One of the richest Hungarians committed suicide

Photo: www.facebook.com/ClaessensGroup/

According to current information, the suicide of the 47-year-old agribusinessman – ranked as the 55th richest Hungarian in 2022 – may have been caused by both family and business difficulties.

Péter Claessens, Managing Director of the Claessens Group, ranked as the 55th richest Hungarian in 2022, committed suicide last weekend – reported by Mfor. The 47-year-old agribusinessman ended his life with his own hands at his home. The death has been confirmed by several people close to him. According to the Hungarian news portal, the decision may have been prompted by both family and business difficulties.

Born in Belgium, the businessman moved to Hungary in 1995 and later was followed by his two brothers Christophe and Johan. Since then, all three of them have acquired Hungarian citizenship. They started their family farm with the acquisition of the successor company to the South Somogy State Farm, which has grown to become one of the largest agricultural businesses in Somogy County, employing more than 300 people. Within the group, Agrár Ltd. is engaged in pig breeding and the operation of a herd-breeding farm, while Claessens Ltd. is engaged in cattle breeding. The headquarters of the group is located in Nagybaráti-Puszta, Somogyszob – reported by 168 óra.

Last year, the family-owned company’s turnover exceeded EUR 73,7 million (~HUF 30 billion), and its pre-tax profit was around EUR 12,3 million (~HUF 5 billion). They keep a breeding herd of 8,500 piglets in their state-of-the-art sheds. They breed 350,000 piglets a year out of which 200,000 are reared in their own fattening sheds and the necessary feed is produced on their own arable land. Their dairy farm has 2,000 cows and annual milk production of over 24 million litres. With a fortune of EUR 79,6 million (~ HUF 32,4 billion), the Claessens are ranked 55th on the 2022 list of the 100 richest Hungarians.

The 47-year-old Peter Claessens was awarded the Cross of the Order of Merit of Hungary at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade in June this year, in recognition of his decades of significant work in the field of agriculture, especially in the application of innovative technologies in Hungary.