INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
ROME: Silvio Berlusconi, the boastful billionaire media mogul who was Italy's longest-serving premier despite scandals over his sex-fueled
parties and allegations of corruption, died Monday, according to his television network
hospitalized on Friday for the second time in months for treatment of chronic leukemia
He also suffered over the years from heart ailments, prostate cancer and was hospitalized for COVID-19 in 2020.A onetime cruise ship
crooner, Berlusconi used his television networks and immense wealth to launch his long political career, inspiring both loyalty and
loathing.To admirers, the three-time premier was a capable and charismatic statesman who sought to elevate Italy on the world stage
To critics, he was a populist who threatened to undermine democracy by wielding political power as a tool to enrich himself and his
businesses.His Forza Italia political party was a coalition partner with current Premier Giorgia Meloni, a far-right leader who came to
power last year, although he held no position in the government.His friendship with Russian President Vladimir Putin put him at odds with
Meloni, a staunch supporter of Ukraine
On his 86th birthday, while the war raged, Putin sent Berlusconi best wishes and vodka, and the Italian boasted he returned the favor by
Many loved him, many hated him
All must recognize that his impact on political life, but also economic, sport and television, has been without precedence."League party
transplants and live-in girlfriends who were decades younger
For many years, however, Berlusconi seemed untouchable despite the personal scandals.Criminal cases were launched but ended in dismissals
when statutes of limitations ran out in Italy's slow-moving justice system, or he was victorious on appeal
included the soccer team AC Milan, the country's three biggest private TV networks, magazines and a daily newspaper, and advertising and
The conviction was upheld in 2013 by Italy's top criminal court, but he was spared prison because of his age, 76, and was ordered to do
office for six years, under anti-corruption laws.He stayed at the helm of Forza Italia, the center-right party he created when he entered
Brothers of Italy party, with its roots in neo-fascism
Following elections in 2022, Meloni formed a governing coalition with their help.He suffered personal humiliations as well
billionaire several times over.In 2013, guests at one of his parties included an under-age Moroccan dancer whom prosecutors alleged had sex
with Berlusconi in exchange for cash and jewelry
After a trial spiced by lurid details, a Milan court initially convicted Berlusconi of paying for sex with a minor and using his office to
Both denied having sex with each other, and he was eventually acquitted.The Catholic Church, at times sympathetic to his conservative
with US President George W
Bucking widespread sentiment at home and in Europe, Berlusconi backed the US-led war in Iraq.As a businessman who knew the power of images,
Italian politics, in which voters essentially chose parties and not candidates
From the start of his political career in 1994, he portrayed himself as the target of a judiciary he described as full of leftist
He always proclaimed his innocence.When the anti-establishment 5-Star Movement gained strength, Berlusconi branded it as a menace worse than
Communism.His close friendship with longtime Socialist leader and former Premier Bettino Craxi was widely credited for helping him become a
boasted of his libido and entertained friends and world leaders at his villas
in 2008.From his cruise ship entertainer days, Berlusconi loved to compose and sing Neapolitan songs
Like millions of Italians, he had a passion for soccer, and often was in the stands at AC Milan.He delighted in flouting political etiquette
He sported a bandanna when hosting British Prime Minister Tony Blair at his estate on the Emerald Coast of Sardinia, and it was later
revealed he was concealing hair transplants
11, 2001, terrorist attacks in the United States by claiming Western civilization was superior to Islam.When criticized in 2003 at the
European Parliament by a German lawmaker, Berlusconi likened his adversary to a concentration camp guard
Years later, he drew outrage when he compared his family's legal woes to what Jews must have encountered in Nazi Germany.Berlusconi was born
29, 1936, the son of a middle-class banker
He earned a law degree, writing his thesis on advertising
He started a construction company at 25 and built apartment complexes for middle-class families on Milan's outskirts, part of a postwar
boom.But his astronomical wealth came from the media
In the late 1970s and 1980s, he circumvented Italy's state TV monopoly RAI by creating a de facto network in which local stations all showed
the political establishment that had dominated postwar Italy, Berlusconi filled the void, founding Forza Italia in 1994.His first government
in 1994 collapsed after eight months when an ally who led an anti-immigrant party yanked support
But aided by an aggressive campaign that included mass mailings of glossy magazines recounting his success story, Berlusconi swept to
victory in 2001.Shuffling his Cabinet occasionally, he stayed in power for five years, setting a record for government longevity in Italy
It wasn't easy.A Group of Eight summit he hosted in Genoa in 2001 was marred by violent anti-globalization demonstrations and the death of a
protester shot by a police officer
Berlusconi faced fierce domestic opposition and alienated some allies by sending 3,000 troops to Iraq after the ouster of Saddam Hussein in
For a time, Italy was the third-largest contingent in the US coalition.At home, he constantly faced accusations of sponsoring laws aimed at
protecting himself or his businesses, but he insisted he always acted in the interest of all Italians
Legislation passed when he was premier allowing officeholders to own media businesses but not run them was deemed by his critics to be
tailor made for Berlusconi.An admirer of US President Ronald Reagan and British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, Berlusconi passed reforms
He also was chummy with Putin, who stayed at his Sardinian estate, and he visited the Russian leader, notably going to Crimea after Moscow
and its budget deficit rising, Berlusconi narrowly lost the general election to center-left leader Romano Prodi, who had been president of
the European Union Commission.In 2008, he bounced back for what would be his final term as premier
To the relief of economic powerhouse Germany, Berlusconi reluctantly stepped down.Health concerns dogged him over the years
He underwent surgery for prostate cancer in 1997
In November 2006, he fainted during a speech, and the next month flew to the US, where he received a pacemaker at the Cleveland Clinic
two children, Marina and Piersilvio, were groomed to hold top positions in his business empire
He married his second wife, Veronica Lario, in 1990, and they had three children, Barbara, Eleonora and Luigi.WatchFormer Italian PM
