Silvio Berlusconi Is Dead at 86

Billionaire was Italy's longest-serving prime minister, despite a slew of scandals
By Newser Editors and Wire Services
Posted Jun 12, 2023 6:05 AM CDT
Silvio Berlusconi Is Dead at 86
In this 2009 file photo, then-President Obama, Italian PM Silvio Berlusconi, and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev at the G20 Summit in London. Berlusconi, the boastful billionaire media mogul who was Italy's longest-serving PM despite scandals and corruption allegations, has died at the age of 86.   (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth, File)

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. He was 86. Mediaset announced his death with a smiling photo of the former PM on its homepage and the headline: "Berlusconi is dead." Berlusconi was hospitalized on Friday for the second time in months for treatment of chronic leukemia, per the AP. He also suffered over the years from heart ailments and 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 Berlusconi held no position in the government. His friendship with Russian President Vladimir Putin put him at odds with Meloni, a staunch supporter of Ukraine.

As Berlusconi aged, some derided his perpetual tan, hair transplants, and live-in girlfriends who were decades younger. For many years, however, Berlusconi seemed untouchable, despite his 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. Investigations targeted the tycoon's steamy so-called "bunga bunga" parties involving young women and minors, or his businesses, which included the soccer team AC Milan, the country's three biggest private TV networks, magazines, and a daily newspaper, and advertising and film companies. Only one led to a conviction—a tax fraud case stemming from a sale of movie rights in his business empire.

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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 community service by assisting Alzheimer's patients. He still was stripped of his Senate seat and banned from running or holding public 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 politics in the 1990s, and eventually held office again—elected to the European Parliament at age 82 and then last year to the Italian Senate. Former Premier Matteo Renzi recalled Berlusconi's divisive legacy in a message on Twitter on Monday: "Silvio Berlusconi made history in this country. 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." Much more here on Berlusconi's life.

(More Silvio Berlusconi stories.)

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