Silvio Berlusconi: biography, political activity, personal life

This controversial, but no doubt, charismatic European leader has both an army of opponents and supporters, which allowed him to remain in power for almost 20 years. He owns the football club Milan, has a controlling stake in Fininvest, is the owner of banks, a huge media holding company - it's all about Silvio Berlusconi. The biography of one of the richest people on the planet (118th place according to Forbes magazine) is very contradictory, full of ups and downs, deafening successes and high-profile trials, but certainly very interesting.

The beginning of a dizzying career

His hometown is Milan, where Silvio was born on September 29, 1936. His father, Luigi Berlusconi, was a bank employee, and his mother - Rosella Bossi - a housewife. Later they had two more children, Maria and Paolo. The family had rather modest incomes, nevertheless by efforts of parents all children have received worthy formation. Silvio Berlusconi graduated with honors from the Catholic Lyceum, and later also from the University of Milan, where he studied jurisprudence. For his thesis he even received a prize. Even during the student days Berlusconi began to look for an opportunity to earn his living in many different ways - from trade in all kinds of goods to performances on cruise liners. The first permanent job he received in a construction company in 1957. Later, he was so attracted to this developing field of activity that in 10 years he founded his construction firm called "Edilnord." The business was so successful that Silvio devoted almost 20 years of his life to this business. In 1978, he had already founded his holding company Fininvest.

The diverse businessman

But the young entrepreneur also looked for new promising areas of activity. One of the very first supermarkets in the country was opened to them. But it was really successful because of the founding of the first commercial television network in Italy in 1980. A successful businessman began to develop this direction, acquiring and opening new TV channels not only in his country, but also throughout Europe, and also invested money in the shares of some print media. His new project was the advertising company "Pubitalia'80". At the same time, the indefatigable entrepreneur was interested in the publishing business, which eventually resulted in the creation of the Mandadori Publishing House, which in the 1990s developed into the Arnoldo Mandadori Editor Trust. And in 1986, one of the most successful investments of an enterprising Italian was the acquisition of the football team "Milan", which thanks to him became the leader.

New achievements

By the end of the 1980s Berlusconi was already one of the richest people in Italy, in addition to its construction holding, media business and football club, in 1988, the network of the largest department stores La Standardo was added. A little later, in the 90's, Berlusconi founded a subsidiary of Fininvest Mediaset, the main areas of which are advertising, multimedia, television and cinema. Few people know about the production of Silvio Berlusconi. The films he sponsored in the early 1990s are not well known to the general public. This is "Men's troubles", "Ancestors", "Mediterranean Sea", as well as several serials. But the tycoon did not stop there, mastering all new spheres of entrepreneurial activity, for example, such as insurance. In its assets are also listed various funds.

Forward to politics!

In 1994, a new figure appeared on the world scene - Silvio Berlusconi. The "Forward, Italy!" Party was originally a political movement, rapidly gaining popularity thanks to its innovative ideas and the attractive figure of the leader. Its main ideology was the merging of various concepts, such as liberal socialism and democratic populism. The party won nationwide love by adherence to traditional and Catholic values. Silvio Berlusconi became Italy's prime minister, having won elections in March 1994, and his center-right "Forward, Italy!" Received more than 40% of the vote and formed a coalition with other parties. One of the priorities in his policy was the control of migration flows, mainly from Africa. But his government did not last a year, the coalition broke up due to disagreements, and Berlusconi resigned and after the new elections in 1996 he went into opposition.

Two consecutive terms

In 2001, Silvio Berlusconi again decided to run for the post of prime minister with an extensive electoral program, which includes again migration issues, numerous reforms and an increase in the standard of living of the population. In the parliamentary elections of the same year, the coalition "House of Freedom" won a decisive victory, and Silvio again appeared at the head of the government. But already in 2002, because of the introduction of the euro in Italy, the standard of living of citizens has dropped, despite the pre-election promises of the prime minister. On his second term, Berlusconi took a course toward rapprochement with the United States and supported the deployment of troops to Iraq. Italy also sent its military contingent there to support allies. The government of Silvio Berlusconi stayed in power from June 2001 to April 2005 and, despite the collapse of the coalition and the subsequent resignation, turned out to be one of the longest-lived in Italian history. Because of the government crisis, the chairman of the Council of Ministers again returned to his post in late April 2005, and his newly formed government worked for another year.

Disgraced politician

In the spring of 2006, elections were held again. Thanks to his own law, Calderoli, who automatically leaves more than half of the seats in parliament for the winning party, Silvio Berlusconi and his government only slightly lost to the left, but that was enough to lose. As a result, "Forward, Italy!" And her ideological inspirer went into opposition and in 2007 joined the federation party "The People of Freedom". In the 2008 elections, Berlusconi was accused of bribery and pressure on the press, but despite everything, the charismatic Italian leader was in the chair of the Council of Ministers for the fourth time. However, scandals of various kinds accompanied the entire term of Silvio Berlusconi. He was even assassinated in 2009. The situation was heated, especially against the backdrop of the deteriorating economic situation in Italy, the last straw was a criminal case opened against the prime minister, so in November 2011, he resigned again. Having dealt with the scandal, the disgraced politician even decided to return in 2012, but lost the election to the democrats and again found himself in opposition. In 2014, he was convicted of non-payment of taxes, received a year of public works and a ban on participation in government activities.

Personal life

Silvio Berlusconi and his women have always been in the spotlight of the public and the media. Against the backdrop of many novels and rumors, both his marriages are not even prominent, because they are also associated with various kinds of proceedings. With his first wife, Kara Elvira Dell'Olho, everything is pretty calm. Married in 1965, they have two children, Maria Elvira and Pierzelvio. The couple divorced after Silvio fell in love with Veronica Lario in the 80's, who later became his wife. After 30 years of marriage and the birth of three children - Barbara, Eleonora and Luigi, as well as scores of scandals with a conviction of infidelity, the couple finally divorced in 2014. But without proceedings it would not be Silvio Berlusconi. The wife demanded alimony that was due to her according to the law, and the politician tried to reduce the amount by all possible forces. The former prime minister was accused of sexual crimes involving minors, but he was fully acquitted in 2011. A new beloved of Silvio appeared in the same year. It was the model Francesca Pascali. As for the interesting facts of the biography of Berlusconi: he received many awards and orders of different countries, released three solo albums, performed a plastic surgery, was a member of the Masonic lodge, and also a friend of Vladimir Putin.