Silvio Berlusconi, the flamboyant billionaire and former Italian prime minister who once described himself as the "Jesus Christ of politics," has died at age 86.

Berlusconi died at Milan’s San Raffaele Hospital in Italy.

He was admitted to the hospital on Friday, less than a month after spending 45 days there for a lung infection.

Italy’s most colorful public figure

Berlusconi was long regarded as Italy’s most colorful public figure.

He was elected prime minister three times and served for a total of nine years, longer than anyone since fascist dictator Benito Mussolini.

A divisive figure in Italy, Berlusconi’s career was marked by a series of political, financial and personal scandals, many of which landed him in court.

Berlusconi was tried on charges ranging from tax evasion and bribery to corruption and having sex with an underage prostitute. But only one case stuck – a 2012 conviction for tax evasion in a deal involving television rights.

Before entering politics, Berlusconi made his name in Italy as a business tycoon and media mogul, at one point becoming the richest man in Italy.

Berlusconi enjoyed his first real success in property development in the late 1960s when he was involved in a project to build Milano Two – nearly 4,000 flats – outside Milan.

After amassing a fortune from his property portfolio in the 1970s, he diversified his interests by setting up a TV cable company, Telemilano, and buying two other cable channels in an effort to break the national TV monopoly in Italy.

In 1978, these channels were incorporated into his newly formed Fininvest group, which included department stores, insurance companies and even AC Milan — one of the world’s biggest football clubs, which he owned for 31 years.

Berlusconi turned his attention to politics in 1993 when he formed the center-right Forza Italia Party, named for “Forza, Italia!” (Go, Italy!), a chant heard at Italian national soccer team games.