Farewell to Berlusconi, ‘Il Cavaliere’ of the bunga bunga parties: “The former cruise ship crooner turned billionaire”

Man with a permanent tan, nuclear white smile of ‘a million lira’ and superb demeanor. ‘Il Cavaliere’, media mogul and former Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi has died at the age of 86 in Milan. Last April, his concern for his life was at its highest after receiving a diagnosis of leukemia aggravated by pneumonia. “He’s a rock,” then his brother Pablo said of him.

Businessman, investor, founder of the Mediaset group and prime minister. Silvio Berlusconi He came to the Government three times. The last one, between 2008 and 2011. The Milanese brought together in his person the anomaly of being head of the Executive with his party, Forza Italia, and amassing one of the largest private fortunes in the country. “I am the Jesus Christ of politicians,” he once proclaimed. The extravagant Berlusconi, with his abuse of power and the terrifying bunga bunga parties with the shadow of prostitution of minors, swept the media in Italy, Spain and half the world.

He was a character of our time, noisy and histrionic, who inspired the musical that bears his name and which was released a few months ago in London. “A former cruise ship crooner turned billionaire and Italian Prime Minister”, as read in the review of the play written by Ricky Simmonds and Simon Vaughan and directed by James Grieve.

Your bunga bunga parties

These Berlusconi parties have always accompanied him. Ilda Bocassini was the Milanese prosecutor who led the cause of the abuse of power at the Italian parties in which she was always suspected of recruiting minors. A long episode for which he was sentenced to seven years in 2013 and from which he was finally acquitted in 2015. The judge, highly suspicious that the tycoon had bought witnesses, opened a new investigation against him, which concluded last February when a court in Milan acquitted him of the crime of bribery of witnesses in the Ruby case for his controversial parties bunga bunga.

Like those parties, he was also followed by the shadow of machismo when he made that unusual promise of a bus full of prostitutes to motivate the players of his soccer team, AC Monza, which put him in the pillory. Berlusconi has been involved throughout his long political career in all kinds of scandals of a sexist nature.

In his personal life, Silvio married Carla Elvira Dall’Oglio. They divorced after 20 years. His second wife was Veronica Lario. They broke up in 2009, after another 20 years together. His second ex had to return the 60 million euros that he received as a pension to the Milanese, as the Supreme Court ordered then. His third life partner was Francesca Pascale.