Michael Klein, the owner of California hedge fund Pacificor LLC, his teenage daughter, Talia, and pilot were found dead after their plane crashed in Panama, a colleague said.
Francesca Lewis, the 12-year-old friend of Klein's daughter, who was 13, survived and is in the hospital with multiple injuries, Kurt Benjamin, vice president for business development at Santa Barbara, California-based Pacificor, said in a phone interview. The pilot, Edwin Lasso, was from Panama.
The group was last seen alive on Dec. 23 when they took off from Islas Secas, an island in the Pacific Ocean owned by Klein, who was 37. They left California on Dec. 22 and were expected to arrive home yesterday, Benjamin said. A $25,000 reward was offered for information leading to the location of the plane which crashed in mountainous jungle terrain.
``He was one of the most passionate people I've ever met in my entire life,'' Benjamin said. ``He was passionate about politics, business, the environment.''
Benjamin said he was informed of the deaths by the U.S. Embassy in Panama City.
The plane was heading for an airport in Volcan in Chiriqui when its signal vanished from radar screens.
Klein had owned the island for about five years and made frequent trips to the resort, Benjamin said.
Yahoo Buyout
Klein, who graduated from college at the age of 17, started MIBEK Corp., a developer of financial analysis software, which was acquired in 1992. Hewlett-Packard Co. bought his software company Transoft Networks Inc. in 1999, according to the Pacificor Web site.
He then became president and chief executive officer of eGroups Inc., the world's largest group e-mail communication service. Yahoo! Inc. bought that company for $450 million in 2000, Pacificor's Web site says.
Klein became the largest investor in Pacificor in 1999, was elevated to CEO and president two years later and acquired the firm in 2002. He was also its chief investment officer, the Web site says.
Pacificor describes its investment focus as high-yield debt and indicates the minimum investment is $1 million.
Source: Bloomberg
Francesca Lewis, the 12-year-old friend of Klein's daughter, who was 13, survived and is in the hospital with multiple injuries, Kurt Benjamin, vice president for business development at Santa Barbara, California-based Pacificor, said in a phone interview. The pilot, Edwin Lasso, was from Panama.
The group was last seen alive on Dec. 23 when they took off from Islas Secas, an island in the Pacific Ocean owned by Klein, who was 37. They left California on Dec. 22 and were expected to arrive home yesterday, Benjamin said. A $25,000 reward was offered for information leading to the location of the plane which crashed in mountainous jungle terrain.
``He was one of the most passionate people I've ever met in my entire life,'' Benjamin said. ``He was passionate about politics, business, the environment.''
Benjamin said he was informed of the deaths by the U.S. Embassy in Panama City.
The plane was heading for an airport in Volcan in Chiriqui when its signal vanished from radar screens.
Klein had owned the island for about five years and made frequent trips to the resort, Benjamin said.
Yahoo Buyout
Klein, who graduated from college at the age of 17, started MIBEK Corp., a developer of financial analysis software, which was acquired in 1992. Hewlett-Packard Co. bought his software company Transoft Networks Inc. in 1999, according to the Pacificor Web site.
He then became president and chief executive officer of eGroups Inc., the world's largest group e-mail communication service. Yahoo! Inc. bought that company for $450 million in 2000, Pacificor's Web site says.
Klein became the largest investor in Pacificor in 1999, was elevated to CEO and president two years later and acquired the firm in 2002. He was also its chief investment officer, the Web site says.
Pacificor describes its investment focus as high-yield debt and indicates the minimum investment is $1 million.
Source: Bloomberg
|
