Last days of the year brought good news to people from the immediate vicinity of the Prime Minister of Hungary Viktor Orbán. In the January issue of Forbes magazine, a list of the 50 richest Hungarians was published, indicating that his good friend Lőrinc Mészáros was the first billionaire in Hungary. With an estimated 1241.8 billion forints of assets (1.65 percent of Hungarian GDP in 2023) it became the richest Hungarian capitalist after the government changed, in addition, in 1 year it doubled its assets.
This bravado feat – i.e. doubling the property – was besides performed by another player on the list: Viktor Orbán's son-in-law, István Tiborcz. In 1 year he managed to grow his property from 75.3 billion forints to 151.5 billion and according to the list he is the 15th richest man in Hungary.
It is worth noting that these bravado business results of both entrepreneurs occurred in the year erstwhile Hungarian GDP fell by 0.9%. According to Forbes, this increase is not an economical miracle, but, above all, a consequence of state investments, loans and complex transfer agreements. Mészáros's and Tiborcz's favourite origin of income are public funds flowing through various channels. They can be obtained directly, through state support or even through procurement from a state company.
In 2010, before Viktor Orbán came to power, Lőrincz Mészáros, as a tiny businessman, dealt with gas installations, and István Tiborcz without a higher education (he had not completed the law until 2018) only started his business. Now it is even hard to mention what belongs to their assets: banks, insurance companies, luxury hotels, logistics, construction and improvement companies, factories and establishments. They besides started entering abroad markets.
The vast majority of state-owned enterprises in Hungary have a clearly defined political task: providing all possible means of public backing to a circumstantial ellipse of entrepreneurs maintaining good relations with the Prime Minister. But a state company can besides be utilized as a political weapon, as evidenced by the case of 1 MÁV worker (Hungarian State Railways).
A while ago, a agrarian activist outside the Hungarian opposition organization Kétfarkú Kutya Párt (Psa organization on 2 Tails) drew a chalk on the way an arrow with the inscription “János Lázár Castle”. Lázár is the government's Minister of Development, who is besides under MÁV. The minister is simply a co-owner of a company that owns a hunting lodge. late for 3 billion forints, a secondary access road to the castle was renovated, but the ribbon cutting ceremony failed.
Following the action related to the tabloid policy "Promenad24" in an anonymous article, he gave the name of the activist, his exact address, the registration number of the car and the information that he works at MÁV, at what position, with what wage and erstwhile he was on leave. "As an MÁV employee, he devotes his energy to actions against the Minister of Transport, although in the company that gives him bread, he would have plenty to do," wrote the newspaper.
Since 2010, Hungary has created a strategy in which it is perfectly natural that critics of government filmmakers do not receive state subsidies for fresh films; that public media with a programme budget of 140 billion forints are not invited by artists who have in any way opposed the government's narrative; and that tenders for state advertising spending are always won by the same company, which then advertises exclusively in pro-government media.
The owner of the advertising company, Gyula Balásy, besides occupies a unchangeable place on the list of the richest Hungarians in Forbes magazine, most late was in its 37th position with assets estimated at 78.8 billion forints.
The direction of the government's activities is clearly reflected in state enterprises: among the state-supported company Szerencsejáték ZRT (Hazardowe Sp. z o.o.) the artists are only pro-governments of the creators; the MÁV tenders are regularly won by Lőrinca Mészárosa; a 35-year concession to manage a crucial part of the national highways and high-speed roads network received from the Hungarian government a consortium of private companies behind which Lőrinc Mészáros and László Szíj. Szíjj is besides 1 of the largest beneficiaries of the Fidesz National Cooperation System; its companies build many facilities that arise from public money: bridge on the Danube, football stadium, etc. On the list of the richest Hungarians, “Forbes” now ranks 6th with assets estimated at 333.3 billion forints.
Sometimes state-owned companies themselves become subject to unusual business movements, creating an almost impossible link between public and private property.
A private company, 4IG, purchased most of Antenna Hungária's state-owned shares without any cash transactions, and the exclusive supplier of digital terrestrial tv and analogue radio in Hungary was in private hands. Subsequently, the private company took over the largest Hungarian cable tv and online services supplier and 1 of the largest Hungarian mobile service providers.
Where did the money come from? First, the National Bank of Hungary bought over 200 billion forint bonds issued by 4IG, of which the acquisition of the property was financed, then the Hungarian State transferred the money straight to the company (in the case of Vodafone half of the full amount) and the debt for the remaining part was besides granted by state banks.
Moreover, the acquisition, which was classified as strategical to the State, could not even be subject to the control of the competition authority. The owner of Gellért Jáshai is besides present on the Forbes list and occupies 19th place with assets estimated at 133,8 billion forints.
Similarly, the mysterious Hungarian state redeemed Budapest airport for EUR 3.1 billion in the summertime of 2024. And there is not even a warrant that it will stay the property of the state due to the fact that any absurdity can happen in the Orbán system. The best example of this is the Mátra power plant: at the end of 2017, the second largest power plant in the country in 73% was bought by the shareholders of Lőrinc Mészáros at an highly low price – only 5.9 billion forints, while its value was actually estimated at 8 billion forints at the time of the sale. A year later, the company's directorate applied for a dividend of 11.2 billion forint on the retained profits, which on 28 February 2019 at the general gathering was voted by the owners. The Hungarian State yet bought the company from Mészáros in 2020 for 17.44 billion forints.
Finally, 1 conviction on the Forbes list: of the 50 richest Hungarians, at least 25 names are closely linked to the government in Budapest since 2010.
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Csaba Lukács is simply a publicist and editor-in-chief of the paper “Magyar Hang”.
From Hungarian translated Marianna Boros | Voxeurop
