![Silvio Berlusconi](https://m.economictimes.com/thumb/msid-83065216,height-150,width-150/magazines/panache/panache-people-101/silvio-berlusconi.jpg)
Silvio Berlusconi
Ex-Prime Minister, Italy- Fininvest
- Mediaset
- Mondadori
- Banca Mediolanum
- Molecular Medicine
- Mediobanca
Silvio Berlusconi's Journey so far ...
- An enterprising young man since his early days, Silvio Berlusconi worked as a vacuum cleaner salesman, a crooner on cruise ships before beginning his career in business
- After graduating, he started his own construction firm Edilnord in 1962. His company developed residential properties around Milan, and by the early ‘70s had earned him a significant amount of money
- After selling off the construction firm, he ventured into the media business in 1974 by forming a cable-television company called Telemilano
- In 1978, he founded Finvest which was initially established as a media holding company
- To challenge the monopoly of state-owned networks, Berlusconi formed Canale 5 which was Italy’s first national commercial TV network. He further strengthened the reach of his network with the acquisition of Italia 1 in 1982 and Rete 4 in 1984
- In the meantime, Berlusconi also worked towards diversifying his business through the acquisition of several businesses in various sectors including retail, publishing, medical technology, insurance, etc. All his companies were managed under the holding firm Finvest
- In 1986, he bought the A.C. Milan football team and helped its revival as one of Italy’s finest football clubs
- He formed the political party Forza Italia in 1994 and was elected as the prime minister of the country the same year. However, he resigned seven months later after disputes within the government
- Following an unsuccessful attempt in 1996, Berlusconi was re-elected as prime minister in 2001
- He came into power as PM for the third time in 2008 and resigned 3 years later
- After his ban on holding political office was lifted, he won a European Parliament seat in the 2019 elections
- Currently, he owns around 61% of Finvest which, among others, has shareholdings in the Italian broadcaster Mediaset, the publishing house Mondadori, the biotechnology firm Molecular Medicine and banking service providers Mediobanca and Banca Mediolanum
Before you go ...
- Having been embroiled in several legal proceedings, in a 2009 interview he mentioned that over the period of 20 years he had made around 2,500 court appearances
- Berlusconi was one of the high-profile Italians who was treated for COVID-19 in September 2020