Silvio Berlusconi

Silvio Berlusconi  is an Italian politician, entrepreneur, real estate and insurance tycoon, bank and media proprietor, sports team owner and songwriter. He is the third longest serving Prime Minister of the Italian Republic, a position he has held at three different times; 1994–1995, 2001–2006 and since 2008. He is the leader of the Forza Italia political movement, a centre-right party he founded in 1993. Before the 2008 Italian general elections he announced his intention to establish a new political party, People of Freedom, to be constituted by the merging of Forza Italia with the National Alliance party, and several other anti-communist parties later in 2008. His victory in the 2008 general elections paved the way for the fourth term as prime minister.

Berlusconi is the founder and major shareholder of Fininvest, among the ten largest Italian privately-owned companies, operating in media and finance, including three national TV channels. Together these account for nearly half the Italian TV market. He owns three national analogue television channels, various digital television channels and as some of the country's larger newsmagazines. He is the owner of many sport teams, the best known being the European football club AC Milan. Under his lead, AC Milan has won a number of national and international trophies. With Ennio Doris he founded Mediolanum SpA, one of Italy's biggest bank and insurance groups. Berlusconi, together with the Saudi Prince Al-Waleed bin Talal, is the main shareholder of Mediaset, a publicly-traded company. According to Forbes magazine, Berlusconi is Italy's third richest person, with personal assets worth $9.4 billion in 2008, preceded only by Michele Ferrero and Leonardo del Vecchio. With the neapolitan singer Mariano Apicella he wrote two neapolitan song albums: Meglio 'na canzone in 2003 and L'ultimo amore in 2006. He wrote AC Milan's hymn with the Italian music producer and pop singer Tony Renis and Forza Italia's hymn with the opera director Renato Serio.