The death of businessman Petr Kellner is a great tragedy for his neighbors from Podkozí

“I have never met Petr Kellner in person, I only saw him once when he was building his homestead. He was a very handsome and capable man for me, he is a great pity and we and the neighbors want to express our sincere condolences to the whole family. It’s a great tragedy, “said one of the more distant neighbors.

Helicopter over the gardens

Other people from the neighborhood who live near the Podkozí valley were also surprised by the sad news. According to them, the richest Czech built his homestead in places where his family once had historical roots.

“We liked that he had a great feeling for nature. The house he had built fit beautifully into the valley. He made a number of positive changes to what it had looked like before. In addition to his homestead, he also repaired the bridge so that other people could get to Podkozí. He had everything remodeled, including the road, “recalls another woman from a more distant neighborhood.

“Because he often flew his helicopter directly from home and abroad, it was a common means of transport for him when we were sitting outside in the garden, we always reported for fun: Look, Péťa is coming back from work,” he says.

Help for school and association

Although it is closer to Podkozí from Chyňava, the seat of the Kellners officially belongs to Svárov, where the entrepreneur’s family is actively involved in local events. The local mayor Ivan Zetek also has a personal memory of billionaires.

“Petr Kellner was our neighbor, he valued the places where he lives and tried to support the surroundings. Last year, when we built a new primary school in the village for the second grade together with an elementary art school, he supported us through the Kellner Foundation. He equipped our school with computers and interactive whiteboards, “says the mayor, recalling that the foundation has been supporting the local Welding Bell Association for years, with fifty thousand crowns a year.

Petr Kellner was born on May 20, 1964 in Česká Lípa. He spent his youth in Liberec. In 1986 he studied industrial economics at the University of Economics in Prague. He started his career as a clerk in the foreign trade company Strojimport Praha. Subsequently, he worked as a production assistant and production at the Barrandov Film Studio.

In 1991, together with other partners, Milan Maděryč and Milan Vinkler, they founded the PPF financial group, from which he gradually built a financial empire, which nominated him for the position of the richest Czech. He was also regularly ranked in Forbes magazine by the world’s richest people.

Petr Kellner also studied other philanthropy. For example, in 2002, he and his wife Renata Kellner founded the Educa Foundation. It provided a total of 382 million crowns for the construction and operation of the eight-year Open Gate grammar school. He also supported culture. From his financial donations live the Jára Cimrman Theater or the Summer Shakespeare Festival. Kellner also owned one of the largest private collections of photographs by Josef Sudek.

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