# Lőrinc Mészáros A former gas pipe-fitter from Felcsút — [[Viktor Orbán]]'s home village and childhood circle — who became the richest person in Hungary, with a fortune estimated above €5 billion at its peak. His ascent is the canonical illustration of the [[Orbán Kleptocracy]]: a business empire of 100-plus companies in construction, agriculture, media, tourism, and energy, built almost entirely on state and EU-funded public tenders awarded under [[Fidesz]] governance. His flagship construction firm, Mészáros és Mészáros, ran on contracts that were overwhelmingly EU-financed — in 2018 his empire won tenders worth roughly €826 million, 93% of it from European Union funds. Investigative outlets (Átlátszó, Direkt36) have documented the pattern by which his firms repeatedly won government tenders, in some cases with bids more expensive than competitors'. Mészáros himself once attributed his wealth to "God, luck, and Viktor Orbán." ## Related - [[Viktor Orbán]] - [[Fidesz]] - [[Orbán Kleptocracy]]