Czech billionaire, Telenor Serbia owner, dies in crash; UG Solak's condolence

Petr Kelner foto ppf, češki bilioner, milioner — PPF | PPF

Petr Kellner, 56, the wealthiest Czech and the founder and owner of the PPF Group within which mobile operator Telenor Serbia operates, and four more people were killed on a heli-skiing excursion on Saturday when their chopper crashed near a glacier in Alaska.

Oglas

Kellner was aboard the Airbus AS350 B3 helicopter when it went down near Knik Glacier.

"Petr was a remarkable man and entrepreneur. We shared many moments talking about business. Although we were lately involved in a bitter dispute it never jeopardised my respect for him. He will be missed by many. In this moment of deep sorrow, only consolation comes from the fact that he lost his life doing something he loved so much... Rest in peace Petr!", Dragan Solak, the United GRoup's co-owner said after the news on Kellner's death.

The investigation into the reason for the crash is underway.

The Czech made his first fortune in the 1990s after starting an investment fund, which he used to buy a controlling stake in the country’s largest insurance company.

Kellner was born in 1964 in the small town of Ceska Lipa, and he finished high school in economics in Liberec.

He graduated from the Faculty of Economics in Prague in 1986, and then joined a foreign trade company, which sold photocopiers and office supplies.

Together with his wife Renata, Kellner also led the humanitarian organization Foundation of the Kellner Family, which provides scholarships to talented students not able to finance studies on their own.

The richest Czech and the 68th richest man in the world was the majority owner of the First Privatization Fund (PPF), worth 35 billion Dollars. Last autumn, Forbes magazine declared Kellner the richest Czech on its list, with assets of about 19 billion dollars.

Kellner built an empire of telecommunications companies and media houses throughout Central and Eastern Europe. Using the experience from the Czech Republic in the development of the O2 mobile network, he expanded his business "from the Baltic to the Black Sea", and one of the key steps was the takeover of Telenor's networks in Eastern Europe 2018 when PPF took over Telenor d.o.o. in Serbia.

Kellner is survived by his wife Renata and their four children.

Teme