Who was Dan Petrescu? Romanian billionaire dies after crashing plane near Milan

On October 3, Dan Petrescu, one of the richest men in Romania, died tragically in a plane crash near Milan. The billionaire was on his private plane along with his wife, son and five other individuals, all of whom were killed in the crash.

As per Italian flight agency ANSV (Agenzia Nazionale per la Sicurezza del Volo), the flight went down after five to 11 minutes of it taking off. The aircraft was reported to be a single-engine Pilatus PC-12 which has a climbing rate of 1,920 ft/min (at sea level). It means the plane had barely attained its cruising altitude when the mishap occurred.

According to local media, the plane crashed into a two-story office building in the suburban area of San Donato Milanese. The building was reportedly vacant. The report also mentioned that the black box was recovered from the wreck and is now being investigated by the authorities.

---

Who was billionaire Dan Petrescu?

Dan Petrescu (Image via Twitter/Clara Lonescu)

Dan Petrescu was a property developer and business executive from Romania. According to several Romanian publications, Petrescu’s wealth was over $3bn at the time of his demise.

The 68-year-old was a real estate tycoon who owned several lucrative businesses, including a chain of shopping complexes and large real estate properties in northern Bucharest and Romania.

He also had equity in his business partner Ion Tiriac’s ventures, including UniCredit Tiriac Bank. Dan Petrescu reportedly used his land ownership to develop properties and later sell those ventures. Most of his fortune came from rental business deals with retail chains including Metro AG, Real (Auchan), Jumbo, and Carrefour SA.

Petrescu fled to Germany from his country Romania when it was under Communist dictator Nicolae Ceausescu’s rule. Most of his family also have German citizenship. He had returned to Romania after Ceausescu’s regime ended.

According to Romania-Insider, Dan lived in Monte Carlo while most of his businesses were handled remotely out of Romania. The billionaire was also a flight enthusiast as he was reported to have been piloting the aircraft which crashed and claimed his life.

---

Who else was with Dan Petrescu in the plane crash?

Dan Petrescu with his wife and son (Image via digi24.ro/Radu Tudor)

Dan was accompanied by his 65-year-old wife Queen Dorotea Petrescu Balzat and 30-year old son Daniel Stefan Petrescu. Also onboard the flight Claire Alexandrescu along with her husband Filippo Nascimbene, mother, and baby boy. Petrescu's Canadian friend Julien Brossard was also on the plane.

The passengers were reportedly flying to Sardinia, where the billionaire owned a mansion. While ANSV has opened an investigation, no further information behind the crash has yet been released.