Kretinsky controls Energeticky a Prumyslovy Holding, a group of European energy companies with 28.9 billion euros ($31.3 billion) in assets. The Prague-based conglomerate's interests include utilities EP Infrastructure and LEAG. He's also a shareholder in British supermarket J Sainsbury, German retailer Metro and Foot Locker.
The majority of Kretinsky's wealth is derived from his stake in Energeticky a Prumyslovy Holding (EPH). The Prague-based conglomerate, which includes over 70 European energy companies, valued its assets at 28.9 billion euros ($31.3 billion) in 2023, according to the company's website.
Kretinsky holds 50% of EPH, according to the website. He also holds 35% stakes in EP Infrastructure, European energy infrastructure utility focused on gas transmission and distribution, and German utility LEAG, Germany's fifth-largest utility.
Together with partners, he also owns minority stakes in almost a dozen publicly traded companies, which include German media company ProSiebenSat.1 Media, British supermarket chain J Sainsbury, German retailer Metro and the US shoe seller Foot Locker. He owns most of the stakes through holding vehicle VESA Equity Investment, according to company filings.
Kretinsky's private investments include real estate and a 15% stake in English soccer club West Ham. He acquired 27% of West Ham in November 2021 with 150 million pounds ($201 million), according to a Bloomberg News report. This 27% stake has since been transferred to a holding company in which Kretinsky owns a 56% stake. The club is valued based on a Jan. 24, 2023 report by valuation consultant Sportico.
The billionaire is credited with about $4.6 billion in liabilities based on Bloomberg's calculation of asset purchases.
Daniel Kretinsky was born in Brno, in what was then known as Czechoslovakia, in 1975. In 1999, he began his investment career as a lawyer at local private-equity group J&T. Kretinsky is among a handful of central European billionaires whose wealth doesn't originate from the privatization schemes of the 1990s.
Kretinsky became chair of EPH in 2009 after J&T created Energeticky a Prumyslovy Holding (EPH) to house a group of small Czech energy assets. His pivotal move came in 2013, when EPH took a significant stake in Slovakia's Eustream gas pipeline, a reliable and steady source of cash. Over the next few years, Kretinsky snapped-up coal mines in Germany and Poland, followed by more assets in France, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands and the UK. EPH's portfolio grew to more than 70 European energy companies.
The billionaire later sought to diversify his investments buying stakes in a number of publicly traded companies including Metro, Casino and Foot Locker.