Historical Figure
Silvio Berlusconi
1936–2023
Italian media tycoon and politician (1936–2023)
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Biography
Silvio Berlusconi was an Italian media tycoon and politician who served as the prime minister of Italy in three governments from 1994 to 1995, 2001 to 2006 and 2008 to 2011. He was a member of the Chamber of Deputies from 1994 to 2013; a member of the Senate of the Republic from 2022 until his death in 2023, and previously from March to November 2013; and a member of the European Parliament (MEP) from 2019 to 2022, and previously from 1999 to 2001. At the time of his death in 2023, he had a net worth of US$6.8 billion according to Forbes, making him the 352nd-richest man in the world and the third-wealthiest person in Italy.
In Their Own Words (5)
(Italian language) [...] io, a parlare con Zelensky, se fossi stato il Presidente del Consiglio non ci sarei mai andato. Perché, come sapete, stiamo assistendo alla devastazione del suo paese e alla strage di suoi soldati e di suoi civili. Bastava che lui cessasse di attaccare le due repubbliche autonome del Donbass e questo non sarebbe avvenuto; quindi io giudico molto molto, molto negativamente il comportamento di questo signore.
[...] I, talking to Zelensky, if I had been the Prime Minister I would never have gone. Because, as you know, we are witnessing the devastation of his country and the massacre of his soldiers and civilians. It was enough for him to stop attacking the two autonomous republics of Donbass and this would not have happened; so I judge very very, very negatively the behavior of this gentleman. , 2023
I added extra stimulation ... if you win against one of these great teams, I’ll send a bus full of whores to the locker room.
Jokingly said to his soccer team Monza A.C., quoted in "Silvio Berlusconi Promises ‘Busload of Whores’ if His Soccer Team Wins", Daily Beast, 14 December 2022 , 2022
If they do that kind of job is because they are anthropologically different from the other human beings.
ANSA (5 September 2003) , 2003
[To the] edge of the abyss.
On Italy, as reported in "Italy on 'edge of abyss', says Silvio Berlusconi, offering a hand", The Guardian (9 December 2012) , 2012
We are worried about everything happening there, in all the area. I haven't yet heard from Gaddafi. The situation is evolving and so I don't feel I should disturb anyone.
On the 2011 Libyan protests, as quoted in EU Observer (21 February 2011) , 2011
Timeline
The story of Silvio Berlusconi, told in moments.
Bought AC Milan football club, beginning a 31-year ownership. Already controlled Mediaset, Italy's largest commercial broadcasting company. By his 40s, he was one of the richest men in the country.
Won the Italian general election and became prime minister, founding his own party, Forza Italia, just months before the vote. Served three separate terms totaling nine years, the longest of any postwar Italian PM.
Convicted of tax fraud and sentenced to community service at an old-age home. Expelled from the Senate. Had faced decades of criminal proceedings, from bribery charges to trials involving underage prostitution.
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