Olivier Dassault, French MP and the billionaire heir to the Dassault fortune, died in a helicopter crash in northern France, DW reports.
The 69-year-old, a lawmaker with the center-right Republicans party, was killed near Deauville in Normandy, where he had a holiday home.
Dassault was the son of the late Serge Dassault, a French industralist who led one of the county's biggest defense companies.
The family also control Le Figaro, a leading conservative newspaper in France.
He was elected to the National Assembly - France's lower house of parliament - in 2002 and represented the Oise area.
French President Emmanuel Macron paid tribute to him on Twitter.