At 86, Berlusconi has just died of leukemia. Italian Prime Minister for 9 years, he deeply marked the political landscape of his country but not only: an insatiable businessman, he also built an industrial and media empire throughout his life. Media, real estate, finance, sports… his multiple investments have allowed him to forge a fortune that amounted to 6.8 billion dollars in 2023 according to Forbes. Back on your climb.
The real estate, the first stone of his empire
It was in the 1960s when Silvio Berlusconi laid the first foundations of his fortune. He became a property developer and created two companies, Edilnord and Edilnord 2. Although the details of his introduction into the business world remained rather mysterious, he did show some success, particularly with the construction of the Milano 2 residential district near Milan in the north of Italy.
Large green spaces, triple circulation system (pedestrian, bicycle and vehicle), essential services (banks, shops, schools, etc.) designed to integrate with the home: Milano 2 is extremely innovative for its time.
How did this son of a bank clerk and housekeeper who began singing on board ocean liners and selling household appliances manage to become a successful businessman and later become one of the richest men on the peninsula? Part of the answer lies in his supporters: he finds serious political support in the Italian Socialist Party and the Bettino Craxi government, but also in the banks… Some will also mention the mafia.
In any case, real estate is only the first stone in building your estate. Over the years and his business he will accumulate a fortune estimated at 12 billion dollars in 2004 according to Forbes. He was then the richest man in Italy. In 2023, his and his family’s net worth, reduced, amounts to $6.8 billion.
Berlusconi, the media mogul
After the building, the businessman decides to go to the media. And again, success.
The astute businessman will launch the first private national television channel at a time when this type of private network was prohibited on the peninsula. His trick: broadcast the same program simultaneously on all local television stations, as if it were a national program.
He then bought two Italian chains before going international in France with La Cinq -which closed in 1992-, but also in Germany and Spain.
For this avid entrepreneur, television is not enough. It will also buy Mondadori, the largest Italian publisher, in 1990, and the production company Medusa, which will be overseen by its holding company Fininvest, created in 1980. As its purchases progress, Fininvest will grow to also include banks and just two clubs. soccer. including the legendary AC Milan.
In 1993, overly indebted Fininvest was on the verge of bankruptcy but raised the bar by creating an advertising company Publitalia ’80, with a related television group, Mediaset, now called MediaForEurope.
A success story, therefore, marked by numerous tests and some failures, in particular that of the digital revolution, according to Carlo Alberto Carnevale Maffè.
Since his death, the tributes have multiplied. The head of the Italian government, Giorgia Meloni, saluted his memory in particular, speaking of one “of the most influential men in the history of Italy.”
Source: BFM TV
