Former Italian prime minister Silvio Berlusconi died Monday, according to Reuters. He was 86 and had been suffering from leukemia.
Berlusconi served as prime minister between 1994 and 2011, heading up three Italian governments. However, his time in office was marred by a series of scandals
The billionaire media mogul was tried on charges ranging from tax evasion and bribery to corruption and having sex with an underage prostitute, CNN reported. However, he was convicted on just one of the cases, a 2012 charge of tax evasion.
He made a political comeback in 2017, and his Forza Italia political party was a coalition partner with the current Premier Giorgia Meloni, according to The Associated Press.
In 2019, Berlusconi won a seat in the European parliament and in general elections in October 2022, he was elected as a senator in the Italian parliament.
His friendship with Russian President Vladimir Putin put him at odds with Meloni, the AP reported.
According to Berlusconi, Putin sent him a present of 20 bottles of Russian vodka for his 86th birthday. He acknowledged the gift by sending Putin Italian wine in return.
Berlusconi, a one-time cruise ship singer, used the money he made on the ship to help pay for college.
After earning a law degree, he began a construction company and started buying and selling real estate. He made his fortune on the properties.
With the proceeds from his real estate holdings, Berlusconi created a TV cable company, Telemilano, and bought two other cable channels. The three channels became part of the assets of the Fininvest group, which included department stores, insurance companies and AC Milan, a soccer club that he owned for 31 years, according to The Guardian.
He was married twice and is survived by five children.
