One of the most high-profile and wealthy business figures in Italy in recent times, Cragnotti is best known for having been president of Lazio.
In 1992, Cragnotti bought football team Lazio from previous owner Calleri.
The default cost about 1.125 million euros to a plethora of small investors, most of them Italian.
Cragnotti presided over perhaps the most successful period in Lazio's recent history, ploughing in record amounts of money which attracted notable athletes such as Pavel Nedvěd, Christian Vieri and Marcelo Salas.
In November 2006, he published his autobiography, titled Un calcio al cuore, co-written with Fabrizio Pennacchia.