Silvio Berlusconi, scandal-scarred former Italian leader, dies at 86

Italy Berlusconi Obit People bring flowers outside Silvio Berlusconi's residence in Arcore, near Milan, Monday June 12, 2023. Silvio Berlusconi, the boastful billionaire media mogul who was Italy's longest-serving premier despite scandals over his sex-fueled parties and allegations of corruption, died Monday, according to Italian media. He was 86. (AP Photo/Antonio Calanni)
Italy Obit Berlusconi The hearse containing the body of media mogul and former Italian Premier Silvio Berlusconi arrives at Berlusconi's residence in Arcore, near Milan, Italy, Monday June 12, 2023. Silvio Berlusconi, the boastful billionaire media mogul who was Italy’s longest-serving premier despite scandals over his sex-fueled parties and allegations of corruption and bribery, has died at age 86. (Claudio Furlan/LaPresse via AP)
Italy Berlusconi Obit People and reporters wait outside the San Raffaele Hospital in Milan, Italy, Monday, June 12, 2023. Berlusconi, the boastful billionaire media mogul who was Italy's longest-serving premier despite scandals over his sex-fueled parties and allegations of corruption, died, according to Italian media. He was 86. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno)
Italy Obit Berlusconi Flowers and a note reading Thank you Silvio are laid in front of Silvio Berlusconi's Villa San Martino residence in Arcore, near Milan, Italy, Monday, June 12, 2023. Italian media are reporting that Silvio Berlusconi, the boastful billionaire media mogul who was Italy’s longest-serving premier despite scandals over his sex-fueled parties and allegations of corruption and bribery, has died at age 86. (Claudio Furlan/LaPresse via AP)
Italy Obit Berlusconi Journalists gather in front of Silvio Berlusconi's Villa San Martino residence in Arcore, near Milan, Italy, Monday, June 12, 2023. Italian media are reporting that Silvio Berlusconi, the boastful billionaire media mogul who was Italy’s longest-serving premier despite scandals over his sex-fueled parties and allegations of corruption and bribery, has died at age 86. (Claudio Furlan/LaPresse via AP)
Italy Berlusconi Obit FILE - Former Italian Premier Silvio Berlusconi waves to reporters as he arrives at the Chamber of Deputies to meet Mario Draghi, in Rome, Feb. 9, 2021. Berlusconi, the boastful billionaire media mogul who was Italy's longest-serving premier despite scandals over his sex-fueled parties and allegations of corruption, died, according to Italian media. He was 86. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino, File)
Italy Berlusconi Obit FILE - Italian former Premier and Forza Italia (Go Italy) party leader, Silvio Berlusconi, smiles during the recording of the Italian state television RAI, Porta a Porta (Door To Door) TV talk show in Rome, Jan. 11, 2018. Silvio Berlusconi, the boastful billionaire media mogul who was Italy's longest-serving premier despite scandals over his sex-fueled parties and allegations of corruption, died, according to Italian media. He was 86. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini, File)
Italy Berlusconi Obit FILE - Silvio Berlusconi comes out of a voting booth before casting his ballot at a polling station in Milan, Italy, Sept. 25, 2022. Berlusconi, the boastful billionaire media mogul who was Italy's longest-serving premier despite scandals over his sex-fueled parties and allegations of corruption, died, according to Italian media. He was 86. (AP Photo/Antonio Calanni, File )
Italy Berlusconi Obit FILE - Former Italian Premier Silvio Berlusconi waves to reporters as he arrives at the Chamber of Deputies to meet Mario Draghi, in Rome, Feb. 9, 2021. Silvio Berlusconi, the boastful billionaire media mogul who was Italy's longest-serving premier despite scandals over his sex-fueled parties and allegations of corruption, died, according to Italian media. He was 86. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino, File)
Italy Berlusconi Politics FILE - Silvio Berlusconi meets journalists at the Quirinale presidential palace after talks with Italian President Sergio Mattarella, in Rome, April 12, 2018. Silvio Berlusconi died Monday, June 12, 2023. Whether and how Berlusconi’s Forza Italia party survives is being quietly discussed on the inside pages of newspapers and the back corridors of parliament. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia, File)
Italy Berlusconi Obit FILE - Italian former premier Silvio Berlusconi waves at the end of the Italian State RAI TV program "Che Tempo che Fa", in Milan, Italy, Sunday, Nov. 26, 2017. Berlusconi, the boastful billionaire media mogul who was Italy's longest-serving premier despite scandals over his sex-fueled parties and allegations of corruption, died, according to Italian media. He was 86. (AP Photo/Antonio Calanni, File)
Italy Berlusconi Obit FILE - Italian Premier Silvio Berlusconi is framed by microphones prior to deliver his speech at the Italian Senate Sept. 30, 2010. Berlusconi, the boastful billionaire media mogul who was Italy's longest-serving premier despite scandals over his sex-fueled parties and allegations of corruption, died, according to Italian media. He was 86. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino, File)
Italy Berlusconi Obit FILE - Silvio Berlusconi attends the new European Parliament first session in Strasbourg, eastern France, July 2, 2019. Berlusconi, the boastful billionaire media mogul who was Italy's longest-serving premier despite scandals over his sex-fueled parties and allegations of corruption, died, according to Italian media. He was 86. (AP Photo/Jean-Francois Badias, File)
Italy Berlusconi Obit FILE - Silvio Berlusconi addresses a rally in Rome, on Oct. 19, 2019. Berlusconi, the boastful billionaire media mogul who was Italy's longest-serving premier despite scandals over his sex-fueled parties and allegations of corruption, died, according to Italian media. He was 86. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini, File)
Italy Berlusconi Obit FILE - People of Freedom party leader Silvio Berlusconi rubs his eyes after delivering his speech at the Senate, in Rome, on, Oct. 2, 2013. Berlusconi, the boastful billionaire media mogul who was Italy's longest-serving premier despite scandals over his sex-fueled parties and allegations of corruption, died, according to Italian media. He was 86. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia, File)
Italy Berlusconi Obit FILE - Italian premier Silvio Berlusconi, right, and his wife Veronica Lario wait for President George W. Bush and first lady Laura Bush at the Villa Madama residence for a social dinner, in Rome June 24, 2004. Berlusconi, the boastful billionaire media mogul who was Italy's longest-serving premier despite scandals over his sex-fueled parties and allegations of corruption, died, according to Italian media. He was 86. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh, File)
Italy Berlusconi Obit FILE - Silvio Berlusconi gets emotional during the center-right coalition closing rally in Rome Thursday, Sep. 22, 2022. Berlusconi, the boastful billionaire media mogul who was Italy's longest-serving premier despite scandals over his sex-fueled parties and allegations of corruption, died, according to Italian media. He was 86. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia, File)
Italy Berlusconi Obit FILE - Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi looks on during a media briefing with German Chancellor Angela Merkel, at the chancellery in Berlin, Germany Jan. 12, 2011. Berlusconi, the boastful billionaire media mogul who was Italy's longest-serving premier despite scandals over his sex-fueled parties and allegations of corruption, died, according to Italian media. He was 86. (AP Photo/Markus Schreiber, File)
Italy Berlusconi Obit FILE - Brothers of Italy's leader Giorgia Meloni, right, talks to the press as Forza Italia president Silvio Berlusconi looks up at the Quirinale Presidential Palace after a meeting with Italian President Sergio Mattarella as part of a round of consultations with party leaders to try and form a new government, in Rome, Oct. 21, 2022. Berlusconi, the boastful billionaire media mogul who was Italy's longest-serving premier despite scandals over his sex-fueled parties and allegations of corruption, died, according to Italian media. He was 86. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia, File)
Italy Berlusconi Obit FILE - Silvio Berlusconi smiles ahead of a confidence vote at he Senate for the new Government, in Rome, Oct. 26, 2022. Berlusconi, the boastful billionaire media mogul who was Italy's longest-serving premier despite scandals over his sex-fueled parties and allegations of corruption, died, according to Italian media. He was 86. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini, File)
Italy Berlusconi Obit FILE - German Chancellor Angela Merkel, right, and Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi listen to the national anthems during the welcoming ceremony at the chancellery in Berlin, Germany, on Jan. 12, 2011. Berlusconi, the boastful billionaire media mogul who was Italy's longest-serving premier despite scandals over his sex-fueled parties and allegations of corruption, died, according to Italian media. He was 86. (AP Photo/Markus Schreiber, File)
Italy Berlusconi Obit FILE - In this Sunday, July 20, 2003 filer, President Bush embraces Italy's Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi as he welcomes him to his ranch in Crawford, Texas. Berlusconi, the boastful billionaire media mogul who was Italy's longest-serving premier despite scandals over his sex-fueled parties and allegations of corruption, died, according to Italian media. He was 86. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak, File)
Italy Berlusconi Obit FILE - In this Monday, Oct. 13, 2008 file photo President George Bush, right, toasts with the Prime Minister of Italy Silvio Berlusconi during an Official Dinner in the State Dining Room in Washington. Berlusconi, the boastful billionaire media mogul who was Italy's longest-serving premier despite scandals over his sex-fueled parties and allegations of corruption, died, according to Italian media. He was 86. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais, File)
Italy Berlusconi Obit FILE - In this Oct. 13, 2008 file photo, U.S. President George Bush, right, gestures as he directs the Prime Minister of Italy Silvio Berlusconi, center, and the first lady Laura Bush, left, towards the East Room of White House, Monday, Oct. 13, 2008, in Washington. Berlusconi, the boastful billionaire media mogul who was Italy's longest-serving premier despite scandals over his sex-fueled parties and allegations of corruption, died, according to Italian media. He was 86. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais, File)
Italy Berlusconi Obit FILE - Former Italian Premier Silvio Berlusconi, second from right, is supported at the podium by his personal doctor Umberto Scapagnini, left, and by two unidentified men, as he slumped during an emotional speech to political supporters in Montecatini Terme, Italy, on Nov. 26, 2006. Berlusconi, the boastful billionaire media mogul who was Italy's longest-serving premier despite scandals over his sex-fueled parties and allegations of corruption, died, according to Italian media. He was 86. (AP photo/Fabrizio Giovannozzi, File)
Italy Berlusconi Obit FILE - In this Sept. 14, 2005 file photo, Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, left, and U.S. President Bush greet each other prior to a luncheon at the 2005 World Summit at the United Nations headquarters in New York. Berlusconi, the boastful billionaire media mogul who was Italy's longest-serving premier despite scandals over his sex-fueled parties and allegations of corruption, died, according to Italian media. He was 86. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh, file)
Italy Berlusconi Politics FILE - From left to right, Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, holds on to the arm of U.S. President George W. Bush, as German Chancellor Angela Merkel, looks on before posing for the official photo at the G8 summit, July 8, 2008, in the lakeside resort of Toyako on Japan northern main island of Hokkaido. Silvio Berlusconi died Monday, June 12, 2023. Whether and how Berlusconi’s Forza Italia party survives is being quietly discussed on the inside pages of newspapers and the back corridors of parliament. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais, File)
Italy Berlusconi Obit FILE - In this April 2, 2009 file photo, President Barack Obama, Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, center, and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, right, smile during a group photo at the G20 Summit in London. Berlusconi, the boastful billionaire media mogul who was Italy's longest-serving premier despite scandals over his sex-fueled parties and allegations of corruption, died, according to Italian media. He was 86. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth, File)
Italy Berlusconi Obit FILE - A man sticks posters of Forza Italia party (Go Italy) reading, Vote Berlusconi President, background left, as an electoral posters by The Daisy party of the center-left coalition bearing the mock pictures of Italian Premier Silvio Berlusconi is seen in Rome, on April 7, 2006. Berlusconi, the boastful billionaire media mogul who was Italy's longest-serving premier despite scandals over his sex-fueled parties and allegations of corruption, died, according to Italian media. He was 86. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia, File)
Italy Berlusconi Obit FILE - In this July 8, 2009 file photo U.S. President Barack Obama and Italy's Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, right, with an unidentified official, tour earthquake damage on the sidelines of the G8 Summit in L'Aquila, Italy. Berlusconi, the boastful billionaire media mogul who was Italy's longest-serving premier despite scandals over his sex-fueled parties and allegations of corruption, died, according to Italian media. He was 86. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak, File)
Italy Berlusconi Obit FILE - In this , June 2, 1994 file photo, President Bill Clinton and Italian Premier Silvio Berlusconi, right, pose for photographers prior to their meeting at Villa Madama in Rome. Berlusconi, the boastful billionaire media mogul who was Italy's longest-serving premier despite scandals over his sex-fueled parties and allegations of corruption, died, according to Italian media. He was 86. (AP Photo/Silvano Festuccia, File)
Italy Berlusconi Obit FILE - In this Saturday, Sept. 26, 2009 file photo Pope Benedict XVI is escorted by Italian Premier Silvio Berlusconi, right, as he leaves for his pastoral trip to the Czech Republic from Ciampino Military airport, near Rome. Berlusconi, the boastful billionaire media mogul who was Italy's longest-serving premier despite scandals over his sex-fueled parties and allegations of corruption, died, according to Italian media. He was 86. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino, File)
Italy Berlusconi Obit FILE - Russian President Vladimir Putin, right, and former Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi visit the Khan's Palace in the town of Bakhchisarai, Crimea, on Sept. 12, 2015. Berlusconi, the boastful billionaire media mogul who was Italy's longest-serving premier despite scandals over his sex-fueled parties and allegations of corruption, died, according to Italian media. He was 86. (Alexei Druzhinin/RIA-Novosti, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP)
Italy Berlusconi Obit FILE - In this Sunday, March 4, 2018 file photo a topless woman with writing on her body reading "Berlusconi you expired" protests in front of Italian former premier and leader of Forza Italia (Go Italy) party Silvio Berlusconi at a polling station in Milan, Italy. Berlusconi, the boastful billionaire media mogul who was Italy's longest-serving premier despite scandals over his sex-fueled parties and allegations of corruption, died, according to Italian media. He was 86. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno, File)
Italy Berlusconi Obit FILE - Russian President Vladimir Putin, right, presents a book about his rural lodge Zavidovo to former Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi in Zavidovo, about 120 kilometers (75 miles) northwest of Moscow, on Feb. 3, 2003. Berlusconi, the boastful billionaire media mogul who was Italy's longest-serving premier despite scandals over his sex-fueled parties and allegations of corruption, died, according to Italian media. He was 86. (AP Photo/Viktor Korotayev, Pool, File)
Italy Berlusconi Obit FILE - In this June 6, 2014 file photo, AC Milan president Silvio Berlusconi, left, holds an AC Milan shirt flanked by his daughter Barbara during a visit to the new team headquarters in Milan, Italy. Berlusconi, the boastful billionaire media mogul who was Italy's longest-serving premier despite scandals over his sex-fueled parties and allegations of corruption, died, according to Italian media. He was 86. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno)
Italy Berlusconi Obit FILE - AC Milan's President Silvio Berlusconi, center, flanked by team coach Carlo Ancelotti, right, and by team captain Paolo Maldini, holds the FIFA Club World Cup soccer championship trophy, upon their arrival at Milan's Malpensa airport, Italy, Dec. 17, 2007. Berlusconi, the boastful billionaire media mogul who was Italy's longest-serving premier despite scandals over his sex-fueled parties and allegations of corruption, died, according to Italian media. He was 86. (AP Photo/Antonio Calanni, File)
Italy Berlusconi Obit FILE - AC Milan's Silvio Berlusconi raises the trophy aloft as he stands with his team after they beat Liverpool 2-1 to win the Champions League Final soccer match between AC Milan and Liverpool at the Olympic Stadium in Athens, May 23, 2007. Berlusconi, the boastful billionaire media mogul who was Italy's longest-serving premier despite scandals over his sex-fueled parties and allegations of corruption, died, according to Italian media. He was 86. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno, File)
Italy Berlusconi Obit FILE - AC Milan's President Silvio Berlusconi holds the FIFA Club World Cup soccer championship trophy upon arrival at Milan's Malpensa airport, Italy, on Dec. 17, 2007. Berlusconi, the boastful billionaire media mogul who was Italy's longest-serving premier despite scandals over his sex-fueled parties and allegations of corruption, died, according to Italian media. He was 86. (AP Photo/Antonio Calanni, File)
Italy Berlusconi Obit FILE - AC Milan president Silvio Berlusconi is shoulder-carried by Milan players after winning the 1988 Italian championship at the Milan's San Siro stadium. Berlusconi, the boastful billionaire media mogul who was Italy's longest-serving premier despite scandals over his sex-fueled parties and allegations of corruption, died, according to Italian media. He was 86. (AP Photo/Ferdinando Meazza, File)
Italy Berlusconi Obit FILE - From left, AC Milan's coach Carlo Ancelotti , President Silvio Berlusconi and vice-president Adriano Galliani pose with the Champions League trophy at the Milanello training facility, in Carnago, Italy, on July 23, 2007. Berlusconi, the boastful billionaire media mogul who was Italy's longest-serving premier despite scandals over his sex-fueled parties and allegations of corruption, died, according to Italian media. He was 86. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno, File)
Italy Berlusconi Obit FILE - AC Milan president Silvio Berlusconi, center in dark suit, celebrates with the team after defeating Juventus to win the Luigi Berlusconi Trophy exhibition soccer match at the San Siro stadium in Milan, Italy, on Aug. 17, 2007. Berlusconi, the boastful billionaire media mogul who was Italy's longest-serving premier despite scandals over his sex-fueled parties and allegations of corruption, died, according to Italian media. He was 86. (AP Photo/Alberto Pellaschiar, File)
Italy Berlusconi Obit FILE - Italian Premier Silvio Berlusconi gestures as he delivers his speech during a press conference in Rome's Chigi palace Premier's office, Thursday, April 6, 2006. Berlusconi, the boastful billionaire media mogul who was Italy's longest-serving premier despite scandals over his sex-fueled parties and allegations of corruption, died, according to Italian media. He was 86. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia, File)
Italy Berlusconi Obit FILE - Former Italian premier Silvio Berlusconi waves as he arrives for the Italian State RAI TV program "Che Tempo che Fa", in Milan, Italy, on Nov. 26, 2017. Berlusconi, the boastful billionaire media mogul who was Italy's longest-serving premier despite scandals over his sex-fueled parties and allegations of corruption, died, according to Italian media. He was 86. (AP Photo/Antonio Calanni, File)
Italy Berlusconi Obit People and reporters wait outside the San Raffaele Hospital in Milan, Italy, Monday, June 12, 2023. Berlusconi, the boastful billionaire media mogul who was Italy's longest-serving premier despite scandals over his sex-fueled parties and allegations of corruption, died, according to Italian media. He was 86. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno)
Italy Obit Berlusconi The hearse containing the body of media mogul and former Italian Premier Silvio Berlusconi arrives at Berlusconi's residence in Arcore, near Milan, Italy, Monday June 12, 2023. Silvio Berlusconi, the boastful billionaire media mogul who was Italy’s longest-serving premier despite scandals over his sex-fueled parties and allegations of corruption and bribery, has died at age 86. (Claudio Furlan/LaPresse via AP)
Italy Berlusconi Obit FILE - From left: The League's Matteo Salvini, Forza Italia's Silvio Berlusconi, and Brothers of Italy's Giorgia Meloni attend the center-right coalition closing rally in Rome on Sep. 22, 2022. Berlusconi, the boastful billionaire media mogul who was Italy's longest-serving premier despite scandals over his sex-fueled parties and allegations of corruption, died, according to Italian media. He was 86. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia, File)
Italy Berlusconi Obit FILE - Russian President Vladimir Putin, right, and former Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi visit a memorial to the soldiers from Sardinia killed in the Crimean War, near Mount Gasfort outside Sevastopol in Crimea, Friday, Sept. 11, 2015. Berlusconi, the boastful billionaire media mogul who was Italy's longest-serving premier despite scandals over his sex-fueled parties and allegations of corruption, died, according to Italian media. He was 86.(Alexei Druzhinin/RIA-Novosti, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP, File)
Italy Berlusconi Obit FILE - Italian Premier Silvio Berlusconi holds some papers as he arrives for a press conference following a cabinet meeting on the justice reforms, in Rome, on March 10, 2011. Berlusconi, the boastful billionaire media mogul who was Italy's longest-serving premier despite scandals over his sex-fueled parties and allegations of corruption, died, according to Italian media. He was 86. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini, File)
Italy Berlusconi Obit FILE - Italian Premier Silvio Berlusconi waves from his car as he arrives at his home in Arcore, Italy, on Dec.17, 2009. A grim-looking Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi waved weakly to photographers Thursday as he left a Milan hospital with his face covered in bandages four days after an attack by a mentally ill man at a political rally. Berlusconi, the boastful billionaire media mogul who was Italy's longest-serving premier despite scandals over his sex-fueled parties and allegations of corruption, died, according to Italian media. He was 86. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno, File)
Italy Berlusconi Obit Britain's Queen Elizabeth II, sits with G20 leaders during a group photograph at Buckingham Palace in London, on April 1, 2009. Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, seen at top. Berlusconi, the boastful billionaire media mogul who was Italy's longest-serving premier despite scandals over his sex-fueled parties and allegations of corruption, died, Italian media reported Monday. He was 86. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth, Pool, File)
Italy Berlusconi Obit FILE - Former Italian Premier Silvio Berlusconi waves to photographers as he arrives to vote for the European Parliament elections at a polling station in Milan, Italy, on May 26, 2019. Berlusconi, the boastful billionaire media mogul who was Italy's longest-serving premier despite scandals over his sex-fueled parties and allegations of corruption, died, according to Italian media. He was 86. (AP Photo/Antonio Calanni, File)
(1/52)

MILAN (AP) — Silvio Berlusconi, the boastful billionaire media mogul who was Italy’s longest-serving premier despite scandals over his sex-fueled parties and allegations of corruption, died Monday. He was 86.

Supporters applauded as his body arrived at his villa outside Milan from the city’s San Raffaele Hospital, where he had been treated for chronic leukemia. A state funeral will be held Wednesday in the city’s Duomo cathedral, according to the Milan Archdiocese.

A onetime cruise ship crooner, Berlusconi used his television networks and immense wealth to launch his long political career, inspiring both loyalty and loathing.

To admirers, the three-time premier was a capable and charismatic statesman who sought to elevate Italy on the world stage. To critics, he was a populist who threatened to undermine democracy by wielding political power as a tool to enrich himself and his businesses.

His Forza Italia party is a coalition partner with current Premier Giorgia Meloni, a far-right leader who came to power last year, although Berlusconi held no position in the government.

His friendship with Russian President Vladimir Putin put him at odds with Meloni, a staunch supporter of Ukraine. On his 86th birthday, while the war raged, Putin sent Berlusconi best wishes and vodka, and the Italian boasted he returned the favor by sending back Italian wine.

When former U.S. President Donald Trump launched his political career, many drew comparisons to Berlusconi, noting they both had long business careers, sought to upend the existing political order, and grabbed attention for their over-the-top personalities and lavish lifestyles.

Meloni remembered Berlusconi “above all as a fighter.”

“He was a man who had never been afraid to defend his beliefs. And it was exactly that courage and determination that made him one of the most influential men in the history of Italy,” Meloni said on Italian TV.

Former Premier Matteo Renzi recalled Berlusconi’s divisive legacy on Twitter. “Many loved him, many hated him. All must recognize that his impact on political life, but also economics, sports and television, has been without precedent.”

Putin sent a telegram of condolence, hailing Berlusconi as a “patriarch” of Italian politics and a true patriot.

As Berlusconi aged, some derided his perpetual tan, hair transplants and live-in girlfriends who were decades younger. For many years, however, Berlusconi seemed untouchable despite the personal scandals.

Criminal cases were launched but ended in dismissals when statutes of limitations ran out in Italy’s slow-moving justice system, or he was victorious on appeal. Investigations targeted the tycoon’s steamy so-called “bunga bunga” parties involving young women and minors, or his businesses, which included the soccer team AC Milan, the country’s three biggest private TV networks, magazines and a daily newspaper, and advertising and film companies.

Only one led to a conviction that stuck — a tax fraud case stemming from a sale of movie rights in his business empire. The conviction was upheld in 2013 by Italy’s top criminal court, but he was spared prison because of his age, 76, and was ordered to do community service by assisting Alzheimer’s patients.

He still was stripped of his Senate seat and banned from running or holding public office for six years, under anti-corruption laws.

He stayed at the helm of Forza Italia, the center-right party he created when he entered politics in the 1990s and named for a soccer cheer, “Let’s go, Italy.” With no groomed successor in sight, voters started to desert it.

He eventually held office again — elected to the European Parliament at age 82 and then last year to the Italian Senate.

Berlusconi’s party was eclipsed as the dominant force on Italy’s political right: first by the League, led by anti-migrant populist Matteo Salvini, then by Meloni’s Brothers of Italy party, with its roots in neo-fascism. Following elections in 2022, Meloni formed a governing coalition with their help.

Forza Italia is the smallest party in Meloni’s coalition, and Berlusconi’s death is unlikely to have any immediate repercussions on the stability of the government; allies have already declared their intention to keep the party going.

Berlusconi lost his standing as Italy’s richest man, although his sprawling media holdings and luxury real estate still left him a billionaire several times over.

In 2013, guests at one of his parties included an underage Moroccan dancer whom prosecutors alleged had sex with Berlusconi in exchange for cash and jewelry. After a trial spiced by lurid details, a Milan court initially convicted Berlusconi of paying for sex with a minor and using his office to try to cover it up. Both denied having sex with each other, and he was eventually acquitted.

The Catholic Church, at times sympathetic to his conservative politics, was scandalized by his antics, and his wife of nearly 20 years divorced him, but Berlusconi was unapologetic, declaring: “I’m no saint.”

Pope Francis sent a telegram of condolence, recalling Berlusconi as a “protagonist of Italian political life, who carried out his public responsibilities with an energetic temperament.”

Berlusconi insisted that voters were impressed by his brashness.

“The majority of Italians in their hearts would like to be like me and see themselves in me and in how I behave,” he said in 2009.

In a display that spoke to the depth of feeling his most fervent supporters had for him, anchors at his private Mediaset network choked up as they announced his death Monday.

Angela Dravi, who worked as a seamstress for Berlusconi and joined a few dozen supporters gathered outside his villa, said she has a bathrobe that the ex-premier discarded and wears it to this day to be close to him. “I was always there for him. I have always been at the rallies, at the gatherings. I love him as a person,” she said.

Berlusconi’s second term, from 2001-06, was perhaps his golden era, when he became Italy’s longest-serving head of government and boosted its global profile through his friendship with then U.S. President George W. Bush. Bucking widespread sentiment at home and in Europe, Berlusconi backed the U.S.-led war in Iraq.

Bush praised Berlusconi for being a “vibrant leader with a personality to match” in a condolence message, saying there “was never a dull moment with Silvio.”

“He strengthened the friendship between Italy and the United States, and we are grateful for his commitment to our important alliance,” the former president said.

As a businessman who knew the power of images, Berlusconi introduced U.S.-style political campaigns — with big party conventions and slick advertising — that broke with the gray world of Italian politics, in which voters essentially chose parties and not candidates. His rivals had to adapt.

Berlusconi saw himself as Italy’s savior from what he described as the Communist menace — years after the Berlin Wall fell. From the start of his political career in 1994, he portrayed himself as the target of a judiciary he described as full of leftist sympathizers.

When the anti-establishment 5-Star Movement gained strength, Berlusconi branded it as a menace worse than Communism.

His close friendship with longtime Socialist leader and former Premier Bettino Craxi was widely credited for helping him become a media baron. Still, Berlusconi billed himself as a self-made man, saying, “My formula for success is to be found in four words: work, work and work.”

He boasted of his libido and entertained friends and world leaders at his villas. At one party, newspapers reported the women were dressed as “little Santas.” At another, photos showed topless women and a naked man lounging poolside.

“I love life! I love women!” an unrepentant Berlusconi said in 2010.

He occasionally selected TV starlets for posts in his Forza Italia party. “If I weren’t married, I would marry you immediately,” Berlusconi reportedly said in 2007 to Mara Carfagna, who later became a Cabinet minister. Berlusconi’s then-wife publicly demanded an apology.

Berlusconi was nicknamed “Papi” — or “Daddy” — by an aspiring model whose 18th birthday bash he attended, also to his wife’s irritation. Later, self-described escort Patrizia D’Addario said she spent the night with him on the evening that Barack Obama was elected U.S. president in 2008.

From his cruise ship entertainer days, Berlusconi loved to compose and sing Neapolitan songs. Like millions of Italians, he had a passion for soccer, and often was in the stands at AC Milan.

He delighted in flouting political etiquette. He sported a bandanna when hosting British Prime Minister Tony Blair at his estate on the Emerald Coast of Sardinia, and it was later revealed he was concealing hair transplants. He posed for photos at international summits making an Italian gesture — which can be offensive or superstitious, depending on circumstances — in which the index and pinkie fingers are extended like horns.

He stirred anger after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks in the United States by claiming Western civilization was superior to Islam.

When criticized in 2003 at the European Parliament by a German lawmaker, Berlusconi likened his adversary to a concentration camp guard. Years later, he drew outrage when he compared his family’s legal woes to what Jews must have encountered in Nazi Germany.

Berlusconi was born in Milan on Sept. 29, 1936, the son of a middle-class banker. He earned a law degree, writing his thesis on advertising. He started a construction company at 25 and built apartment complexes for middle-class families on Milan’s outskirts, part of a postwar boom.

But his astronomical wealth came from the media. In the late 1970s and 1980s, he circumvented Italy’s state TV monopoly RAI by creating a de facto network in which local stations all showed the same programming. RAI and his Mediaset accounted for about 90% of the national market in 2006.

When the “Clean Hands” corruption scandals of the 1990s decimated the political establishment that had dominated postwar Italy, Berlusconi filled the void, founding Forza Italia in 1994.

His first government, also in 1994, collapsed after eight months when an ally who led an anti-immigrant party yanked support. But aided by an aggressive campaign that included mass mailings of glossy magazines recounting his success story, Berlusconi swept to victory in 2001.

Shuffling his Cabinet occasionally, he stayed in power for five years, setting a record for government longevity in Italy. It wasn’t easy.

A Group of Eight summit he hosted in Genoa in 2001 was marred by violent anti-globalization demonstrations and the death of a protester shot by a police officer. Berlusconi faced fierce domestic opposition and alienated some allies by sending 3,000 troops to Iraq after the ouster of Saddam Hussein in 2003. For a time, Italy was the third-largest contingent in the U.S. coalition.

At home, he constantly faced accusations of sponsoring laws aimed at protecting himself or his businesses, but he insisted he always acted in the interest of all Italians. Legislation passed when he was premier allowing officeholders to own media businesses but not run them was deemed by his critics to be tailor made for Berlusconi.

An admirer of U.S. President Ronald Reagan and British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, Berlusconi passed reforms that partially liberalized the labor and pension systems, among Europe’s most inflexible. He also was chummy with Putin, who stayed at his Sardinian estate, and he visited the Russian leader, notably going to Crimea after Moscow illegally annexed the peninsula in 2014.

In 2006, as Italy was ridiculed as “the sick man of Europe,” with its economy mired in zero growth and its budget deficit rising, Berlusconi narrowly lost the general election to center-left leader Romano Prodi, who had been president of the European Union Commission.

In 2008, he bounced back for what would be his final term as premier. It ended abruptly in 2011, when financial markets lost faith in his ability to keep Italy from succumbing to the eurozone’s sovereign debt crisis. To the relief of economic powerhouse Germany, Berlusconi reluctantly stepped down.

Health concerns dogged him over the years. He recently spent more than a month in the hospital with a lung infection stemming from chronic leukemia. He also suffered from heart ailments, prostate cancer and was hospitalized for COVID-19 in 2020.

During a political rally in 2009, a man threw a souvenir statuette of Milan’s cathedral at Berlusconi, fracturing his nose and cracking two teeth.

Berlusconi was first married in 1965 to Carla Dall’Oglio, and their two children, Marina and Piersilvio, were groomed to hold top positions in his business empire. He married his second wife, Veronica Lario, in 1990, and they had three children, Barbara, Eleonora and Luigi.

They also divorced, and at the time of his death he was in a relationship with Marta Fascina, 33, who was elected to parliament last year for his party.

Besides his five children, Berlusconi is survived by 15 grandchildren and one great-grandchild.

___

D’Emilio reported from Rome. Retired Associated Press Rome bureau chief Victor L. Simpson in Rome contributed.

Copyright © 2024 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, written or redistributed.

Federal News Network Logo
Log in to your WTOP account for notifications and alerts customized for you.

Sign up