Silvio Berlusconi Is Dead at 86. See Photos of His Life in Italian Business and Politics.

He cultivated the persona of a self-made man that struck a chord with Italians By WSJ Staff June 12, 2023 Tap story

Silvio Berlusconi, Italy’s longest-serving postwar prime minister, a conservative who swept into power on a popular anti-graft platform and stayed there for two decades with the help of his big personality, vast wealth and a powerful media empire before falling to a raft of scandals, died at 86 . Alessandro Sabattini/Getty { "selector": ".wsj--ani-text-fade", "duration": "2s", "easing": "ease-out", "keyframes": [ {"opacity": "0"}, { "opacity": "1"} ] }

A divisive figure in Italy and often a target of ridicule abroad for his ribald jokes, sex scandals and overlapping political and business interests, Berlusconi conditioned Italian politics and embodied its conservative movement during and after his tenure as Italy’s leader. These photos offer a look at Berlusconi's life in business and politics.

Born in 1936 in Milan, Berlusconi was a natural performer from an early age, earning money by singing at private parties and cruise ships during his studies. By his late 20s, he began amassing a fortune after founding a real-estate firm in Milan. Here, Berlusconi as a young man in an undated image. Remi Agency/Zuma { "selector": ".wsj--ani-text-fade", "duration": "2s", "easing": "ease-out", "keyframes": [ {"opacity": "0"}, { "opacity": "1"} ] }

His success in construction would soon spawn his ventures in media. Berlusconi, shown in 1986, shattered the near-monopoly of state broadcaster RAI by setting up a cable-television company that served up soap operas and racy variety shows featuring scantily clad women. Vittoriano Rastelli/Corbis/Getty { "selector": ".wsj--ani-text-fade", "duration": "2s", "easing": "ease-out", "keyframes": [ {"opacity": "0"}, { "opacity": "1"} ] }

Such exploits made him one of Europe’s wealthiest men. Here, Berlusconi was carried by players of the soccer team his family owned, AC Milan, after they won the 1988 Italian championship at Milan's San Siro stadium. Ferdinando Meazza/AP { "selector": ".wsj--ani-text-fade", "duration": "2s", "easing": "ease-out", "keyframes": [ {"opacity": "0"}, { "opacity": "1"} ] }

In the early 1990s, Berlusconi financed and founded a party named Forza Italia, or Go Italy, promising Italians a fresh face, along with a radical new pro-market program full of pledges to create jobs and cut taxes. Giorgio Lotti/Mondadori Portfolio/Zuma { "selector": ".wsj--ani-text-fade", "duration": "2s", "easing": "ease-out", "keyframes": [ {"opacity": "0"}, { "opacity": "1"} ] }

Berlusconi attended an AC Milan soccer match with his daughters Eleonora, right, and Barbara in 1992. Franco Origlia/Getty { "selector": ".wsj--ani-text-fade", "duration": "2s", "easing": "ease-out", "keyframes": [ {"opacity": "0"}, { "opacity": "1"} ] }

He became prime minister in 1994. Here, Berlusconi met with Pope John Paul II at a hospital in Rome in 1994 when the pontiff was recovering from hip surgery. Arturo Maril/AP { "selector": ".wsj--ani-text-fade", "duration": "2s", "easing": "ease-out", "keyframes": [ {"opacity": "0"}, { "opacity": "1"} ] }

Berlusconi won two more elections after the first one. Here, he greeted his political supporters in Naples in 2001. Franco Castano/AP { "selector": ".wsj--ani-text-fade", "duration": "2s", "easing": "ease-out", "keyframes": [ {"opacity": "0"}, { "opacity": "1"} ] }

Later in life, though, Berlusconi became embroiled in a series of legal and sex scandals that eroded his popular and political standing. In 2003, Berlusconi was on trial in a courtroom in Milan. Farabolafoto/Milestone Media/Zuma { "selector": ".wsj--ani-text-fade", "duration": "2s", "easing": "ease-out", "keyframes": [ {"opacity": "0"}, { "opacity": "1"} ] }

Berlusconi was in power, on and off, for nearly a decade before stepping down as prime minister for the final time in 2011. Here, he met with lawmakers in 2011. Alberto Pizzoli/AFP/Getty

For nearly two decades, Berlusconi avoided conviction either because of acquittals or the expiration of the statute of limitations. In August 2013, he was sentenced to a four-year jail term and a two-year ban from public office in a tax-fraud case—the only definitive conviction he ever received.

Berlusconi was elected to the European Parliament in 2019. Roberto Monaldo/LaPresse/Zuma Press { "selector": ".wsj--ani-text-fade", "duration": "2s", "easing": "ease-out", "keyframes": [ {"opacity": "0"}, { "opacity": "1"} ] }

He capped a political comeback in 2022 with a return to Parliament as a senator—a position he held at the time of his death—this time as the junior partner in a coalition backing Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni. Alessia Pierdomenico/Bloomberg News { "selector": ".wsj--ani-text-fade", "duration": "2s", "easing": "ease-out", "keyframes": [ {"opacity": "0"}, { "opacity": "1"} ] }

Produced by: Brian Patrick Byrne Cover photo by: Massimo Sambucetti/AP Read more