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Karel Komárek

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Karel Komárek
Born15 March 1969 Edit this on Wikidata
Hodonín Edit this on Wikidata
OccupationEntrepreneur Edit this on Wikidata
Known forFounder of KKCG
Spouse(s)Stepanka
Children4

Karel Komárek (born 15 March 1969) is a Czech businessman worth $5.5 billion[1] as of August 2021. He is one of the wealthiest Czech citizens and the founder of KKCG.[2][3][4] He is the owner of the KKCG Group, which he founded in 1995. KKCG's business activities comprise lotteries and gambling, oil and natural gas, information technologies, and real estate. Its member companies include KKCG Real Estate Group, Allwyn, MND, ARICOMA Group, Springtide Ventures venture capital fund, and others.[5][6][7]

Early life

Komárek was born in Hodonín, Czech Republic on 15 March 1969.[citation needed] He started his first business immediately after completing his studies, gradually building one of the most prominent Czech family firms.[citation needed]

KKCG

In 1995 Komárek founded KKCG. KKCG's business activities comprise lotteries and gambling, oil and natural gas, information technologies, and investments. As of 2019, KKCG operated in 18 countries around the world. Its member companies included the SAZKA Group, Moravské naftové doly, ARICOMA Group, Springtide Ventures venture capital fund, and others.[5][6] As of 2022, KKCG operated in 33 countries.[8]

In 2012, KKCG became the sole owner of the largest Czech lottery company Sazka, which later served as the cornerstone for the establishment of Europe's gambling conglomerate, the SAZKA Group.[5][9][10] SAZKA Group holds stakes in Casinos Austria[11] and OPAP[12] (Greece), and takes part in the licensed operations of the biggest Italian lottery company, Lotto.[13] In 2021, SAZKA Group's mother company, SAZKA Entertainment, rebranded to Allwyn.[14] Several months later, in March 2022, Allwyn was selected by the UK Gambling Commission as the Preferred Applicant for the Fourth UK National Lottery Licence.[15] [16] [17] In September 2022, Allwyn was formally awarded the Fourth National Lottery licence.[18][19][20] Allwyn and Camelot subsequently worked together to make the transition period smoother, so Allwyn and the Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan agreed on the sale of Camelot UK to Allwyn in November 2022.[21] [22][23]

KKCG has made investments in information technologies, including the acquisition of majority stakes in AUTOCONT in 2017[24] and Cleverlance in 2019,[25] two largest companies of its ARICOMA Group.[26] In 2020-2021, it acquired the companies Seavus and Stratiteq.[27][28][29] ARICOMA Group currently consists of ten companies. The most recent company to join the group was Musala Soft, which joined in 2022.[30][31][32]

KKCG is also active on the real estate market. It has completed various "top rezidence" residential projects in Prague. In June 2021, it finished the Bořislavka Office and Shopping Center in the Prague 6 district.[33][34][35]

Wealth

In 2018, Bloomberg estimated Komárek's worth at $3.3 billion dollars.[5][36] In 2019, Forbes ranked Komárek in 715th place among the world's billionaires with estimated worth of $3 billion dollars;[37] in 2022, Forbes ranked him in 502nd place with estimated worth of $5.3 billion dollars.[2]

Philanthropy

In 2008, Komárek co-founded the Dvořák Prague International Music Festival.[38] In 2020, his family foundation KKFF purchased 11 pianos worth 200,000 euros from the Czech manufacturer Petrof to be donated to Czech schools.[39]

Komárek has received the Gold Medal in the Arts from the Kennedy Center International Committee on the Arts for his achievements in the field of art.[4]

Personal life

He is married to Štěpánka, they have four children, and homes in the Czech Republic, Palm Beach, Florida and Verbier, Switzerland.[2][40]

References

  1. ^ "Forbes Billionaires 2021". Forbes. 2021-09-08.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  2. ^ a b c "Karel Komarek". Forbes Karel Komarek Profile. 2019-01-08. Retrieved 2019-08-01.
  3. ^ "KKCG Group". KKCG Group. KKCG Group. 2019-01-06.
  4. ^ a b Radu, Sintia (11 September 2019). "A Billionaire's Advice: Embrace the Arts". U.S.News.
  5. ^ a b c d "The Billionaire Who Took a Bet on Lotteries to Live the Dream". Bloomberg. 2018-10-30.
  6. ^ a b Mares, Michael. "Dvorak And Methanol. Odd Combo That Makes Perfect Sense for Czech Billionaire". Forbes. Retrieved 2019-08-01.
  7. ^ Lopatka, Jan (2022-01-21). "European lottery group Allwyn to list on NYSE with blank check firm Cohn Robbins". Reuters. Retrieved 2022-02-14.
  8. ^ Digital, Apploud. "KKCG - Business activities of KKCG investment group". KKCG - Business activities of KKCG investment group. Retrieved 2022-05-18.
  9. ^ "Czech investors divide up lottery group Sazka". Reuters. 2019-03-14. Retrieved 2019-08-01.
  10. ^ "SAZKA Entertainment". SAZKA Group.
  11. ^ Reuters Staff (2020-03-06). "Czech SAZKA Group on track to become majority owner of Casinos Austria". Reuters. Retrieved 2020-09-30. {{cite news}}: |author= has generic name (help)
  12. ^ Reuters Staff (2019-07-09). "Sazka Group launches full takeover bid for Greece's OPAP". Reuters. Retrieved 2020-09-30. {{cite news}}: |author= has generic name (help)
  13. ^ "SAZKA Group". sazkagroup.com. Retrieved 2020-09-30.
  14. ^ "Sazka Entertainment renamed Allwyn in global rebranding". SBC News. 2021-12-08. Retrieved 2022-02-14.
  15. ^ Hancock, Alice; Cameron-Chileshe, Jasmine (2022-03-15). "UK National Lottery awarded to Czech group Allwyn ahead of Camelot". Financial Times. Retrieved 2022-03-17.
  16. ^ "Camelot to lose licence to run National Lottery". BBC News. 2022-03-15. Retrieved 2022-03-17.
  17. ^ "Camelot to lose licence to run UK national lottery after 28 years". the Guardian. 2022-03-15. Retrieved 2022-03-17.
  18. ^ "Fourth National Lottery licence formally awarded to Allwyn". Gambling Commission. 2022-09-20. Retrieved 2022-10-11.
  19. ^ "Fourth National Lottery licence awarded to Allwyn". Financial Times. 2022-09-20. Retrieved 2022-10-11.
  20. ^ Thomas-Akoo, Zak (2022-09-20). "Allwyn formally awarded fourth UK National Lottery licence". iGB. Retrieved 2022-10-11.
  21. ^ "UK National Lottery winner Allwyn buys rival Camelot". Financial Times. 2022-11-19. Retrieved 2022-11-22.
  22. ^ Fletcher, Robert (2022-11-21). "Allwyn agrees to acquire Camelot UK". iGB. Retrieved 2022-11-22.
  23. ^ Reuters (2022-11-19). "UK's next National Lottery operator Allwyn acquires Camelot UK". Reuters. Retrieved 2022-11-22. {{cite news}}: |last= has generic name (help)
  24. ^ "KKCG buying 70 % of IT holding AutoCont | Prague Monitor". praguemonitor.com. 20 October 2017. Archived from the original on 2019-06-17. Retrieved 2020-09-30.
  25. ^ Bossi, Paolo. "KKCG's Acquisition Of A Stake In Cleverlance Group's IT Companies – Global Legal Chronicle". Retrieved 2020-09-30.
  26. ^ "KKCG Launches Aricoma – Biggest Czech ICT Holding". KKCG Group. Retrieved 2020-09-30.
  27. ^ "Komarek's Aricoma Acquires Stratiteq". Prague Business Journal. 2021-09-01. Retrieved 2022-02-14.
  28. ^ "ARICOMA Group acquires Seavus". Mannheimer Swartling. 2020-12-09. Retrieved 2022-02-14.
  29. ^ "Komárek posílil v IT. Koupil švédskou softwarovou firmu Seavus - Seznam Zprávy". www.seznamzpravy.cz. Retrieved 2022-02-14.
  30. ^ "Czech Aricoma snaps up Bulgaria's Musala Soft to expand SEE footprint". seenews.com. Retrieved 2022-08-10.
  31. ^ "Aricoma Karla Komárka se rozrůstá. Desátým členem bude bulharská Musala Soft". Forbes (in Czech). 2022-08-04. Retrieved 2022-08-10.
  32. ^ Kreč, Luboš (2022-08-04). "10 firem, 10 miliard obrat. Komárkova IT skupina Aricoma dál roste, koupila bulharské vývojáře". CzechCrunch (in Czech). Retrieved 2022-08-10.
  33. ^ "KKCG invests several billions into Top Rezidence projects in Prague | Prague Monitor". praguemonitor.com. Retrieved 2020-09-30.
  34. ^ "Otevírá komplex Bořislavka Centrum, nabídne obchody i umění". MediaGuru.cz (in Czech). Retrieved 2021-09-08.
  35. ^ "Komárkova Aricoma jde na západ. Její šéf Sameš vyhlíží kyberpunkovou budoucnost". Forbes (in Czech). 2021-03-19. Retrieved 2022-02-14.
  36. ^ McLean, Craig (6 November 2019). "Washington's democratic revolution in the arts: How the REACH centre is opening culture to new audiences". Evening Standard.
  37. ^ "Archived copy". www.forbes.com. Archived from the original on 3 October 2019. Retrieved 22 February 2022.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  38. ^ Robehmed, Natalie. "A Modern Day Patron: Czech Billionaire Karel Komarek's Pledge To Dvořák". Forbes. Retrieved 2020-09-30.
  39. ^ "Komarek Buys Piano's Rejected By China Over Taiwan Row". September 9, 2020.
  40. ^ Davies, Rob (15 March 2022). "Karel Komárek profile: the entrepreneur who will run UK national lottery". The Guardian. Retrieved 15 March 2022.
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