Jan Kulczyk, Poland's richest man and the founder and president of investment empire Kulczyk Holding, has died from complications following surgery, the company said Wednesday. He was 65.
TVN24 said he died in Vienna.
Poland's former president, Lech Walesa, said that Kulczyk was irreplaceable. "It will be hard to organize some things without him."
He said that Kulczyk previously suffered a heart attack and was not in good health, but he "was absorbed in his work, in all the problems."
For years, Kulczyk, a lawyer and manager by education, led lists of the richest Poles and was reputed for his courage and imagination in business decisions. He invested in the energy and natural resources sectors in Europe and in Africa, and also developed the car and infrastructure sectors in Poland.
He also donated generously to culture and history. His donation of some 20 million zlotys (USD 5.3 million) helped finish work on the POLIN Museum of the History of Polish Jews in Warsaw. He also sponsored grants for gifted young people.
Poland's edition of the Forbes Magazine estimated his wealth at some 15 billion zlotys (USD 4 billion.)
Divorced from his wife, he is survived by a son and a daughter.
