Who is Zygmunt Solorz? He was born in 1956 in Radom in the workers' family as Zygmunt Józef Krok. He graduated from a vocational school and then a mechanical technical school.
He started his career in business with minor trade. He imported deficit goods from the GDR to Poland, and he continued to invest money. When he bought the first car, he went with his colleagues to Bulgaria. There he reported a loss of documents at the consulate and received a temporary passport, valid all over the world. Thanks to this, he went to Germany, where he developed his business. In Germany, Zygmunt Krok made himself New documents in the name Piotr Podgórski.
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At West Germany, he met his future wife Ilona Solorz, who ran in Munich Solorz Import-Export. He took her name. In the 1990s, he earned the first big money to bring used cars to Poland and sell, mainly Wartburgs and trabants. In 1991, Zygmunt Solorz divorced Ilona Solorz. He returned to Poland, where he married Małgorzata Żak. It was from her that the second part of his name came from her (they divorced a few years ago, which is why the businessman no longer uses the name Żak).
In our country, Zygmunt Solorz Biznes began to start in the 1990s. He focused on the media industry. First, he bought the daily newspaper “Kurier Polski”.
Polsat TV Zygmunt Solorz, director of Telewizja Polsat, 1998
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Grzegorz Kawecki / Forum Polska Agencja Photographers
In 1992, Solorz founded Polsat TV, which initially broadcast from the Netherlands. It was his best known business for years. In 1994, Polsat received a nationwide license, allowing ground broadcasting throughout the country and an effective competition for the viewer with two TVP channels.
The station focused strongly on entertainment programs and series targeted at the mass viewer (among them you can mention the series “World according to the Bad” or game show “go all over”), hit films and sports broadcasts. Thanks to this, she successfully received public television viewers. She also created the first TVP information service “Information” (currently “Events”).
Polsat, which has been a nationwide channel since 1994, began to broadcast the first -independent information program.
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Ksokolowska / Shutterstock
Currently Polsat TV has over 30 television channels with different topics, also satellite, in cable networks or via the Internet.
Cyfrowy Polsat Cyfrowy Polsat has about 3.5 million customers and is listed on the Warsaw Stock Exchange
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Robson90 / shutterstock
Zygmunt Solorz did not stop at the ground station, but He also decided to launch his own satellite platformdirecting its offers mainly to the inhabitants of small towns and villages, where cable networks did not reach. The operator started in 1999 under the name Polsat 2 Digital. In 2006 he exceeded a million customers (today it is about 3.5 million). In 2008 he hit the WSE in Warsaw.
Currently Cyfrowy Polsat is The largest digital platform in Central and Eastern Europe in terms of the number of customersenabling access to about 200 Polish -language channels, also provides other services, including Wireless internet. Solorz indirectly controls 57.34 percent company shares.
In 2010, Cyfrowy Polsat bought from Solorz companies 100 percent shares in Polsat TV. The VOD Polsat Box Go platform (formerly IPLA) also belongs to Cyfrowy Polsat. In 2018, the revenues of the entire group amounted to PLN 10.69 billion. The current capitalization of the company is PLN 17.94 billion.
Polkomtel
However, that's not all. Polkomtel also belongs to the digital group of Polsat. It was a telecommunications company, launched in 1996. In 2011, Zygmunt Solorz bought 100 percent by his Cypriot company. Polkomtel campaign. In 2013, Cyfrowy Polsat took over the control over Polkomtel, who began to consolidate the results of this company. Thanks to the transaction, a joint television and technunications offer was created, and companies have joined their departments, but Mark Plus remains on the market.
The Aero 2 subsidiary is also associated with the telecommunications business of Polkomtel and Cyfrowy Polsat, which is responsible for investments in a wireless telecommunications network and ensures its development, operation and maintenance. A few years ago, Aero2 merged with another telecommunications company, controlled by Solorz – Midas.
Plus bank One of the Plusbank facilities
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Arkadiusz Ziolek / East News
Plus Bank, still under the name Invest-Bank, It was founded by Piotr Bykowski in 1991. Eight years later he became part of the group of Zygmunt Solorz. In 2013, Invest-Bank changed its name to the plus bank, which at the same time initiated the company's close cooperation with Polkomtel. Plus Bank is one of the smallest Polish banks in terms of the number of customers.
In May 2019, the PFSA made a decision about Introduction to the Plus Bank of the Superintendent. As the Commission emphasized, this action is aimed at improving the bank's financial situation.
ATM group
The fate of the group founded by Dorota and Tomasz Kurzewski is also associated with Polsat, because the Wrocław company started by producing programs and series for the Solorz station. The businessman currently includes minority shares in the company – currently 17.4 percent have them. After years of work mainly for Polsat, the company also began to produce for TVP or TVN.
Netia
In 2017, Zygmunt Solorz decided to expand his empire about the telephony, television and stationary internet operator, investing in Netia created in the 1990s. In December of that year, Cyfrowy Polsat bought about 32 percent. Netia shares for PLN 639 million. In May 2018, Cyfrowy Polsat and the Cypriot company Solorz – after calling – bought 33 percent. Netia's actions, which made the billionaire control the majority Netia package. Thanks to this investment, Cyfrowy Polsat has increased the range of its services in cities.
INTERIA.PL
In 2020, the Portal Interia.pl will join the Digital Polsat Group, which from 2006 belonged to the German Bauer Media Group, the owner of the Press Press Publishing House and RMF FM Radio. The amount of the transaction amounted to PLN 422 million. The Office of Competition and Consumer Protection has just agreed to the finalization of the contract.
The interia.pl portal was created in 1999. For Polsat, the takeover of Interia is – as reported in the announcement – a significant strengthening of the position on the online advertising market, as well as an additional distribution channel and monetization of content produced for the needs of 34 television channels with Polsat logo.
Electrim
However, the property of Zygmunt Solorz is not only the media. Since 2003, he has been a co -owner of Elektrim, when he bought over 30 percent. Company shares from BRE Bank and Multico. Currently controls about 80 percent company shares. The billionaire dispute has been going on for years with minority shareholders who want Elektrim to return to the stock exchange (his quotations were suspended in 2008).
Elektrim is a company formed as a result of the privatization of the former PTHz Elektrim. He operates in the form of a holding of various companies. Currently a group It focuses its activities on the energy, telecommunications and real estate market in both country and abroad (it is The owner of the investment Prague Port, building an apartment and offices in Warsaw).
With pak Pątnów Power Plant Chimneys
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East News
The Pątnów-Adamów-Konin Energy Team came into the hands of Zygmunt Solorz almost by accident. This is a company that Elektrim once bought during privatization. Currently, the billionaire through Elektrim and his other companies have over half of the shares with PAK. It is a group of three heat -fired heat farms located in the province. Greater Poland.
PAK is a key player on the energy market – is the fourth electricity manufacturer in Poland. The company has been listed at the WSE in Warsaw since 2012.
Vindix
In July 2019, Cyfrowy Polsat bought a majority for PLN 31 million Package of the Vindix debt collection company. It is to take care of the outstanding debts from Solorz's clients. The company deals with debt collection of overdue receivables from individual clients and small and medium -sized enterprises. From the beginning of its activity, Vindix has acquired dozens of debt portfolios worth hundreds of millions of zlotys.
Michał Handzlik is the founder and president of the board of Vindix, and after Cyfrowy Polsat the company's vice president Adam Kłapszta, the former head of the Pątnów-Adamów-Konin Elektrownia Power Plant.
Asseco
At the end of December 2019, Cyfrowy Polsat bought 21.68 percent for PLN 1.17 billion. Asseco shares, while 0.22 percent shares for PLN 12 million were temporarily taken over by Reddev belonging to Zygmunt Solorz.
The largest Polish IT company is to become the main technological partner of Cyfrowy Polsat after the Solorz's television company terminated with Huawei for the construction of an IT system.
Atomic plans
Zygmunt Solorz-Żak for years occupied the top places in the list of 100 richest Poles according to Forbes magazine. In 2024, however, he recorded his greatest decline in the history of the ranking. What went wrong?
“Green energy has become a new eye in the billionaire's head. It is a very ambitious and capital -intensive undertaking, because it joined even in the” Atomic Race “. And this phrase became the reason for the most spectacular decline on our list of the richest” – this is what “Forbes” wrote about it.
His fortune shrunk by 26.5 percent, which caused him to fall to the eighth position in the ranking of the 100 richest Poles. A year later, his property grew by nearly 9 percent. And he reached PLN 8.4 billion, which allowed him to return to fifth place.
Atomic plans are still in force. His PAK joined forces with PGE and this way PGE PAK nuclear energy stood. Its president says that he wants to start the construction of a power plant in Konin in 2030.
