Mészáros Lőrinc

Lőrinc Mészáros rose from a small-town gas fitter in Felcsút to Hungary's wealthiest individual in the years following Fidesz's return to power in 2010, almost entirely through public procurement. His companies won hundreds of billions of forints worth of state-funded contracts annually, with up to 93 percent of early revenues traceable to European Union funds. The business empire expanded well beyond construction, encompassing media acquisitions that transformed formerly independent outlets into government-aligned propaganda organs. Anti-corruption investigators and EU auditors have documented the pattern as part of a broader kleptocratic system estimated to have siphoned up to €5.5 billion from European taxpayers into the Orbán inner circle.