Czech Capital Goes Global
The Czech Republic's outward stock of foreign direct investment hit the equivalent of roughly $74 billion in 2024, more than quadrupling from its 2014 level, according to the most recent United Nations statistics. That gain was the largest in the European Union behind Luxembourg and Romania, which started from a smaller base.
The surge is being driven by a cohort of billionaires who have simply run out of room at home.
'For us, the Czech Republic is simply too small in terms of the sectors we operate in,' said David Becvar, chief operating officer at MTX Group, the industrial conglomerate owned by billionaire Petr Otava. 'There just aren't enough companies we could pursue through acquisitions in the fields we are interested in.'
Names and Deals
The most prominent dealmaker in the group is industrial tycoon Daniel Kretinsky, who built a conglomerate spanning one of Europe's largest privately owned energy companies, retail chains, and media outlets. In 2024, he completed a £3.6 billion takeover of International Distribution Services, parent of the UK's Royal Mail. He has since become one of the largest shareholders in French energy giant TotalEnergies and is engaged in a takeover battle for English football club West Ham United.
Currently the richest Czech, Michal Strnad made his fortune in the arms industry. He listed his defense company CSG in Amsterdam in what was described as the largest IPO for a pure defense firm. Among CSG's acquisitions is The Kinetic Group in the United States, a deal valued at $2 billion in 2024. Last week, Strnad purchased a stake in Italian tire giant Pirelli & C. SpA, a transaction described as a key moment for the company. He has also established a personal investment vehicle holding interests in Prague's Four Seasons hotel, a fertility clinic, and Czech dealerships for Ferrari and Maserati.
MTX Group, meanwhile, has committed a €100 million allocation for a stake in the Mimosa renewable energy project in Spain. 'Our investments are aimed at geographic stabilization beyond the Czech Republic and, in the future, probably beyond Europe,' Becvar said.
What the Central Bank Sees
The capital deployment is beginning to register in macroeconomic data. The Czech economy was historically shaped by inbound investment from global automakers and manufacturers seeking cheaper labor — companies that then repatriated profits, largely offsetting the country's trade surplus with dividend outflows to foreign owners.
That dynamic is shifting. 'The dividend inflow from the profits of foreign-operating companies owned by Czech capital is beginning to rise gradually,' said Eva Zamrazilova, Vice Governor of the Czech central bank. 'That is positive for the future of the external balance.'
The trend mirrors, on a smaller scale, a similar pattern in neighboring Poland.
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The Czech story is a clean illustration of what happens when per-capita GDP rises — the country's has moved closer to the levels of France and Italy over the past decade — and entrepreneurs are left free to allocate capital across borders without bureaucratic permission slips. Private wealth, compounding over two decades, is now flowing back into the national current account as dividend income. No state industrial policy engineered this. Owners seeking better returns did. The lesson for any economy that wants its billionaires to stay productive rather than flee: clear property rights, rule of law, and a market that rewards risk. The Czech Republic is cashing that check.
