Karel Komárek

Karel Komárek (born 15 March 1969) is a Czech businessman worth $8.18 billion as of February 2023. He is one of the wealthiest Czech citizens and the founder of the investment company KKCG.

Early life
Komárek was born in Hodonín, Czech Republic on 15 March 1969. He graduated in engineering and then worked briefly at Sigma Hodonín.

Career
In 1992, he became an entrepreneur for the first time, founding the industrial valves wholesale company M.O.S. Hodonín with a start-up capital of CZK 300,000 borrowed from his father. In 1995 Komárek founded the internationally active investment company KKCG. In 1996, his company M.O.S. Hodonín changed its name to MOS Hodonín Morovia Systems and developed into a technology supplier for the mining industry, allowing Komárek to enter the energy business. This was followed by the energy production company Moravské naftové doly (now MND Group), which now belongs to Komárek's investment company KKCG.

Komárek is chairman of the board of trustees at the Karel Komárek Family Foundation, alongside his wife Štěpánka.

KKCG
KKCG's business activities comprise lotteries and gambling, energy, information technology, and investments. Its member companies include Allwyn, MND, ARICOMA Group, KKCG Real Estate Group, Springtide Ventures venture capital fund, and others. As of 2022, KKCG operated in 33 countries.

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. In 2021, Sazka Group's mother company, Sazka Entertainment, rebranded to Allwyn. Allwyn's portfolio includes Camelot UK, Camelot US (operators of the Illinois State Lottery), Opap (Greece and Cyprus), Casag (Austria), Sazka (Czech Republic), and Lottoitalia (Italy).

KKCG has also made investments in information technologies and is 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.

In 2023, KKCG opened a methanol factory in West Virginia through the company US Methanol, which was founded by KKCG in 2016.

Wealth
In 2018, Bloomberg estimated Komárek's worth at $3.3 billion. In 2019, Forbes ranked Komárek in 715th place among the world's billionaires with estimated worth of $3 billion; in 2022, Forbes ranked him in 502nd place with estimated worth of $5.3 billion. Bloomberg values his net worth at US$8.18 billion as of February 2023.

Philanthropy
Komárek founded the Karel Komárek Family Foundation, which supports the Dvořák Prague International Music Festival, which he co-founded in 2008, and the Proměny Foundation. The Proměny Foundation focuses on the development of public space in the Czech Republic and in particular the reconstruction of parks and school gardens. The Foundation participated, among other things, in the reconstruction of the Park Střed in Most.

In 2020, the Karel Komárek Family Foundation launched a project in which it donated instruments to Czech schools and purchased 11 pianos worth 200,000 euros from the Czech manufacturer Petrof to be donated. At the same time he started a public collection of instruments for 45 other schools. In 2023, the second fundraising campaign was launched to procure 21 instruments worth CZK 10.3 million, half of which will be raised by the KKFF. In August 2021, it donated CZK 150 million to the reconstruction of Hodonín after the town was devastated by a tornado in June 2021.

The Karel Komárek Family Foundation also supported the Gardens of Peace project in France in 2022, that commemorates the soldiers who died in the First World War.

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. He and his wife have also supported the construction of the "Reach center" building in the Kennedy Center in 2019.

In 2022, Komárek launched a project called "More than Equal" in Silverstone. Its aim is to find, train, and support the first female Formula One World Champion. Co-founder of the project is David Coulthard. "More than Equal" has since partnered with Motorsport Network to deliver a global survey on the state of motorsport.

Personal life
Komárek is married to Štěpánka Komárková. He has four children, and resides in Verbier, Switzerland. Komárek is considered an avid cyclist, rower and golfer.