for Reggio Emilia. The DiBenedetto family reside in Essex County, 20 kilometres from Boston in a property thought to be worth aroud €2 million.