French billionaire politician Olivier Dassault died in a tragic chopper crash on Sunday. Soon after the report of his news broke, French President Emmanuel Macron expressed his condolences and called his tragic death "a great loss."

Dassault's chopper crashed near Deauville in northern France where he has a holiday home, AFP reported citing internal sources. The incident took place at around 6 p.m. local time.

Olivier Dassault died

"Olivier Dassault loved France. Captain of industry, deputy, local elected official, reserve commander in the air force: during his life, he never ceased to serve our country, to value its assets. His sudden death is a great loss. Thoughts to his family and loved ones," Macron tweeted.

Olivier Dassault died

The pilot of the aircraft was also reportedly killed in the crash and no one else was on board the chopper.

Who was Olivier Dassault

Olivier Dassault was the president of strategy and development of the family-controlled aerospace and software conglomerate Dassault Aviation Group, which builds war planes including the famed Rafale and business and military jets. He was the eldest son of French billionaire industrialist Serge Dassault, who also owns the paper Le Figaro.

Rafale Jet

Dassault was one of the richest men (361 in global ranking) and his net worth was valued at $7.15 billion, according to Forbes 2020 rich list. He stepped down from the board Dassault after joining the conservative Les Republicains party in 2002.

The 69-year-old's sudden death shocked the nation. Many politicians and his colleagues at Dassault paid their tributes.

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