Silvio Berlusconi, an Italian ex-minister and telecommunications tycoon, passes away

Silvio Berlusconi, who passed away at the age of 86, was born in Milan, a city that was severely damaged by World War II, into a middle-class family. He studied law in a private, religiously affiliated school, earning a distinction in 1961 while specializing in advertising contracts, a subject that would undoubtedly be crucial to his future careers.

Born on September 29, 1936, the son of a bank clerk, a cruise ship entertainer in his youth, and a law graduate, the origin of his enormous fortune has sparked all kinds of speculation and remains uncertain.

Nicknamed «the immortal» for his longevity in politics, the senator and businessman had been admitted last Friday in a hospital in Milan.

Among the richest men in Italy, who reached 118th place in 2011 on the list of the world’s wealthiest people, he was a great communicator and a convinced anti-communist, loved and hated with equal intensity.

The bold and innovative entrepreneur who invented a peculiar and imitated commercial television format in the 1980s, had to spend his last years of life going in and out of the San Raffaele hospital in Milan, his hometown, due to his fragile health.

He founded a media firm that broadcast Canale 5, Italia 1, and Rete 4 across all of Italy. The company’s aggressive advertising division, Publitalia, supported all of this.

With the addition of his 1984 purchase of Arnoldo Mondadori, the nation’s most significant publishing house, Berlusconi’s media empire emerged as RAI, the state-owned television company,’s lone legitimate rival. Both Berlusconi’s personal connections in the government and his ability to draw in the hottest TV stars of the day were undoubtedly helpful.

He also amassed millions in the real estate and financial sector until he reached politics, seducing both viewers and votes, although he did not manage to fulfill his greatest dream: to become president of the Republic.

He was the precursor of a style of millionaire politician that has been repeated worldwide, who ignores and overlooks ethical and moral principles.

The tycoon who never gave up his businesses and companies, opening the debate on conflict of interest, in November 2011 had to hand over the reins of an Italy plunged into a serious financial crisis under booing.