Asos Billionaire Fashion Mogul Loses 3 Children in Sri Lanka Terror Attacks
A billionaire Danish fashion mogul lost three of his four children in Sunday’s Sri Lanka terrorist bombing attacks that killed at least 290 people and injured more than 500, PEOPLE confirms.
Anders Hoch Povlsen, 46, owns Bestseller, an international clothing chain, and is the largest shareholder of the online clothing retailer Asos, the BBC reports.
Jesper Stubkier, Bestseller’s communications manager, confirmed the deaths to PEOPLE. “We ask you to respect the privacy of the family and we therefore have no further comments,” Stubkier said.
Danish media reported that Povlsen was vacationing in Sri Lanka with his family at the time of the bombings, which took place at multiple hotels and places of worship.
Bloomberg reports that Povlsen is Denmark’s wealthiest person and is thought to be the largest landowner in Scotland. The outlet reports his net worth is $5.7 billion.
RELATED: More Than 200 People Killed in Series of Deadly Church and Hotel Bombings in Sri Lanka
The Guardian reported in March that Povlsen and wife Anne Storm Pedersen bought a string of historic estates in Scotland and now own an estimated 200,000 acres, which they plan to re-wild to its original state.
“It is a project that we know cannot be realised in our lifetime, which will bear fruit not just for our own children, but also for the generations of visitors who, like us, hold a deep affection the Scottish Highlands,” the couple says on their website.
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“We wish to restore our parts of the Highlands to their former magnificent natural state and repair the harm that man has inflicted on them.”
RELATED: Denver Man, 40, Among Those Confirmed Dead After Sri Lanka Terror Attacks
The Associated Press, citing Sri Lanka’s minister of tourism John Amaratunga, reports that 39 foreign tourists were killed in the bombings.
Dieter Kowalski, 40, a Denver man visiting Sri Lanka on a business trip was among those killed, his employer, Pearson, confirmed to PEOPLE.
Authorities have so far arrested 24 suspects in the attacks, which they say were carried out by seven suicide bombers, according to NBC News.
The Associated Press reports that a Sri Lankan government official said the bombers were part of a domestic militant group named National Thowfeed Jamaath.
The bombings shattered ten years of peace after the end of a civil war on the island nation.
