Lewis Katz, a self-made Philadelphia business mogul and philanthropist, was killed along with six other people in a fiery plane crash in Massachusetts Saturday night.

Just five days after Katz purchased the parent company of The Philadelphia Inquirer, the Philadelphia Daily News and Philly.com, the 72-year-old business magnate died when his private plane crashed and caught on fire during takeoff. The tragedy occurred while he and his business partner H. F. "Gerry" Lenfestwere were in the middle of revamping The Philadelphia Inquirer after months of infighting at the newspaper.

His son, Drew Katz, announced his unexpected death in a statement on Sunday saying:

"It is with an incomprehensible amount of grief and the heaviest of hearts that my sister and I announce the loss of our beloved dad. My father was my best friend. He taught me everything. He never forgot where and how he grew up, and he worked tirelessly to support his community in countless ways that were seen and unseen," reports CNN.

Throughout his illustrious career, Katz invested in a number of sports franchises, including former NBA team the New Jersey Nets and the NHL's New Jersey Devils, where he was a principal owner. He was also a shareholder of the Nets, the New York Yankees and the YES Network at the time of his death.

"The New York Yankees are deeply saddened by the tragic passing of Lewis Katz last night," managing general partner Hal Steinbrenner said in a statement, according to reports from CBS New York. "Lewis was a minority owner of the Yankees and a valued, long-time friend and colleague to so many of us within the organization. We will cherish his sense of humor, intellect, and deep sense of philanthropy. Lewis had a huge heart and was always there when someone needed help. He will forever be remembered."

In addition to his business ventures, Katz was an attorney and a humanitarian who donated large sums of money to different educational, civic and religious groups. He was also active in his hometown Camden, New Jersey, where he founded two charter schools and supported various charities.

Last year, his alma mater, Temple University, announced that it was renaming their medical school in his honor after he gave a generous $25 million donation. Two buildings at Pennsylvania State University, where Katz went to law school, were also named after him.

Katz flew to Massachusetts earlier Saturday to attend a fund-raising event at the home of Pulitzer Prize-winning historian Doris Kearns Goodwin.

"He was a force of nature," Goodwin said in a statement. "So deep was his commitment to education reform that he flew to Concord to support my son Michael's Concord River institute. Afterward we all went to dinner, where we talked at length about our shared passions for sports and journalism, politics and history. But the last thing he said to me upon leaving for the plane was that most of all what we shared was our love and pride for our children. I have lost a great friend, his family has lost a great father and grandfather, and the country has lost a great man."

The plane was carrying three crew members and four passengers, according to the National Transportation Safety Board. One victim was Anne Leeds, a 74-year-old retired preschool teacher and the wife of Longport, New Jersey Town Commissioner James Leeds.

The National Transportation Safety Board told reporters that the plane crashed when the Gulfstream IV failed to get airborne from Hanscom Field, about 20 miles northwest of Boston.