Silvio Berlusconi served three stints as Italy's Prime Minister.
Silvio Berlusconi, the former prime minister of Italy, has died aged 86, according to his spokesman on Monday. Silvio Berlusconi was admitted to a Milan hospital on Friday for what aides said were pre-planned tests related to his leukemia.
Here are five facts on Silvio Berlusconi:
- Mr Berlusconi entered politics in 1994 and for millions of Italians he represented a golden age of the Italian economy and the self-made man. He served three stints as Italy's Prime Minister before being banned from politics for six years following a conviction for tax fraud.
- He is survived by his 33-year-old girlfriend, Marta Fascina, two ex-wives and five children, some of whom help run his empire, recently estimated to be worth $6.3 billion dollars, according to Forbes.
- Despite being re-elected to the Senate last year, Mr Berlusconi was rarely seen in public. But he remained the official head of his right-wing Forza Italia party, a junior partner in Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni's coalition government.
- As per Forbes, Mr Berlusconi built media group Fininvest in the late 1970s that brought American shows like 'Baywatch' to Italy.
- His fortune, which he shares with his five children, included stakes in media, publishing and banking firms. Mr Berlusconi was in and out of hospital in recent years, and had even contracted COVID-19.
