Viktor Orban once openly described his economic vision: Hungary's economy should be divided among "eight to ten major capitalists" personally tied to the prime minister's inner circle. A new policy analysis from the Cato Institute argues that this vision has been fully realized - and documents how it was done.
The study, reviewed by "Hvylya", traces what senior fellow Johan Norberg calls "society capture" - a system where government procurement, subsidies, and selective tax enforcement replace market actors with politically loyal ones.
The scale of the capture is documented in procurement data. Between 2009 and 2015, authorities awarded 62 percent of public contracts without any official announcement - ensuring only insiders could bid. By 2021, Fidesz-connected companies won contracts at six times the rate of unconnected firms. A 2022 review found that just 12 businessmen close to Orban captured 21 percent of the value of EU-funded contracts awarded through closed, noncompetitive procedures.
The career of Lorinc Meszaros illustrates the system at work. A childhood friend of Orban and former mayor of the prime minister's hometown, Meszaros placed 88th on Hungary's wealth list in 2013. His fortune then increased more than 100-fold as he won public tenders en masse, making him the country's richest man. Meszaros himself credited his success to "God's will, good luck, and the person of Viktor Orban." Meanwhile, Lajos Simicska - a former Orban ally who publicly broke with the prime minister - saw his media empire stripped of state advertising, his construction contracts canceled, and his agricultural subsidies revoked within months of their falling out.
In December 2022, the EU froze $6.3 billion in cohesion funds to Hungary - the first country subjected to such a measure - citing "serious systemic irregularities" in public procurement and an absence of independent corruption investigation. Hungary has received more EU funds per capita than any other major postcommunist member state, yet it has been consistently outperformed economically by regional peers. Poland, which was poorer than Hungary in 2010, is now 11 percent richer.
Transparency International's Corruption Perceptions Index tells the final chapter: Hungary's score has fallen from 55 to 40 between 2012 and 2025, making it the most corrupt EU country, roughly tied with China and Cuba. Andras Lanczi, president of a Fidesz-aligned think tank, once offered a revealing defense: "If something is done in the national interest, then it is not corruption."
Earlier, "Hvylya" reported how the Kremlin forced Russian oligarchs to bankroll the war effort as state coffers ran thin.