French billionaire and politician Olivier Dassault died in a helicopter crash in France on Sunday.
Getty Olivier Dassault Olivier Dassault, a French politician and one of the richest people in the world, died on Sunday in a helicopter crash in northwestern France. Authorities said the crash occurred just after the helicopter, an Aerospatiale AS350, took off from a private airfield near Deauville in northwestern France at around 6 p.m. on Sunday. Dassault was the only passenger on board and the pilot was also killed in the crash, France24 reported. The cause of the crash, which occurred on a sunny day with low wind, according to the outlet, is not yet known. Dassault had a holiday home in Deauville, a coastal resort town in Normandy. Prosecutors have opened an involuntary manslaughter investigation into the crash, the outlet reported. The French president, Emmanuel Macron, wrote on Twitter, “Olivier Dassault loved France. Captain of industry, local MP, reserve commander in the air force: throughout his life he never stopped serving our country and value its strengths. His sudden death is a great loss,” he said, offering his condolences to the 69-year-old’s family.
