From the moment that Silvio Berlusconi agreed to tell his life story, to answer any and all questions I put to him, and to provide unfettered access to his personal archives, it was clear that this would be an ambitious project. From start to finish, the project took eighteen months and involved a team of editorial staff, researchers, and fact-checkers interacting with publishers and with an experienced television production staff.
The person who coordinated and supervised the team and deserves my greatest thanks is the immensely talented Emanuela Minnai. This book would not have been possible without her dedication to excellence in journalism and writing. Emanuela manages to combine the skill sets of literary agent, head of research, translation supervisor, sounding board, and psychotherapist, and most of all she does not seem to mind being disturbed ten to fifteen times a day. We first worked together in the late 1980s on my biography of Gianni Agnelli, the playboy turned industrialist who owned Fiat. My last book on Italy was possible thanks to her. The same is true of Berlusconi. Thank you, Emanuela.
Among key team members, special thanks go to Massimo Birattari, whose meticulous fact-checking and research were always timely. Birattari, who has translated Mordecai Richler, Paul Auster, and Vikram Seth, is a world-class bookman. Véronique Bernardini and Antongiulio Panizzi led a superb production team, as they have in past television projects.
I also want to thank my agent Caroline Michel and Rachel Mills and Tessa David at PFD in London.
I would also like to thank Deborah Bergamini, a former Bloomberg journalist who has been serving as Berlusconi’s spokesperson and who is also an elected member of parliament. Her assistance in keeping everything on track over an extended period of time was vital. Thanks also go to Fedele Confalonieri, Berlusconi’s oldest friend and a great raconteur, and to members of Berlusconi’s family, his son Pier Silvio and daughter Marina in particular, for their willingness to answer numerous questions in repeated conversations.
In Moscow, I would like to thank Dmitry Peskov, spokesman for President Vladimir Putin, and his team for helping to organize an enjoyable and interesting interview with President Putin.
At Hachette Books in New York my thanks go to Mauro DiPreta, a wonderful publisher and a great editor, and to Ashley Yancey, Michelle Aielli, Betsy Hulsebosch, and Christopher Lin.
At Rizzoli in Italy my thanks go to Massimo Turchetta, who first challenged me to see if I could get Berlusconi to agree to cooperate, and who formed a partnership between Rizzoli and Hachette as anchor publishers that made this project possible.
Back in his heyday Silvio Berlusconi used to test-market his ideas for television and politics with his closest friends and family, a kind of focus group that helped him order his thoughts. My focus group consisted of the patient friends and family members who read early drafts of individual chapters and offered me their feedback, which was precious. Among those I wish to thank are Vivian Oppenheim, Jamie Harpel, Jonathan Ehrlich, Anita Friedman, Charles Friedman, Ion Marin, Eckart Sager, and Lionel Barber.
My biggest thanks go to the person this book is dedicated to, my extremely understanding and unflappable Tuscan wife. Grazie, Gabriella!