Donald Trump. So many people know that name. Quite frankly, if you talked to anyone and asked if they'd heard of Donald Trump, they'd most likely say yes. But there's another name that's just as important for people to know, and that's Silvio Berlusconi.

Berlusconi was Italy's prime minister for nearly a decade. Politico introduces him like this: "A media tycoon known for his lavish lifestyle, Berlusconi made a late-career pivot from business to politics, winning four terms as Italy’s prime minister during the 1990s and 2000s. Like Trump, he presented himself as an anti-politician, a man of business who could free his country from evil—promising to use his privilege and power to cut through the red tape that had made generations of Italians cynical about government."

According to Nadeau, "Berlusconi was a self-made man, taking a relatively small sum of money, which, it must be noted, was of questionable provenance, and turning it into an enviable fortune tied to real estate development. He also owned a popular soccer team, which, to an Italian, equates with having the keys to heaven." She then goes on to state that because they are both well outside of the everyday man's routine, that they cannot relate with the everyday concerns of the people they did or could rule over. Many of those are underemployed, underpaid, hardworking people who can easily fall into a scam like Berlusconi's and/or Trump's.

Berlusconi, like Trump, were and are purposefully rude, and it seems to add to their popularity. Giovanni Orsina says, "The outsider billionaire who talks to people’s stomachs rather than their reason, knowing what they want to hear, and thinking that a nation can be successfully run like any business. … They say politically incorrect things that appeal to [the] common man; that’s their pull."

Alexander Stille writes, "I recall when Berlusconi presided over a European summit, and when negotiations stalled, he said to the assembled heads of state, 'Let’s lighten up the climate by talking about soccer and women.' He turned to Gerhard Schroder, then-chancellor of Germany, who had been married four times. 'You, Gerhard,' Berlusconi said. 'What can you tell us about women?' The remark was greeted with a chill. At first I thought, How could Berlusconi be so foolish? But his true audience was not the European heads of state — it was Italian men back home. After all, what are the two favorite topics in most Italian bars? Soccer and women."

"At first I thought, How could Berlusconi be so foolish? But his true audience was not the European heads of state — it was Italian men back home."

The interesting about Berlusconi, though, is that he promised the same things Trump is promising, and yet they were never accomplished. Though Berlusconi promised less taxes for everyone, Italy’s overall tax rate rose to 54 percent in 2013, the highest level in Europe. He had promised to solve the country’s homelessness problems, but once he was Prime Minister, he cut funds for public housing.

Throughout his whole time as Prime Minister, Berlusconi drove the country to a debt similar to the one currently in Greece, but he never gave up his party lifestyle.

Want more parallels? Berlusconi was also accused of sex with underage girls, which Trump is currently being accused of, as well as wild affairs with starlets and prostitutes. Berlusconi has a history of tax evasion and bribery sentences (which Trump is being investigated about as well as refusing to release his tax returns) and Berlusconi's false accounting doesn't help either.

Many of the parallels between these two men give Americans a potential view of what Trump's presidency will look like, and Americans should look closely.

Barbara Conti says, "There might have been a time when I would have liked Trump, and it’s true he can be charming, but that doesn’t work on me anymore. I supported Berlusconi and ended up losing part of my pension by being forced to retire early. When you get taken advantage of by one con man, you can see the next one coming 100 steps away.”