Dan Petrescu (businessman) facts for kids

Dan Petrescu (1953 – 3 October 2021) was a very successful Romanian businessman. He was known as one of the richest people in Romania. Dan Petrescu was born in 1953 in Bucharest, the capital city of Romania.

He studied at the Politehnica University of Bucharest. After finishing his studies, he married Regina Dorotea Petrescu Balzat. They had a son named Dan Ștefan Petrescu. The family then moved to West Germany. There, Dan Petrescu met Ion Țiriac, another Romanian businessman. They worked together on many business projects. After the Romanian Revolution, they both returned to Romania. Dan Petrescu later started his own businesses. He became very wealthy. He died on 3 October 2021 in an airplane crash near Milan, Italy. His wife and son also died in the accident.

Who Was Dan Petrescu?

Dan Petrescu was born in Bucharest in 1953. In the 1980s, after he finished university, he got married. He then moved to West Germany. There, he started a business that dealt with automobiles. While in West Germany, he met Ion Țiriac. Ion Țiriac was a famous Romanian businessman and former tennis player. They began to work together on businesses related to tennis.

Returning to Romania

After the Romanian Revolution, Petrescu and Țiriac went back to Romania. They continued to be business partners. Petrescu helped develop companies with Țiriac. These included the Ion Țiriac Bank, which is now UniCredit Bank Romania. They also worked on real estate companies. Eventually, the two businessmen decided to go their separate ways. Petrescu started his own businesses. He focused on real estate and distributing cars. This is how he built his huge fortune. Ion Țiriac often said that Petrescu was even richer than him. In 2020, Țiriac was the third richest Romanian. His wealth was about 6 billion Romanian lei that year.

The "Shadow Billionaire"

Dan Petrescu was famous for being very private. Not much was known about him. Because of this, people sometimes called him the "shadow billionaire." In Romanian, this was miliardarul din umbră. Petrescu never gave interviews. He tried to avoid being in the spotlight. He often did his business through special companies called offshore companies.

His Humble Lifestyle

People described Dan Petrescu as a humble person. They said he drove an Opel Vectra car for many years. Someone also said, "you could see him on a scooter on the street and not know who he is." His friends even jokingly called him "Petre Ispirescu". This was because he was very good at telling stories.

His Properties and Businesses

Petrescu owned a lot of land in Romania. This included land in the capital city, Bucharest. He owned 150 apartments in Bucharest. He also had several villas. His companies built many shopping centers. Some of these centers had stores like Auchan, Carrefour, Metro AG, and Real. Petrescu often rented out his properties for 10 to 20 years. This helped him earn a lot of money. His total wealth was estimated to be around €3 billion. Dan Petrescu had both Romanian and German citizenship.

The Airplane Crash

Dan Petrescu died on 3 October 2021. He was 68 years old. He died in an airplane crash. He owned a private plane called a Pilatus PC-12. He bought it in 2015 and flew it himself. The plane's registration number was YR-PDV. It was registered in Romania.

Details of the Crash

The plane left Romania on 30 September 2021. It arrived in Milan, Italy. On the day of the crash, it took off from Milan at 1:03 PM CEST. It was heading to Olbia, also in Italy. Shortly after, at 1:12 PM CEST, the plane crashed. It hit an empty building that was being renovated. This happened in San Donato Milanese, near Milan.

Victims of the Crash

There were eight people on the plane. They were from different countries, mostly Romania and Italy. All eight people died in the crash. Dan Petrescu was one of the victims. His son, Dan Ștefan Petrescu, and his wife, Regina Dorotea Petrescu Balzat, also died. Other victims were friends of the Petrescu family. These included Filippo Nascimbene, his wife Claire Stephanie Caroline Alexandrescou, their one-year-old baby boy Raphael Nascimbene, and Claire's mother Miruna Anca Wanda Lozinschi. Julien Brossard also died. After the crash, it was announced that Anca Surugiu would take over Petrescu's fortune. She was a Romanian businesswoman who had been his assistant and coordinator for his companies.