One of Hungary's richest men is rejecting accusations that political connections helped him amass his fortune, as the country's Prime Minister Viktor Orban faces public discontent over corruption among close associates and falling living standards.
Orban's son-in-law, Istvan Tiborc, is part of the Hungarian elite that is increasingly targeted by the opposition and independent critics because of his wealth, having built a sprawling network of companies in real estate, tourism, logistics and banking.
"As a businessman, I am not interested in politics," Tiborc told the Financial Times in his first interview with an international media outlet.
“Politics is not of interest to me... it is (my role as) the prime minister’s son-in-law that attracts me,” he said, speaking at the rooftop restaurant of his five-star hotel on the banks of the Danube in Budapest, opposite his father-in-law’s offices in Buda Castle.
Tiborc, who married Orban’s daughter Rahel in 2013, has nearly doubled his fortune over the past year to almost 500 million euros, according to the Hungarian Rich List. Tiborc declined to disclose the total value of his assets, which other estimates put at significantly higher, but he did not deny that he was significantly wealthy, saying the list’s editor had “taken the trouble” to make an estimate.
Due to his wealth and influence, Istvan Tiborc is often compared to Jared Kushner, Donald Trump's son-in-law, whose corporate empire grew after serving as a senior advisor in the White House, even though Tiborc has never held political office.
“This is not a mistake, but a characteristic of both systems,” said Peter Kreko, director of the Budapest-based consultancy Political Capital. “Orban is increasingly using his family in political and business operations in the same way that Trump does.”
Orban's son-in-law faced accusations of political favoritism after a 2017 European Union investigation revealed that his street lighting company, Elios, which made him his first millions, had created a market for itself with the help of the government, using dozens of overpriced tenders tailored to the company.
The Hungarian government, which wanted to use around 40 million euros from EU funds for lighting modernization, decided to finance these projects from the national budget instead.
Tiborc said the EU investigation was politically motivated, while the Hungarian prosecutor's office, headed by an Orban loyalist, and two local investigations concluded that there had been no violation of the law.
Tiborc sold his stake in Elios in 2015 and then founded the conglomerate BDPST. Local news outlet Valas reported that BDPST had received almost a billion euros in loans and subsidies from sources linked to Orban over the past decade, a claim Tiborc denies. He claims that the use of loans is a natural part of expanding his business and that none of his companies have won “significant public procurement contracts” in the past decade.
Tiborc said that after his experience with the company "Elios", he changed his strategy to avoid doing business with the public sector. "By becoming the son-in-law of the prime minister, I had to learn that I can't get into just any business," he said.
Avoiding business with the state would distinguish him from other big players in Orban's economy, at a time when discontent with the wealth of the elite is growing.
Consumption in Hungary last year fell to the lowest level among EU countries, while two-thirds of Hungarians, according to a survey by the Publicus agency in May, express indignation over members of the so-called elite flaunting their wealth.
Orban has stated that he "does not deal with business matters," but he faces increasing public scrutiny because individuals in his inner circle have amassed enormous wealth during his rule.
The State Audit Office filed criminal charges against the Central Bank in March over the tenure of former governor György Matolcsi, whom Orban once called his “right-hand man.” The audit found that Matolcsi’s close associates profited from the vast business network surrounding him. Matolcsi called the accusations “completely unfounded.”
Orbán’s childhood friend and Hungary’s richest man, Lorinc Mesáros, recently drew criticism for traveling by helicopter and private jet to the UEFA Champions League final, where he stayed in the same hotel as the Paris Saint-Germain team. When approached by a reporter at the hotel, Mesáros said: “Well, we’re not going to walk here now, are we?”
Tibor's luxury hotels have become a target of opposition leader Peter Magar, whose TISA party has a double-digit lead in the polls.
“When I’m driving through Budapest and one of my kids asks me who owns that hotel, I tell him,” the Hungarian said in an interview last year. “He asks about the next hotel again, I say. Don’t ask about the third one, they’re all owned by the same man. And those are just hotels, not to mention the business premises in the Balkans, the fund managers, the banks… I don’t think that’s right.”
Discontent over the elite's wealth further complicates the situation for Orban, who is going through one of the most difficult periods in his 15 years as prime minister, as the economy stagnates.
His son-in-law plans to live between the US and Hungary starting in the fall, when his family intends to move to America so his wife can study, he said, adding that the decision has nothing to do with the upcoming elections.
He wants BDPST to become one of the leading investment groups in Europe and emphasizes his companies' resilience to political changes in Hungary, citing investments in Poland, Romania and Serbia as examples, as well as efforts to expand operations in the United States.
“I am a man who has wealth, but that is not what drives me,” he said. “I just want my businesses to succeed.” .
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