From “vacuum cleaners” to the empire
Berlusconi was born on September 29, 1936 and began his career selling vacuum cleaners. He is also known for singing in nightclubs and on cruise ships.
He graduated from law school in 1961, then founded the construction company Edelnord, where he rose to prominence as a contractor for the construction of housing in his hometown of Milan.
Ten years later, he founded a local television equipment company, which later became Italy’s largest media empire, known as Mediaset.
Its huge holding company brought together under its umbrella Mediaset, the largest publishing house in Italy, a daily newspaper and AC Milan, as well as dozens of other companies.
His investment company controls the country’s three largest private television stations, and as prime minister he was responsible for appointing the directors of the country’s three public stations.
the government
Berlusconi is nicknamed “The Knight” because of the honor he received in 1977 from President Giovanni Leoni as a Knight of Labor, which he renounced in 2014.
According to the American magazine Forbes, Berlusconi was named in 2013 the seventh richest man in Italy and the 194th richest in the world, due to his personal fortune estimated at 6.2 billion dollars.
He has been accused and tried in more than 20 legal trials.
He assumed the presidency of the government in Italy in three terms:
From May 1994 to January 1995. From June 2001 to May 2006. From May 2008 to November 2011.
He was expelled from the Senate in November 2013 following his conviction for tax evasion, and he was barred from participating in legislative elections for six years, but he was elected to the European Parliament in 2019.
“Bunga Bunga”
In 2017, Italian justice considered charges of corruption and tampering with testimony in the case involving his “bunga bunga” sex parties. The former Italian prime minister was accused of paying more than 10 million euros in the form of cash, cars, gifts and accommodation costs to guests who were staying at his residence near Milan, in order to testify on his behalf in the case known as Boitier “Rubis”. The basis of these charges is the trial Berlusconi faced for paying money in exchange for having sex with young girls, the most famous of whom was a dancer called “Ruby the Heart Stealer” who had to barely 18 at the time. Berlusconi was found guilty during this trial and sentenced to 7 years in prison for abuse of power and seduction of minors. But he was released in 2015 after appealing the verdict, with the judge saying at the time that Berlusconi could not have known ‘Ruby the Heart Thief’, real name Karima Al-Mahrouk, was underage.
Golden Kite
The presidency of Silvio Berlusconi, the Italian Prime Minister, extended to Milan during the period from 1986 to 2005.
Berlusconi is one of the most famous presidents of Italian football clubs throughout history, having led Milan to domestic and continental glory in the 1980s and 1990s.
Berlusconi made some memorable deals in the red and black team, in particular Dutch trio Marco van Basten, Ruud Gullit and Frank Rijkaard. And he contracted with coach Arigo Saki, who made a technical revolution in football tactics, in addition to the feat coach Fabio Capello.
Berlusconi managed to pull Milan from the bottom after their relegation in 1980 in the betting scandal, to manage to lead the team to crowning the championship season 87-88, to begin a period of 31 years for the Milan leaders. During this period, the team won 8 Italian League championships, 7 Super titles, 5 Champions League titles under his reign, 5 European Super Championships, in addition to the Club World Cup. <p>A scandal ends the golden age</p> <p>The ‘Calciopoli’ scandal that rocked Italian football and led to Juventus’ relegation to the second degree has reduced the value of sponsorship for Italian league matches, in addition to the Milan club not owning the San Siro stadium , which belongs to the City Council of Milan. and is shared by Inter.</p> <p>Gradually the sponsorship fees went down and the club couldn’t bear the value of the big deals that the top clubs in Europe started making, so Milan declined over the years from 2007 to 2017.</p> <p>Berlusconi decided to abandon Milan and sell it to Chinese businessmen, led by Yong Hong, for 740 million euros.</p> <p>Statements from Putin’s side</p> Leaked statements made by Berlusconi recently confirmed his support for Russian President Vladimir Putin in his war against Ukraine. Berlusconi said: “Putin had to launch his own operation in Ukraine, reach Kyiv to overthrow the government and install a government already chosen by the Ukrainian minority, made up of more rational leaders.” <p>deterioration of health</p> The billionaire media mogul was transferred to a Milan hospital on Friday due to what his aides described as undergoing pre-scheduled medical tests related to leukemia. Berlusconi has been hospitalized several times in recent years, including after contracting Covid-19 in 2020. Despite his re-election to the Senate last year, his public appearances have been rare.
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