[1/3] Italy's Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi looks on during a news conference at Chigi Palace in Rome, Italy, August 4, 2011.
As with his political party, so with his business empire, Berlusconi left no single heir apparent.
After Barack Obama was elected the first African-American president of the United States, Berlusconi congratulated him for being "tall, handsome, and suntanned".
Berlusconi himself had no regrets about his political career, although he clearly felt he was often betrayed.
"But when I come to think about it, I cannot recall the name of a single friend in politics."
Persons:
Silvio Berlusconi, Tony Gentile ROME, Brash, ebullient, Berlusconi, Donald Trump, Il Cavaliere, Bettino Craxi, Vladimir Putin, Alan Friedman, Nicolas Sarkozy, BUNGA, Karima El Mahroug, Hosni Mubarak, Veronica Lario, Marta Fascina, Barack Obama, Mark Heinrich, Andrew Heavens, Angus MacSwan
Organizations:
REUTERS, Chi, AC Milan soccer, Forza Italia, Senate, Roman, Socialist Party, Moroccan, Union, Thomson
Locations:
Rome, Italy, U.S, Milan, Ukraine, United States