PRAGUE: Petr Kellner, the Czech Republic’s wealthiest person with a fortune topping $13 billion, died aged 56 in a helicopter crash in Alaska, his spokeswoman said on Monday.

Kellner, who meticulously guarded his privacy, owned the financial, telecommunications, engineering and insurance PPF Group, which employs 94,000 people worldwide.

“With deep regret we announce that PPF Group founder and majority shareholder Mr Petr Kellner died tragically in a helicopter crash in the Alaska Range on Saturday,” PPF Group spokeswoman Jitka Tkadlecova told AFP.

“The causes of the accident, in which five people died in total, are being investigated,” she added.