Berlusconi: The billionaire political 'knight' downed by scandal

Italy's Silvio Berlusconi, who has been sentenced to jail for tax fraud, is a flamboyant billionaire and three-time prime minister whose tumultuous domination of Italian politics had been overwhelmed by scandals. A supremely confident and charming Berlusconi, who once made his living as a cruise-ship crooner, wooed Italy when he burst on to the political scene in the early 1990s. He was seen as a blast of fresh air and energy after a period of political corruption and scandal. The media tycoon's daring and splashy political debut in 1993 with a new party called Forza Italia ("Go Italy") -- named after a football chant -- was unprecedented, and won him widespread popular support. But while his populist style and championing of the American dream of the self-made man assured him adoration in some quarters, other Italians tired of his sleaze scandals and a series of embarrassing international gaffes. Berlusconi was driven out of office in November 11 over his handling of the financial crisis. Known for his love of the limelight, he had left the question of his political future open for months but on Wednesday announced he would not be running again for prime minister. On Saturday, in the wake of his sentencing, he vowed to stay in politics to reform the very justice system that handed him a jail term, although he confirmed he would not seek to do so as premier. A Milan court on Friday sentenced Berlusconi for tax fraud to four years in jail -- reduced to one under an amnesty law -- and banned him from holding public office for five years, in a verdict that prompted Italian newspapers to herald the end of the Berlusconi era. "And so ends a Titanic affair, born in television and finished in court, with a clear, very tough and above all insulting punishment," wrote the editor of the centre-left daily La Repubblica, Ezio Mauro. Born in Milan in 1936, Berlusconi was a huge fan of singers Nat King Cole and Frank Sinatra and spent his summer holidays playing the double bass, later taking breaks from studying law at university by performing in Milan's nightclubs. He did a brief stint as a cruise-ship crooner before launching a lucrative career in the booming construction sector by making a deal with the head of his father's bank -- and skillfully persuading others to invest in him. The mystery surrounding the sources of funding for Berlusconi's start in the building business has led critics repeatedly to accuse him of links with organised crime, on top of allegations of money-laundering and corruption. Despite some initial convictions for fraud and lingering accusations of alliances with convicted crooks -- including hiring a gangster as his stableman -- all cases against him were won on appeal or have expired. Berlusconi's lawyers have said they will appeal Friday's tax fraud verdict over offences linked to his Mediaset empire. -- Party-loving premier -- In 1978 Berlusconi set up Fininvest, a holding company which grew to include several large household names, including Mediaset -- with three national television channels -- and AC Milan, one of the world's leading football clubs. But poor investments saw his debts spiral in the early 1990s and critics say that Berlusconi -- fearful a leftwing government would touch his powerful conglomerate -- entered politics not for ambition but to save his empire. His first stint as prime minister in 1994 lasted only a few months, but in 2001 he was elected again after a heavy media campaign, which included sending an illustrated book boasting of his achievements to 15 million Italian homes. Nicknamed "Il Cavaliere" ("The Knight"), the media magnate remained in power until 2006 -- the longest premiership in the history of post-war Italy -- and he was voted back in for a third time in 2008 as the left floundered. Italy's wealthiest person between 1996 and 2008 -- he owns sumptuous villas around the world as well as in northern Italy and Sardinia -- the party-loving premier became embroiled in a string of sex and legal scandals. The romancing prime minister splashed his wealth around, putting escorts up in luxury apartments and giving 562,000 euros to 14 young women in one year alone, according to bank account details released during a probe. While Berlusconi blamed leftwing magistrates for plotting against him by putting him on trial for corruption, bribery and fraud, Italians suffering the economic crisis bemoaned his lack of action and risible reputation abroad. He became notorious for off-colour jokes and diplomatic gaffes, including likening a German member of the European Parliament to a Nazi, calling US President Barack Obama "suntanned" and flirting with female heads of state. He also dallied with Libyan dictator Moamer Kadhafi -- quipping in 2011 at the start of an uprising in the former Italian colony that he "did not want to disturb" Kadhafi although he later called on him to step down. Berlusconi's friendship with Russian President Vladimir Putin has also been heavily criticised, along with his exaggerated praise for Egypt's Hosni Mubarak and Tunisia's Zine El Abidine Ben Ali while they were in power. His second wife, Veronica Lario, filed for divorce in 2009 after rumours emerged of compromising relationships with young blondes and sex parties thrown by the ageing Latin lover, where naked girls aroused him in exchange for gifts. His popularity took another hit after allegations surfaced that he paid an exotic then-underaged starlet known as "Ruby the Heart Stealer" for sex, prompting thousands of Italian women to take to the streets in protest, and leading to a sex trial now underway. Berlusconi's joke that he should change his party's name to "Go Pussy!" fell flat and his love affair with Italians appeared to be over after he was caught calling Italy a "shitty country" that he could not wait to leave. His resignation was met with relief by many Italians who say his stewardship was disastrous economically and that he used his office for his own gain. The football-mad entertainer has said he will now withdraw to act as a figure of guidance for younger party members.