Sulfur Italian billionaire Silvio Berlusconi has died at the age of 86

The senator entered Milan’s San Raffaele Hospital for leukemia on Friday. A state funeral will be held on Wednesday in the majestic Milan Cathedral.

Shortly after news of his death broke, dozens of people gathered outside the hospital as tributes poured in from Italy and abroad.

Former Italian Prime Minister Civo Berlusconi has died in Milan at the age of 86. A billionaire and media mogul in his country, his career has been marked by his many transgressions, sex scandals and friendship with Vladimir Putin. Story by Lise Villeneuve.

A A true friendPutin says

Russian President Vladimir Putin was among the first to respond, A A loving person And one A true friend A fitted Incredible life forceHis appreciation hope And his A sense of humor.

Silvio Berlusconi, a personal friend of Vladimir Putin, received at his mega-villa in Sardinia, has repeatedly blamed Kiev for the war with Moscow.

The journey of this eternal ghost, misreported several times since his election as senator in 2022, joins the Italian history of the last 30 years.

He was one of the wealthiest people on the peninsula, valued at 6.4 billion euros (9.2 billion Canadian dollars) by Forbes in early April.

Admired or despised, he found himself embroiled in countless lawsuits over controversial receptions, considered an amateur of women much younger than him, including prostitutes.

Abroad, he is best known for the string of scandals he was involved in, his famous blunders, his repeated trials and his diplomatic stunts.

While he was popular in Italy, the electoral victory machine he founded in 1994, the Forza Italia party, followed his slow decline, dropping from almost 30% of the vote in the 2001 legislative elections to 8% in 2022.

He is immortal and will always be with us. I have always admired him, as has our entire family. His generosity, his kindness, all that he has done for ussaidAFP Carla Ballerini, a 75-year-old retiree, was rushed to San Rafael Hospital.

In a video message, the head of the Italian government, Giorgia Meloni, praised him Courage And his determinationLooking at him One of the most influential men in Italian history.

The great warrior is goneHungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban tweeted.

After starting his rise in Milan in the construction industry, the unfailing entrepreneur successfully ventured into television, inventing Spangled TV of the 1980s, which would make his fortune, allowing football clubs AC Milan to later invest in AC Monza.

Silvio Berlusconi was the president of AC Milan football team for 31 years.

Photo: Getty Images / Claudio Villa

On the corruption side, Mr. Berlusconi was sentenced to seven years in prison for engaging in prostitution of a minor and abuse of power for so-called parties. bunga-bunga Before it was finally released in 2015, very young women were invited.

The octogenarian caused another scandal when his last partner, Marta Fascina, 53 years his junior, promised to bring her Monza players in December 2022. In the locker room A bus full of prostitutes if successful.

For many years, the grasshopper smiled GaimanOne of her many nicknames was etched on her makeup-slathered face Thick like parquetA brutal revelation of an editorial.

Born on September 29, 1936, the son of a Milanese banker, Berlusconi began working as an entertainer on cruise ships, where he sang and told funny stories.

Armed with a law degree, he launched into business and began an inexorable rise that raised questions about the origins of his fortune, about which he was always unclear.

But above all in the television industry, his creative genius manifests itself as a great communicator, who delights the public with his shows with naked women.

Fininvest, a Berlusconi family conglomerate, owns three television channels, newspapers, Mondatori Publishing and many others.

Football fan Silvio Berlusconi led AC Milan for 31 years, winning the Champions League five times during his era, before selling it to Chinese investors in April 2017. Thank you President, always with usThe club reacted on its website.

In 1994, he created Forza Italia and, following a lightning campaign for his media empire, became head of government before being ousted by his allies seven months later.

He returned to power in 2001 for five years, a post-war record. Beaten by a hair in 2006, he got his revenge a third time two years later. But in November 2011, he had to leave under the rule of Italy, which was in the grip of a severe financial crisis.

In November 2011, Silvio Berlusconi handed over power to economist Mario Monti. In this photo, the two politicians shake hands in Milan in January 2013.

Photo: Associated Press/Antonio Colony

He re-emerged in the political arena in the 2013 assembly elections by securing almost one-third of the votes.

A few months later, his long legal setbacks led to his first final sentence for tax evasion: a year in prison – served in the form of community service in a nursing home – six years of disqualification and expulsion from the Senate.

The father of five children from two marriages, he was a grandfather many times over.