Romanian businessman Dan Petrescu (68), his wife, his son and five of their friends died in a plane crash in Milan on Sunday afternoon, after the single-engine aircraft he was piloting crashed shortly after taking off.

The aircraft, a Pilatus Pc-12, crashed into an empty office building close to the Milan airport. Petrescu’s family and their friends were reportedly flying to Sardinia, where the businessman had a large mansion, the Romanian media reported.

Almost unknown to the public, Dan Petrescu was one of the richest real estate moguls in Romania, according to Ziarul Financiar. He was a business partner of Romanian billionaire Ion Tiriac for whom he organized the tennis tournament in Madrid.

Petrescu controlled large areas of land in northern Bucharest, but also in the country. He used his land to develop large commercial spaces for retail chains such as Metro, Real (Auchan), and Jumbo which he later sold to these companies in multi-million-euro deals.

He never gave any interviews and there are very few photos with him. He reportedly preferred driving modest cars and tried not to stand out.

He lived in Monte Carlo and carried out his business in Romania mainly through offshore companies.

editor@romania-insider.com

(Photo source: vigilfuoco.tv)