A poor kid from Milan

No family background
Sang on cruise ships to save money
Used that money to get into university
Paid classmates to do their homework
Surprisingly graduated with honors in law
Started a small construction company
Milan was crowded and dirty
Moved outside the city to build a new district (with greenery and schools)
Bought full-page ads in Italy’s largest newspaper every week
Crowds came to buy homes
At 33, became one of Italy’s biggest developers
Turned to television—at the time, the industry was government-controlled
Managed to get a channel
In the 1980s, his TV station dominated Italy
Casually bought AC Milan
And then casually bought Italy’s largest publishing house
In 20 years, grew from nothing to the eighth-largest company nationwide
In 1993, a major political corruption scandal erupted
He saw a power vacuum
Ran for Prime Minister
Won in two months
At 76, convicted of tax fraud
Did community service
Elected to the European Parliament at 82
Elected to the Italian Senate at 85
Died in office
Net worth of $6.8 billion
Most people spend their lives doing one great thing, and that’s impressive
He single-handedly transformed four industries
That’s what a true patriot is