PARIS, May 28 (Xinhua) -- French industrialist and politician Serge Dassault has died in Paris at the age of 93.
Dassault died at his office at the Champs Elysees avenue around 4 p.m. (1400 GMT) after suffering heart problems, his family announced Monday in a statement published by the Le Figaro newspaper, which is owned by the industrialist.
In 1986, the French tycoon, then aged 61, took the leadership of the aviation and software giant Dassault Group that his father created almost a century ago, before leaving the office in 2000.
He was France's third wealthiest person, with a net worth estimated by Forbes magazine of 14.7 billion U.S. dollars.
Like his father, he had, as well as his businesses, a political career. A member of the right-center Union for a Popular Movement party, now known as "the Republicans," Dassault served as senator and mayor of Corbeil-Essones, Paris suburbs from 1995 to 2009.
In a statement released by his office, President Emmanuel Macron paid tribute to Dassault, "a man who devoted his life to developing a flagship of French industry."
"All his life, Serge Dassault would have looked with extreme attention to the strategic choices of the group inherited from his father, allowing him to make the necessary turns and lead multiple innovations," he said.
Macron also sent condolences to Dassault's family, friends and employees.
