3 Facts About Former PM Berlusconi’s Wealth: From Media Ruler to AC Milan Owner

ROMA – Silvio Berlusconi, billionaire who is also a former prime minister Italia has died and left behind a vast business empire.

How Berlusconi’s fortune, built through ownership of some of Italy’s most high-profile companies, including the successful AC Milan football club, will be divided among his five children is unclear.

The Bloomberg Billionaires Index puts Berlusconi’s net worth at $7.6 billion.

So how does Italy’s longest-serving prime minister since World War II—as well as one of its most controversial—make its money?

Here are 3 facts about former PM Berlusconi’s wealth.

1. Ruler of Media

Photo/Reuters

The Prime Minister of Italy has been Prime Minister four times at the age of 57. Before that, however, he amassed a fortune as a property developer in the late 1960s, before making his name as a media tycoon.

In the 1970s, he diversified his interests by founding a TV cable company, Telemilano, and buying two other cable channels in Italy.

In 1978, the cable television channel was incorporated into his newly formed family holding company, Fininvest. Through Fininvest, Berlusconi acquired large stakes in several major European media companies, as well as AC Milan.