Silvio Berlusconi gestures before a 2016 soccer match between his AC Milan and SS Lazio in Milan, Italy.
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Silvio Berlusconi, the billionaire media mogul who served as Italian prime minister thrice between 1994 and 2011, has died. He was 86.
Berlusconi died on the San Raffaele hospital in Milan, in keeping with local media. CNBC was not immediately in a position to confirm the reports.
The tycoon suffered from several serious ailments, including Covid-19, which resulted in repeated hospitalizations starting in September 2020. Last month, he was discharged from hospital where he received six weeks of treatment for a lung infection linked to chronic leukemia.
Berlusconi’s extensive political profession included appointments as Italian prime minister from 1994 to 1995, 2001 to 2006 and 2008 to 2011. He worked as a member of the European Parliament since 2019, where he also served from 1999 to 2001. His Forza Italia party is currently a junior partner in Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s ruling right-wing coalition.
Berlusconi entertained several business ventures in tandem along with his political tenure, accruing a fortune estimated at around $7 billion in June. He was the controlling shareholder of Italy’s largest industrial broadcaster, Mediaset, whose shares rose over 5% on Monday morning.
The previous Italian leader had promised — but failed — to sell his assets within the media company when he was prime minister. He also owned the Italian football club A.C. Milan from 1986 to 2017.
Married twice with five children, Berlusconi faced quite a few scandals and trials over tax schemes and sexual escapades. He was once convicted, but later cleared, of charges of sex with 17-year-old nightclub dancer, Karima El-Mahroug, at considered one of his wild “bunga bunga” parties. He was sentenced to seven years in prison and banned from public office for all times — only to be acquitted two years later by Italy’s highest court.
‘Goodbye Silvio’
Policymakers paid tribute to Berlusconi via social media on Monday.
Italian Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini described Berlusconi as a “great friend” and acknowledged the previous leader’s “friendship,” “advice” and “generosity.”
Italian Defense Minister Guido Crosetto, meanwhile, said that Berlusconi’s death leaves a “huge void” and marked the top of an era. “I loved him very much. Goodbye Silvio.”
Berlusconi seen casting his vote through the Lombardy regional elections in Milan, Italy on February 12, 2023.
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“Silvio Berlusconi made history on this country,” Former Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi said on Twitter.
“Many loved him, many hated him: everyone today must recognize that his impact on political but in addition economic, sporting and tv life was unprecedented,” he added, in keeping with a translation.
He was not all the time beloved by the people during his nine-year stint as prime minister, which sealed him because the third-longest head of presidency in Italy after fascist dictators Benito Mussolini and Giovanni Giolitti.
At a 2009 campaign rally during his last stint as premier, Berlusconi was struck within the face by a mentally sick man wielding a statuette of the Milan cathedral. The bloody attack broke Berlusconi’s nose, cut his lip and knocked out two teeth.