We need to grow outside of Hungary, says the founder-owner of the Mészáros Group, who would typically expand in the industries in which he is also strong in Hungary: agriculture, raw material supply, the hotel industry, and territorially primarily in Europe, but also in North Africa, Libya, and it also has interests in the Middle East, in Oman.

The company group's development within the country's borders is already limited, so a strategic goal is to expand abroad, primarily in those industries in which we are also strong here, led by the construction industry, said Lőrinc Mészáros, founder-owner of the Mészáros Group, in an exclusive interview with Index. According to his claim, he is not competing with Sándor Csányi - who is his friend - as to which of them is the richest man in the country, but there are areas where they do compete, such as the banking sector.

The big entrepreneur from Felscút also talked about how intense his relationship is with Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, and what he says about the fact that, according to János Lázár, the country needs more Lőrinc Mészáros and László Szijj.

In the exclusive interview, Lőrinc Mészáros said: his relationship with the prime minister is a friendship based on trust, but they go their separate ways, since "the prime minister has been a politician since 1989, and I have been an entrepreneur since 1992".

"I made a slight detour in this, because from 2011 I was the mayor of Felcsút for almost two terms, although I did not give up my economic activity even when I served my settlement. My economic development did not happen in two days, but I got to this point with the work of the last 32 years. I have gone through every step of the entrepreneurial world, as I have been a small, medium and large entrepreneur. There were better and less good times, but day by day I subordinated everything to always being able to get at least one step ahead on my path," said Lőrinc Mészáros.

"During communism, we didn't know what it was like to run a business, to participate in the market economy.

Then, with the entrepreneurial freedom following the regime change, he knew what to do, nothing else, and he remained employed throughout his life. When we started our first company in 1992, it was a learning process. I jokingly tell my friends that we didn't know that we were general contractors at the time, because this word was not yet known, even though we gathered subcontractors around us in the created limited liability company," said the entrepreneur, who started in the construction industry, about the beginnings. to operate, built gas networks.

"In the beginning, we were able to complete the work with 20-30 employees, but as the tasks came, hundreds of people were needed," he recalled, adding: around 2007-2008, the pressure eased, and by that time we were able to get billions in orders again, and in a headwind, residential parks complete infrastructural development was achieved.

"I am also proud of this because it can be said that right-wing entrepreneurs, including me, were persecuted during the socialist era. In principle, the random checks found us practically all the time, they tried to disable us, but they didn't succeed. After the 2010 elections, the plans of the Orbán government were clear, and they worked. It was a definite goal that not only foreign-owned multinational companies could develop in Hungary, but also that Hungarian entrepreneurs could reach their full potential. This was also a huge risk, since if the actors of economic life become too strong, they can become dangerous for the reigning government, but this was undertaken in order to create healthy domestic and international relations in the competitive sphere", pointed out Mészáros.

In relation to the criticisms he received, the entrepreneur pointed out: "there is talk, cynicism, joking, even in a workplace, I can't stand it even with the fact that I play on a slightly bigger playground".

"In fact, some of the memes you stumble across on the Internet are downright funny. I also have a good laugh at some of them, but my energies are much more tied up in work, development, planning, and strategy creation," he added.

Lőrinc Mészáros also said that he last spoke to Viktor Orbán a few weeks ago.

"We both work a lot, but our relationship is still relatively intense. We could talk for days about sports, football, our »common child«, the Puskás Academy. Of course, family and children are also topics, politics is also discussed, we try to have lunch together when we have time. It's not easy to get it together, because I have a lot to do, and he has even more," he said.

"That's why it's worth working hard, because that's the only way you can get ahead. Efficiency is a more important issue than the number of working hours, because someone works a lot if their work is not efficient. I think I work efficiently and I have always developed my businesses efficiently. I spent all my income on my businesses, and not on luxury at the beginning, as I was aware that I could only move forward if I invested every forint generated back into my businesses," Mészáros revealed his business secret.

Wealth in the hundreds of billions is also a big responsibility towards society.

The entrepreneur thinks about this as follows: "Our mission in the life of the Mészáros Group, but also for us personally, is to help others. We donate several billion forints annually, in which the Pro Filii Foundation, which belongs to the company group, plays a prominent role. We feel a responsibility towards the most vulnerable sections of society, including children in need and their families. We help in several ways, including summer vacations for large families, food packages, but in addition to individuals, we also support several civil and non-profit organizations," stated Mészáros, who also highlighted:

the High-Tech School Program is also an important element in its charitable activities, digital classrooms have already been installed in 35 schools and teachers have been supported.

"In addition, since I am a local patriot, my heart is the prosperity of the people living in and around Felcsút, in the Vál valley. We help you get your first apartment with HUF 1-5 million, and educational scholarships are also available. University and college students can receive HUF 100,000 per month, high school students a maximum of HUF 50, depending on their academic results, but the program is also available in the upper grades of elementary school, where the ceiling is HUF 25,000-30,000 per month. I try to help the families, because the future belongs to the children, but the responsibility is ours," concluded Lőrinc Mészáros.

Lőrinc Mészáros also covered the following topics in the extensive interview:

  • how he handles the attacks on his wealth since the change of government in 2010;
  • what do you think about the real role of the national capitalist class in the Hungarian economy;
  • how do you prioritize your tasks when you already have more than 350 businesses and 40,000 employees under your control;
  • in which direction they would develop and expand in the following years in the construction industry, agriculture, food industry and tourism;
  • when does MBH Bank Nyrt enter the stock market or buy a bank abroad;
  • where the share price of Opus Global Nyrt. can realistically reach;
  • what do you think about private equity as a form of investment;
  • and what was the most difficult task in football since the Puskás Academy was founded.

You can read the entire interview on Index.hu.

Cover photo: Lőrinc Mészáros.
Source: Index/Mihály Kondella