Silvio Berlusconi, the former prime minister of Italy and self-proclaimed “Jesus Christ of politics,” has died at the age of 86. He died at Milan’s San Raffaele Hospital in Italy.
Mr Berlusconi was admitted to the hospital on Friday, less than a month after a 45-day stay due to a lung infection.
– End of an era
His death marks the end of an era in Italian politics, characterized more by gaffes than substance.
Since his entrance into the Italian political scene in 1994, Mr Berlusconi prioritized his personal agenda over the welfare of the nation. He frequently manipulated legislation to provide cover for his several encounters with the law.
Despite his numerous convictions, which included tax fraud and involvement with an underage prostitute (later overturned on appeal), Mr Berlusconi held the distinction of being the most frequently elected Italian politician while simultaneously facing the most criminal investigations.
His return to power as part of Giorgia Meloni’s center-right coalition was seen as a miracle. Although he did not hold an official position, his influence and support for the coalition alongside Meloni and Matteo Salvini were undeniable. However, Berlusconi’s death on Monday raises questions about the coalition’s future without his guidance and support.
– Vast empire
Apart from his political career, Mr Berlusconi leaves behind a vast business empire. Through his family’s holding company, Fininvest, he maintained substantial stakes in multiple companies.
According to latest available annual report quoted by Reuters, Fininvest possessed €4.9 billion ($5.3 billion) in shareholder equity by the end of 2021. The company’s portfolio primarily consists of media and communications enterprises. It holds a prominent stake in MediaForEurope, a major European broadcaster, and owns 53% of Italy’s largest publisher, Mondadori.
Before his venture into politics, Mr Berlusconi was also known to own AC Milan football club. In 2017, Fininvest sold the club for approximately €740 million. He achieved the status of Italy’s wealthiest individual at one point.
Berlusconi’s success began in the late 1960s with property development, specifically the construction of “Milano Two”, a residential project comprising nearly 4,000 flats near Milan.
Following substantial profits from his property portfolio in the 1970s, he diversified his interests by launching a TV cable company called Telemilano. In his efforts to break Italy’s national TV monopoly, he acquired two additional cable channels. These channels were later incorporated into the newly formed Fininvest group in 1978, which encompassed various ventures, including department stores, insurance companies, and AC Milan, one of the world’s most prominent football clubs that he owned for 31 years.
Berlusconi shifted his focus to politics in 1993 when he established the center-right Forza Italia Party, named after the popular chant “Forza, Italia!” heard at Italian national soccer team games. As of this year, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, Berlusconi’s net worth amounted to $7.56 billion.
– Sad about Osimhen
In 2018, Mr Berlusconi vowed to deport 600,000 illegal migrants, including Nigerians, if re-elected. He warned that the problem of illegal immigrants was a time bomb ready to explode.
In 2014, Italy had 71,158 regular immigrants from Nigeria. Of 157,000 migrants and refugees that arrived in Italy in 2016, 19% were Nigerians, according to the United Nations’ refugee agency, UNHCR.
“Immigration has become an urgent question, because after years with a left-wing government, there are 600,000 migrants who don’t have the right to stay,” he said.
The threat came days after a far-right extremist shot six Africans in northern Italy. Two of the victims were Nigerians.
In 2013, reports emerged that Mr Berlusconi wanted to resolve the Libyan civil war in 2011 with an operation to kill his friend, Muammar Gaddafi. Mr Gaddafi was killed by rebels in October 2011 after his convoy was hit by a NATO airstrike.
On a positive note, Mr Berlusconi said in April that the Nigeria and Napoli forward, Victor Osimhen, was so good that he could fit into any team in the world.
He regretted that Osimhen missed Napoli’s home defeat to AC Milan at the time.
“In this sense, Osimhen’s injury is truly a shame: it takes away an element of great charm from the match against Milan,” said the former AC Milan President.
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