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<\/noscript> <\/div>\nFormer Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi’s daughter, Marina Berlusconi, arrives at ‘San Raffaele’ hospital on April 6, 2023 – where her father died two months later<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
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<\/noscript> <\/div>\nBarbara Berlusconi, the daughter of Italy’s former prime minister Silvio Berlusconi, leaves San Raffaele hospital<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
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<\/noscript> <\/div>\nEleonora Berlusconi, daughter of Berlusconi, leaves the San Raffaele Hospital\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
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<\/noscript> <\/div>\nMembers of the media outside San Raffaele hospital where former Italian prime minister Silvio Berlusconi died<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
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<\/noscript> <\/div>\nG20 leaders (from left) then US President Barack Obama, Italian prime minister Silvio Berlusconi and Russian president Dmitry Medvedev pose for a photo during the G20 summit at the ExCel centre, in east London, on April 2, 2009<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
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<\/noscript> <\/div>\nItalian prime minister Berlusconi and Miss Italia 2008 Miriam Leone<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
Long before Donald Trump parlayed his business success into a White House bid, Berlusconi charmed millions of Italians by presenting himself as a self-made man who enjoyed life and spoke his mind, even to the extent of insulting fellow leaders.<\/p>\n
To his critics, however, the right-winger was a tax-evading playboy who used his vast media empire to further his political career, and then exploited his power to protect his business interests.<\/p>\n
He spent much of his life embroiled in legal action, and the cases around his notorious ‘Bunga Bunga’ sex parties, attended by young girls including underage escorts, were only wrapped up in February 2023.<\/p>\n
Despite remaining president of his Forza Italia party, a junior partner in Meloni’s coalition, he had largely retired from public view in recent months.<\/p>\n
His friendship with Russian president Vladimir Putin put him at odds with Ms Meloni, a staunch supporter of Ukraine.\u00a0<\/p>\n
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Who will take over Berlusconi’s business empire?<\/h3>\n\n
Berlusconi never publicly indicated who should lead his business empire after his death.<\/span><\/p>\nThe future of his business interests will likely depend on how he has chosen to distribute his 61 per cent stake in family holding company Fininvest between his five children from two marriages. His eldest daughter Marina is expected to play a prominent role.<\/p>\n
THE ELDEST HEIRS<\/span><\/p>\nThe eldest, Marina (born August 1966) and Pier Silvio (April 1969) have both been directly involved in running Berlusconi’s companies since soon after their father made his entry into Italian politics in the early 1990s.<\/p>\n
Marina, who chairs Fininvest, has been overseeing publisher Mondadori while Pier Silvio has been in charge of the TV business which has long been the jewel in the family’s crown.<\/p>\n
THREE YOUNGER CHILDREN<\/span><\/p>\nBarbara (July 1984), Eleonora (May 1986) and Luigi (September 1988), the children Berlusconi had with his second wife, have not had any such high-profile executive roles in the management of their father’s businesses.<\/p>\n
Luigi assumed the task of representing his side of the family at Fininvest, where he is a board member, on the back of his focus on finance and wealth management.<\/p>\n
SILVIO AS ‘THE GLUE’<\/span><\/p>\nPeople close to the family described Silvio Berlusconi as ‘the glue’ who kept his children united, despite their age range and differing attitudes and ambitions.<\/p>\n
The big question is whether family unity can be maintained after Berlusconi’s departure and what impact that might have on the future of the TV business on which Berlusconi built his fortunes.<\/p>\n
SLIMMING DOWN<\/span><\/p>\nIn recent years Fininvest liquidated assets which it deemed no longer strategic, from European soccer champions AC Milan to stakes in biotech firm MolMed and Italian merchant bank Mediobanca.<\/p>\n
The family holding company has confirmed its commitment to its TV business MediaforEurope, supporting plans to grow in Europe to resist the US streaming giants through M&A deals.<\/p>\n
But it remains to be seen if this ambition will be sustained after the death of the founder.<\/p>\n
Reporting by Reuters\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div><\/div>\nOn his 86th birthday, while the war raged, Putin sent Berlusconi best wishes and vodka, and the Italian boasted he returned the favour by sending back Italian wine.<\/p>\n
He suffered increasing health problems – although he maintained his pride in his appearance, always smartly dressed, his slicked-back hair never showing the slightest trace of grey.<\/p>\n
But 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 the personal scandals.<\/p>\n
Berlusconi burst on to the political scene in the early 1990s, after building up a media and real estate business, where he was viewed as a breath of fresh air after a period of corruption and scandal.<\/p>\n
Pitching himself as a modern Italian success story, and backed by his TV stations and newspapers, he secured his first election victory in 1994 with his new movement, Forza Italia (Go Italy!), named after a football chant.<\/p>\n
He lasted as prime minister for only nine months, but bounced back with another election win in 2001 after a populist campaign promising jobs and economic growth, signing a ‘Contract with Italians’ live on television.<\/p>\n
He served until 2006, and returned again as prime minister between 2008 and 2011, making him the longest-serving premier in Italy’s post-war history.<\/p>\n
He was forced to quit as debt-laden Italy – the eurozone’s third largest economy – came under intense pressure during the financial crisis.<\/p>\n
The tenure of the man dubbed ‘Il Cavaliere’ (The Knight) divided Italians, as much as over his policies – including his controversial decision to join the US-led invasion of Iraq – as his entire approach to life.<\/p>\n
To admirers, the three-time premier was a capable and charismatic statesman who sought to elevate Italy on the world stage.<\/p>\n
To critics, he was a populist who threatened to undermine democracy by wielding political power as a tool to enrich himself and his businesses.<\/p>\n
Throughout his time in office, prosecutors snapped at his heels, even as his supporters in parliament passed laws to shield him and his allies.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
Investigations targeted the tycoon’s steamy so-called ‘Bunga Bunga’ parties involving young women and minors, or his businesses, which included the football team AC Milan, the country’s three biggest private TV networks, magazines and a daily newspaper, and advertising and film companies.<\/p>\n
Only one probe led to a conviction – a tax fraud case stemming from a sale of movie rights in his business empire.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
He still was stripped of his senate seat and banned from running or holding public office for six years, under anti-corruption laws.<\/p>\n
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<\/noscript> <\/div>\nMatteo Salvini, leader of League, Silvio Berlusconi, leader of Forza Italia, Giorgia Meloni, leader of Brothers of Italy, attend the closing rally of the Center right coalition, on September 22<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
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<\/noscript> <\/div>\nHis friendship with Russian president Vladimir Putin put him at odds with Ms 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 favour by sending back Italian wine. Pictured: The pair together in 2010<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
He suffered personal humiliations as well.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Berlusconi lost his standing as Italy’s richest man, although his sprawling media holdings and luxury property still left him a billionaire several times over.<\/p>\n
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 jewellery.<\/p>\n
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 try to cover it up. Both denied having sex with each other, and he was eventually acquitted.<\/p>\n
The Catholic Church, at times sympathetic to his conservative politics, was scandalised by his antics, and his wife of nearly 20 years divorced him. But\u00a0 Berlusconi was unapologetic, declaring: ‘I’m no saint.’<\/p>\n
Berlusconi insisted that voters were impressed by his brashness.<\/p>\n
‘The majority of Italians in their hearts would like to be like me and see themselves in me and in how I behave,’ he said in 2009, during his third and final stint as premier.<\/p>\n
He boasted of his libido and entertained friends and world leaders at his villas. At one party, newspapers reported the women were dressed as ‘little Santas’. At another, photos showed topless women and a naked man lounging poolside.<\/p>\n
An unrepentant Berlusconi said in 2010: ‘I love life! I love women!’<\/p>\n
Despite the multiple court cases – he claimed in 2021 he had gone through 86 trials – he never spent any time behind bars and successfully appealed convictions for fraud and corruption early in his political career.<\/p>\n
He was also long suspected of links to the mafia, but strongly denied it.<\/p>\n
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<\/noscript> <\/div>\nDespite the multiple court cases – Berlusconi (pictured in September 2022) claimed in 2021 he had gone through 86 trials – he never spent any time behind bars and successfully appealed convictions for fraud and corruption early in his political career<\/p>\n<\/div>\n