How his dynasty grew while Orbán watched from afar

We have been following the growth of Prime Minister Viktor Orbán’s family for almost a decade and a half. On several occasions we have reported on the enrichment of Orbán’s father, wife, brothers, nephew, first-born daughter and son-in-law. We have also written often about the acquisition of land in Felcsút, the improvement of the estate in Hatvanpuszta, and the family’s companies and public money contracts. In the context of the popular documentary “The Dynasty” by Direkt36, we now give a brief summary of the whole story.

If the rise and rise of Prime Minister Viktor Orbán’s family is like one of those really scary amusement park rollercoasters, we have hung on – just barely, at times, and with scrapes and bruises and attacks from the government – for the whole ride. Over the last decade and half, we reported on the enrichment of Orbán’s wife and siblings and nephew, of his eldest daughter and his son-in-law. We covered land acquisitions in Felcsút, the beautification of the Hatvanpuszta estate, the family’s businesses, and their publicly funded contracts.

While not news for those following Hungarian politics day-to-day, the story reached worldwide fame last month following the release of “The Dynasty”. Direkt36 spent almost a year creating a documentary investigating the business activities of Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán’s family, focusing particularly closely on the wealth of his son-in-law, István Tiborcz.

Despite government attempts to discredit the project with accusations that the film was part of a Ukrainian secret service operation – who are obviously preoccupied with Hungarian domestic politics, the number one priority for Ukrainian security forces – Direkt36 defends its independent investigative efforts.

Politics serving private goals

Fidesz, in power briefly between 1998 and 2002, won the parliamentary election again in 2010 after eight years of festering in opposition. It won every subsequent election – with sweeping victories – and most recently, they won again in 2022. Over these long 15 years, the Orbán family wealth has boomed and bloomed, flowered and blossomed. Government support and public funds have helped expand the family’s land holdings and businesses, a topic we have reported on extensively.

“Today, the Hungarian people have overthrown the system of power-abusing oligarchs and established a new system in its place: the System of National Cooperation. The Hungarian people wanted to put an end to the era that had tormented millions, stripping them of their wealth and hopes, with such overwhelming force that they gathered every last bit of their strength and faith to achieve a world-renowned unity. (…) The days of politics serving private goals, private interests, and private power have come to an end today, and we will not allow them to return.”

These were the words of Viktor Orbán on April 25, 2010, in Vörösmarty Square, after winning the parliamentary election. Famous last words.

The System of National Cooperation has since gained the abbreviation NER – synonymous today with enriching Fidesz-affiliated relatives, friends, and oligarchs. The Orbán family’s wealth has also grown over the past 15 years thanks to this system, as shown in Direkt36’s documentary, which has already surpassed 2.5 million views.

The Father

The real estate company of Prime Minister Viktor Orbán’s father, Győző Bálint Orbán, the now-defunct CZG Ingatlanforgalmazó Kft., purchased the Hatvanpuszta estate near Alcsútdoboz in 2011. The 13-hectare property, once owned by Archduke Joseph, underwent massive renovations for several billion forints. As early as 2012, we reported that the historic estate could be transformed into Orbán Viktor’s personal retreat. Although officially owned by his father, the prime minister is reportedly known to rest and hold meetings at the estate, which is now equipped with a swimming pool, palm house, underground garage, and other perks.

The now 85-year-old Győző Orbán’s most well-known company is Dolomit Kft., in which he is the majority owner. The company, which operates the dolomite mine in Gánt, saw its revenue skyrocket after 2010—rising from 1 billion forints in net revenue to around 4 to 5 billion forints annually since 2018. This boom was no coincidence: Dolomit Kft., along with another of Orbán’s father’s well-known companies, Nehéz Kő Kft. (which he sold in 2021), provided construction materials for multiple state-funded projects. His companies supplied crushed dolomite for road and railway construction and concrete elements for sewerage projects—all benefiting from government contracts.

The Wife

Viktor Orbán married Anikó Lévai in 1986. During his first term as Prime Minister (1998–2002), a company partially owned by Lévai, Szárhegy dűlő-Sárazsadány-Tokajhegyalja Kft., sought state funding for development projects. At the time, Orbán famously remarked, “Let’s not win as much as we asked for; let’s not be the ones who get the most.” Lévai later sold her stake in the company but held onto her Tokaj vineyard for a while.

In 2001, she also purchased land in Felcsút, and later acquired property near the Hatvanpuszta estate, which is officially owned by her father-in-law. She co-owned two farmlands between Alcsút and Bicske with János Flier, who—along with his family—was awarded a 377-hectare land lease in 2012 through the National Land Fund Management’s tender process.

We have also reported on the renovation of a Transylvanian aristocratic friend’s castle using Hungarian public funds and the controversial real estate dealings of the Prime Minister and his wife in Budapest’s 5th district.

The Heir and the Son-in-Law

Viktor Orbán and his wife, Anikó Lévai, have five children: Ráhel, Gáspár, Sára, Róza, and Flóra. Eldest daughter Ráhel quickly attracted public attention, especially after September 2013, when she married István Ferenc Tiborcz. Their wedding made headlines after police spent 12.3 million forints of taxpayer money investigating the disappearance of two mobile phones.

However, interest in Tiborcz—who turned 39 this year—began even earlier, during his courtship of Ráhel. At the time, one of his brothers became the biggest winner of state land tenders in Bicske, near Felcsút. After marrying the Prime Minister’s daughter, Tiborcz’s wealth grew rapidly. His company, founded in 2009, went through multiple name changes before becoming Elios Zrt.. Its revenues skyrocketed after partnering with Közgép Zrt., then seen as Fidesz’s financial powerhouse.

This financial success helped fund, among other things, Ráhel Orbán’s 15-million-forint tuition fee for her studies in France.

After the EU began investigating Elios, István Tiborcz quickly left the company and shifted to real estate. In 2015, he acquired the Keszthely marina from the local municipality without a tender or competition. Soon after, he founded a real estate investment group, with BDPST Zrt. as its central entity.

In 2018, after traveling 700 kilometers, we documented Tiborcz’s growing real estate empire, including his villa in Svábhegy, his 50-million-forint luxury SUV, his one-hectare estate on Lake Balaton, and the vineyards in Sárazsadány he owns with his wife.

After their wedding, Ráhel Orbán famously declared:

“My husband and I have our own family, we stand on our own two feet, and we succeed on our own.”

Perhaps talent just runs deep in this family.

Even after the Elios exit, the flow of public money didn’t stop for Tiborcz. He did business with Turkish billionaire Adnan Polat and Jordanian billionaire Ghaith Pharaon, but his biggest profits came from government-backed hotel sales in Visegrád, state-funded renovations that destroyed historic sites, cheaply acquired public properties, heritage tax breaks, and other Fidesz-friendly government perks.

Meanwhile, his wife Ráhel Orbán, now 36, has also ventured into business and the tourism industry —though her baby store has yet to soar to these heights of success.

The Big Bro

Viktor Orbán’s younger brother, Győző Orbán Jr., named after their father, avoids the political spotlight. There are only a few photos of him in the MTI photo archive. Instead of public life, he is involved in family businesses. In 1996, he co-founded Gánt Kő Kft. with their father, though he quit the company in 2017. He remains CEO of Dolomit Kft., their most profitable family company, and was previously co-owner of Nehéz Kő Kft. alongside their father.

In 2021, through NAKK Zrt., he and a business partner bought out his father’s shares in Nehéz Kő Kft., after which the company’s revenues plummeted.

According to his publicly available CV, Győző Jr.’s hobbies include scuba diving and flying. The latter was confirmed when, in 2016, we documented his small autogyro aircraft, which was owned by Gánt Kő és Tőzeg Kft., a company he co-owned with his father. He even performed in air shows with it.

Now 60 years old, Győző Jr. was a competitive wrestler in high school. Though he quit after graduation, he resumed the sport in his 30s and has long served as the president of the Budapesti Honvéd Sports Club’s wrestling division.

The Lil’ Bro

Viktor Orbán’s other brother, Áron Orbán, now 48 years old, has also appeared in reports concerning state funds.

In 2022, he became CEO of Multi Shoot Zrt., a company dealing with firearms, tactical gear, and workwear. By 2024, he had become its sole owner. The company planned to train state law enforcement officers, police, and soldiers at a shooting range under construction in Szécsénke, Nógrád County. The range’s website listed government-linked companies as partners, including ZÁÉV (owned by Lőrinc Mészáros), Duna-Aszfalt (owned by László Szíjj), Mátrai Erőmű (state-owned), and the Central Transdanubian Water Directorate.

Áron Orbán’s name also surfaced in connection with Octopus Invest Kft., a company that won several public construction tenders but failed to complete projects or delivered substandard work. The company’s subcontractors sued after its dissolution, claiming they had been encouraged to work on projects based on Áron Orbán’s name but were never paid.

A leaked recording from last year also revealed that Áron lobbied the Prime Minister’s Office for visa-related matters— unsuccessfully.

The Nephew

Viktor Orbán’s nephew, Orbán Dávid, the son of Győző Orbán Jr., is also involved in the family’s mining business. In early 2022, he became the managing director of the Orbán family’s largest mining company, Dolomit Kőbányászati Kft. in Gánt. By January 2023, he became an owner and managing director of another major family company, Gánt Kő Kft., and a co-owner of the Dolomit Inert Kft., the Gánt Kő subsidiary.

However, Dávid Orbán also owns his own mining company: Murobán Kft., which he founded in 2017 with two other men. In 2022, the Győr-based company opened a branch in Vámosszabadi, where it started operating a gravel mine, and shortly after, its sales surged. This growth was partly due to Magyar Közút, the state-owned road company, introducing weight restrictions, which put its rivals at a disadvantage.

The Main Man

While several of his family members have amassed significant wealth since Fidesz’s 2010 rise to power, Viktor Orbán himself is officially poor by comparison. Though he has served as prime minister for 15 years and now has the highest salary among EU heads of government, earning 6.5 million forints (gross) per month, his latest asset declaration lists only:

• Half of an apartment in Budapest’s 12th district
• A house in Felcsút (next to the publicly funded stadium)
• 5.7 million forints in savings

And yet, despite maintaining a puritanical image with photos of him drinking pálinka, slaughtering pigs, and wearing rubber boots, Orbán is not opposed to luxury.

In 2018, he flew to a soccer match on a private jet used by NER oligarchs. He has also regularly used OTP Bank’s private jet and has taken several personal trips on Hungary’s military aircraft, which were officially purchased for defense purposes.

Friends are family we choose

There’s the impressive roster of friends – a squad with depth and quality. Team captain: Lőrinc Mészáros, who started his career as a gas fitter. He became the mayor of Felcsút and, thanks to public contracts, later became the richest person in Hungary. His accumulation of wealth surpasses even the Orbán family’s story.

In response to journalistic questions about this, Viktor Orbán stated in 2019 (and has repeatedly said since) that he does not engage in business matters.