Silvio Berlusconi

• Starting in the late 1970s, Silvio Berlusconi built media group Fininvest into a national force, importing American shows like 'Baywatch' to Italy.
• He entered politics in the 1990s and was first elected prime minister of Italy in 1994. He was convicted of bribing a former senator in 2015.
• The three-time prime minister was convicted of tax fraud in 2014 and was initially banned from running for political office until 2019.
• An Italian court lifted the ban in May 2018, and Berlusconi won a seat in the European Parliament the following year.
• His fortune, which he shares with his five children, includes stakes in media, publishing and banking firms.
• Berlusconi got his start as a singer in nightclubs and on cruise ships.