Silvio Berlusconi

Born September 29, 1936 in Milan, he is the current Prime Minister of Italy and is the leader of the Forza Italia political movement, a party which was established for his entry into politics. Berlusconi served as Prime Minister for a short term in 1994. In 2001 he was appointed to the office again; the second Berlusconi government is the longest-lasting in Italy's republican history. On April 20 2005 Berlusconi tendered the resignation of his government after recent losses in regional elections and internal problems in his coalition, but on April 23 2005 he formed a new government without many changes. He is also the owner and founder of an Italian media empire. According to Forbes Magazine, Silvio Berlusconi is Italy's richest person, with personal assets worth in excess of US$10 billion in 2004, at the time making him the world's 30th richest person [1] (#wp-endnote_forbes).