The co-owner of the Philadelphia Inquirer, the Philadelphia Daily News and Philly.com died in a private plane crash this weekend. Lewis Katz was 72, according to Onward State. Katz is a graduate of The Dickinson Law School at Penn State and the Law Building on campus is named after him.
His plane, a Gulfstream IV, crashed around 9:40 p.m. in Massachusetts. It was en route to Atlantic City. The plane caught fire and crashed in Hanscom Field. The explosion shook homes near the incident.
Katz donated $15 million to Penn State so the school could construct the law building.
“We are deeply saddened by the loss of Lewis Katz,” said Jim Houck, interim dean of the Law School. “Countless lives have been improved thanks to his good work. We are proud of not only all that he has accomplished in his life but of the spirit of generosity and caring that he shared with so many organizations.”
Katz was born and raised in Camden, New Jersey. He earned his undergraduate degree from Temple University. Katz started his own law firm and owned parts of the New York Nets, the New York Yankees and the New Jersey Devils at one time or another.
Earlier in the month of May, the Temple School of Medicine announced that it would be named after Katz. He had served on the Board of Trustees for the school and donated $25 million.
“I’m very grateful and feel very privileged to have been so lucky,” Katz said about his business ventures. “I know I was lucky.”