Brash, ebullient and a self-made billionaire, four-time prime minister Silvio Berlusconi was a media mogul and political showman whose financial and sexual scandals made him the most polarizing figure in modern Italy.
He died Monday aged 86, after being admitted to a Milan hospital on Friday for what aides said were pre-planned tests related to his leukemia. His admission came just three weeks after he was discharged following a six-week stay at Milan's San Raffaele hospital, during which time doctors revealed he had a rare type of blood cancer.
With an unassailable self-confidence and a sharp entrepreneurial spirit, Berlusconi created a business empire that at its peak stretched from construction to television, publishing, retailing and top flight soccer.