While not a single hope, plan or promise Márton Nagy made as economic minister concerning economic growth appears to have materialised, the minister seems to have been more than willing to spend public money – both at the time and in retrospect, inexplicably – on luxury accommodation and private jets. All the while, Hungary was enduring one of the most severe bouts of inflation in its history.
Ministry releases inexplicable figures
Documents released in response to a freedom-of-information request by the Ministry for National Economy and its legal successor show that tens of millions of forints in public money were spent on the minister’s travel and accommodation between 2023 and 2026. The figures suggest that these were not merely expensive trips: in several cases, both the choice of hotel and the mode of transport are difficult to justify.
The documents reveal that Márton Nagy travelled on official business to 51 cities in 32 countries between 2023 and 2026, spending a total of 115 nights abroad. Accommodation cost 51.9 million forints in total, amounting to an average of 451,000 forints per night, according to 24.hu.
That figure is striking enough in its own right. According to figures from Hungary’s Central Statistical Office, the country’s net median salary was 438,000 forints in July 2026. In other words, an average night abroad for Márton Nagy cost more than a Hungarian employee took home in an entire month, hvg.hu reports.
The most extravagant spending
The detailed expenses include even more eye-catching items. In September 2025, two nights at The Stafford in London cost 1.8 million forints, while three nights at Copenhagen’s Hotel Sanders came to 3.8 million forints – approximately 1.2 million forints per night. Two nights at the Botanic Hotel in Antwerp were charged at 980,000 forints.
The choice of hotel does not appear particularly restrained, either. According to the figures, the delegation regularly stayed at hotels belonging to international luxury chains such as Four Seasons, Mandarin Oriental, Ritz-Carlton and Waldorf Astoria. In Antwerp, Márton Nagy stayed several times at the same luxury hotel, despite having an official programme in Brussels. He did the same in Zagreb, where he stayed in accommodation on the Adriatic coast, and in the Far East.
Public money for private jets
The use of private aircraft substantially inflated the cost of the trips. A journey from Paris to Davos in January 2024 cost 39.7 million forints, of which the private jet alone accounted for 30 million. According to HVG, private aircraft were also used for destinations that could easily have been reached by commercial flights.
The 2024 trip to South Korea is particularly noteworthy. Márton Nagy and his seven-member delegation also visited Jeju Island, one of South Korea’s most popular resorts, often described as the Hawaii of Korea. The official purpose of the visit was listed as “strategic partner consultations”, yet the documents provided do not make clear how many days the minister spent on the island or what his specific programme there involved. The delegation’s accommodation, however, cost slightly more than 1 million forints for five days.
How Márton Nagy grew wealthy under the Orbán government
An investigative series by Válasz Online, published in three parts (HERE, HERE and HERE), suggests that Márton Nagy has accumulated considerable wealth in recent years through economic interests linked to his family and its business network. According to the publication, his brother, Szilárd Nagy, has played a particularly important role, as has the circle of lawyers he operates, which over the years has received a lot of public money through commissions from numerous state-owned and state-backed companies.
Válasz Online’s analysis found that contracts awarded by at least 80 state-linked entities were connected to this network. In the case of 34 companies, it identified specific contracts worth at least 8.2 billion forints. According to Márton Nagy’s own asset declaration, he has owned a 89-square-metre flat in Budapest’s District II since 2014. He bought it while serving as a central-bank executive, with the National Bank of Hungary providing financial assistance towards the purchase.
Luxury property and asset managers
The family’s property holdings are considerably more substantial, however. His wife owns a stake in a 168-square-metre luxury flat in District II, estimated to be worth roughly half a billion forints, the larger share of which belongs to Szilárd Nagy. She also has an interest in a property in Vászoly worth approximately 150 million forints. A bank mortgage of 447 million forints was registered against the luxury property in Buda, but according to Válasz Online, it was repaid within just four or five months.
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Another important figure in the family’s business network is Péter Fenyvesi, who was previously involved in managing Szilárd Nagy’s property assets and later became head of Trustify Investment Fund Management. The private-equity funds managed by Trustify received substantial amounts of state capital, Válasz Online reports. Trustify Impact I, for example, was allocated 35 billion forints through a state capital programme, while a bank loan backed by a state guarantee was also used to finance the fund’s contribution.
The funds have acquired interests in a range of ventures, including property developments around Lake Balaton, an office building in Buda, energy and technology companies, and solar and wind farms. Their investments include a property project in Zánka that was previously state-owned.
Taken together, the three Válasz Online investigations point to a network linking state positions, family business connections, legal commissions, property holdings and private-equity funds operating with substantial public money. Through this network, Márton Nagy appears to be connected – directly or through his family – to assets and business interests of considerable value.
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