Wang Jian, 57, had climbed on a high parapet to take photographs in the village of Bonnieux in Provence when he fell 15 metres, police said. Rescue services in the region were unable to revive him, the BBC reported.
The co-founder and chairman of the giant Chinese conglomerate HNA Group has died in a fall in southern France.
Wang Jian, 57, had climbed on a high parapet to take photographs in the village of Bonnieux in Provence when he fell 15 metres, police said. Rescue services in the region were unable to revive him, the BBC reported.
Police are not treating his death as suspicious.
HNA, which turned its website grey in a gesture of mourning, said it had lost an "exceptionally gifted leader and role model, whose vision and values will continue to be a beacon for all who had the good fortune to know him, as well as for the many others whose lives he touched through his work and philanthropy”.
Wang helped turn HNA into one of the world's biggest companies, with assets in aviation and tourism, including hotel chain Hilton, Park Hotels & Resorts and Spain's NH Hotels.
HNA also holds a 19% stake in Virgin Australia airlines.
More recently, HNA has been selling some assets as Chinese regulators tighten lending controls and force companies to rein in debt.