PARIS -- Lebanese-born billionaire Edmond Safra died Friday in a fire that gutted his penthouse flat in Monaco after a pre-dawn break-in by two hooded attackers.
Safra, 67, died from suffocation after a blaze destroyed his penthouse apartment in Monte Carlo's Avenue d'Ostende, Monaco's official press office said.The international financier had just sealed a multibillion-dollar deal to sell the Republic New York Corp. that he founded and Luxembourg private banking affiliate Safra Republic Holdings to British bank HSBC Holdings Plc.
A member of Safra's staff was also killed in the fire and a bodyguard was injured when he intervened to fend off knife-wielding assailants, the press office said in a statement.
Justice sources said Monaco public prosecutor Daniel Serdet had opened a criminal investigation into the incident at the luxury turn-of-the-century building.
The press office said the fire started outside Safra's flat before spreading inside.
It was not immediately clear how the fire started, although an official source said the assailants were believed to have started the fire after the alarm started at the apartment.
The source said Safra had taken refuge in the bathroom with a nurse while his wife and one of her children, who escaped from the blaze, had hidden in another room.
Monaco police were still hunting for the attackers.
An official at Safra Republic in Luxembourg said he believed the merger with HSBC would go ahead by the end of the year as planned. He said he had no further details on the circumstances or reasons behind Safra's death.
HSBC said it was appalled to learn the news of Safra's death, and its shares slipped temporarily as investors worried it might delay the takeover of Republic.
Safra, from a Jewish-Lebanese family that has banks around the world, was set to receive $3 billion from HSBC Holdings for his stake in Republic New York Corp. and Safra Republic.
The Monaco press service said police, firemen and specialist units had rushed to Safra's luxury apartment building after being alerted to the break-in.
"For reasons as yet unknown, a fire broke out on the outside of his split-level apartment on the top floor and then spread through the roof," said the Monaco press office statement.
Such violent incidents are rare in Monaco, which is known for its strong police force and widespread video surveillance systems which protect the rich and famous who live there.
Safra was born in Beirut. He and his Brazilian wife Lily had no children from their marriage.
His ancestors were originally gold traders and bankers in Aleppo, Syria, and moved first to Beirut and then to Europe and the Americas to start banking businesses in the late 1940s.
In a little over 30 years, Safra built a banking empire that includes trading businesses, financial services for the wealthy and loans to governments of developing nations.
His brothers, Brazilian bankers Joseph and Moise, own banks in Israel, Brazil and the United States. Safra had homes in New York, Paris and Geneva but spent most of his time in Monaco.