Silvio Berlusconi: From cruise ship crooner to Italian PM

SILVIO Berlusconi rose from selling vacuum cleaners and working as a crooner on cruise ships to become one of Italy’s richest men, serving three times as prime minister.

SILVIO Berlusconi rose from selling vacuum cleaners and working as a crooner on cruise ships to become one of Italy’s richest men, serving three times as prime minister.

He graduated in law in 1961 and shortly afterwards started amassing his estimated £5.6bn fortune when he built an apartment development on the outskirts of his native Milan.

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His business empire boomed and now includes the AC Milan football team, publishing interests and three of Italy’s national television channels.

In 1993, Berlusconi founded his own political party, Forza Italia – Go Italy – named after a chant used by AC Milan fans.

He was prime minster three times – in 1994-95, 2001-06 and 2008-11.

As well as his political struggles, Berlusconi made headlines worldwide with reports of a lascivious private life involving “bunga bunga” parties, culminating in him standing trial for allegedly paying for sex with an underage prostitute.

But Berlusconi, who was fitted with a pacemaker in 2006, has always maintained that, although he was “no saint”, he never paid for sex.

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