Billionaire businessman and Philadelphia Inquirer co-owner Lewis Katz was one of seven people killed in a small plane crash Saturday.
According to The Associated Press, Katz and Harold Lenfest had just signed the papers days before to buy out the co-owners of the Inquirer, the Philadelphia Daily News, and Philly.com for $88 million. The pair was hoping to re-focus on in-depth journalism and save the paper, which has been struggling for several years.
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The Gulfstream IV private jet went down right after takeoff from Hanscom Field, near Boston. All on board were killed.
Katz, along with his neighbor Anne Leeds, had been at an event organized by historian Doris Kearns Goodwin that supported the
launch of a national educational project, the Boston Globe said. Also on the plane were Marcella Dalsey, executive director of the Drew A. Katz Foundation, and Susan Asbell, an old friend of Katz’s.
Friends mourned Katz on and shared with the Boston Globe stories of a down-to-earth man who was always generous.
Friend Joseph DiLorenzo said Katz was a positive person who "was so generous that you were almost afraid to tell him what the town needs, because if they needed a fire engine, he’d have two fire engines delivered tomorrow."
"Lew Katz was my cherished friend of nearly 20 years. He was a force of nature," Goodwin said in a statement. "But the last thing he said to me upon leaving for the plane was that most of all what we shared was our love and pride for our children."
Leeds, 74, was a last-minute addition to the trip, the Globe said. She ran into Katz who invited her along.
Malsey, 59, was a mother of four who ran the foundation named after Katz’s son. Asbell was active with Katz in the Jewish community.
The two crew who were killed have not been identified.
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