Lőrinc Mészáros’s wealth grows in a year by as much as the annual budget of several Hungarian cities

Once again, Lőrinc Mészáros tops Forbes’ 2025 ranking of the richest Hungarians. His fortune increased by hundreds of billions of forints in just a single year—a pace almost impossible to grasp by everyday standards. 

Where does such wealth come from?

The growth of Mészáros’s fortune is mainly driven by his investments in energy, real estate, and industry. Several of his publicly listed companies remain steadily profitable, and in recent years he has increasingly shifted towards renewable energy. Much of this expansion has occurred alongside state contracts and a favourable market environment, which has led many to question the background of his success.

Mészáros’s empire rests on several pillars, some of which particularly boosted his wealth last year:

• Opus Global – the main driving force of the group, whose shares performed well, with the energy portfolio significantly increasing overall wealth.
• Energy sector – his energy companies proved especially profitable last year, and their expansion brought substantial gains.
• Construction – highway concessions and major projects undertaken by V-Híd Zrt. ensured stable revenues, making this sector another key pillar of his wealth.
• Banking – the expansion and strengthening of MBH Bank, also tied to his interests, contributed considerable value to the group.

The equivalent of 16 cities’ budgets in a single year

The HUF 507 billion increase is staggering at first glance, but even more striking when compared with everyday measures. Medium-sized Hungarian cities typically operate on annual budgets of just a few tens of billions of forints. For example, Békéscsaba’s 2025 budget is around HUF 30 billion, Szombathely’s nearly HUF 18 billion, and Eger’s finances are in a similar range. In other words, Mészáros’s one-year wealth increase could fund the entire annual operation of more than 16 such cities.

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Broken down weekly, this amounts to nearly HUF 10 billion; daily, more than HUF 1.3 billion. That is enough to build dozens of family homes every single day or to cover the monthly salaries of tens of thousands of Hungarian workers. While Forbes rankings are always based on estimates, such comparisons illustrate the staggering scale of his wealth growth.