Hungarians are increasingly outraged by the luxurious life of Viktor Orban and his entourage, which sharply contrasts with the serious problems in Hungary in a number of areas. The prime minister responds with hysterical propaganda. Will it help him?
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban holds a smartphone in his hand and points to a text message with a link. "This is how Ukrainian cyber fraudsters do it. You click on the link and the money disappears," he says in one of his latest anti-Ukrainian videos posted on Facebook and TikTok. In it, the Hungarian prime minister warns, without any evidence, about alleged Ukrainian criminals who would steal Hungarians' money if they click on a link sent in a text message.
Hundreds of mocking or angry comments can be found on both platforms under Orbán's video. "You even cheat without clicking", many people write to Orbán. One user offers "a few seasonal ideas" and recalls how Hungary is "attacked in the summer by ultraviolet radiation from Ukraine", and "in the winter a snowstorm from Ukraine makes travel difficult" (in Hungary). Other Facebook and TikTok users recall the high inflation and the poor state of the healthcare system in their country, often citing all three letters of the abbreviation MNB, along with a single number: 500 billion. Plus lots of angry emojis.
Giant bank robbery
500 billion Hungarian forints (about 1.25 billion euros) - that's how much money is at stake in one of the biggest corruption and fraud scandals in Hungary since Viktor Orbán came to power in 2010 with a two-thirds majority. The amount in question is missing from the assets of the Hungarian National Bank (MNB). In other words: this is a gigantic bank robbery with two main actors - the former president of the MNB György Matolcsi, who held the position until March 2025, and his son Adam Matolcsi. The latter has been leading an extravagant lifestyle and wallowing in luxury for years.
Since March 2025, new and new details have been emerging about the scandal, which seems to be becoming a turning point for Orbán's rule. In the eyes of many Hungarians, the affair shows the full extent of the corruption and lack of morality in the Orbán system: it is about public funds, the theft of which has not been investigated by any authority for years, about shameless cronyism and open conflicts of interest. But also about the undeserved luxury life of the children of Orbán's close associates, while at the same time many Hungarians wonder how they will survive economically. Public discontent against this luxurious lifestyle of the ruling elite is enormous.
"The Playboys of the Orbán System"
The missing billions initially went to foundations set up by the former chairman of the MNB, Matolcsi, after he took office in March 2013. They then disappeared into a network of interconnected companies owned or managed by his 39-year-old son, Adam, and a few of his friends. The money was used to make dubious property and stock deals. Much of it is said to have been lost due to falling stock prices.
Nevertheless, the wealth of those around Orbán is increasing. Ádám Mátolcsí, who graduated from a business school in Budapest, owns luxury cars, watches and apartments in Budapest and Dubai and travels the world on a private jet and a Hungarian diplomatic passport. The Hungarian public calls the sons of the Hungarian prime minister's party friends, confidants or oligarchs "playboys of the Orbán system".
The Court of Auditors is investigating
Former economy minister and central bank chief György Mátolcsí is one of the architects of Orbán's "unorthodox" economic policies. In recent years, he has fallen out of favor with the Budapest autocrat because he criticized some of his government's economic measures. And after he resigned in March this year his term as head of the MNB expired, the Hungarian Court of Auditors (ASZ) launched an investigation into the missing billions.
The ASZ is under Orbán's control and does not investigate his confidants. But when the Court of Auditors says that 500 billion forints have disappeared, it sounds like an official admission that people from Orbán's "Fidesz" party and oligarchs are brazenly and illegally enriching themselves.
These are not isolated cases
What is particularly outrageous is the fact that these people publicly demonstrate their luxurious lifestyle and even flaunt it. The outrage is also huge because this is not an exception. One example of brazen and shameless personal enrichment is the case of Orbán's school friend Lorínz Meszáros. The former fitter at a gas plant in the Hungarian Prime Minister's home village of Felchut is now a multi-billionaire and is the richest Hungarian in the meantime. He is sometimes called "Orbán's wallet" or "Orbán's straw man" and is known for frequently and happily traveling in luxury private jets.
There are also Orbán's party friends, such as Antal Rogán, the Hungarian Prime Minister's chief of staff, who caused a public scandal years ago after it became clear that he and his wife had used a helicopter to get to a wedding. Rogan is also called "Luxury Tony" - partly because he and his then, but also his current wife, often attract attention with their luxurious outfits, some of which many times exceed the average annual salary in Hungary.
And above all Viktor Orbán himself. On paper, he has no savings and is the co-owner only of a house in Budapest and a farm in his native village of Felchut. On the other hand, Orbán's family is fabulously wealthy: Orbán's father converted an old ducal estate not far from his native village into a huge private residence for the Orbán family; the prime minister's son-in-law, István Tiborcs, is a real estate developer and is also one of the richest people in Hungary. However, Viktor Orbán himself has repeatedly stated that he "has nothing to do with these business relationships".
How the image of the ruling party is being damaged
The outrage over all this is combined with anger at the poor state of public infrastructure. Last Saturday (June 7, 2025), for example, trains from Budapest to Lake Balaton temporarily stopped running due to a breakdown in a barrier. And this is just one of many such cases that speak of serious problems on the Hungarian railways. In this regard, many Hungarians also recalled other problematic sectors: for example, that many hospitals and schools are in a deplorable state.
The contrast between the realities of life of Orbán's elite and the broad strata of the population is already causing critical talk among the ruling party "Fidesz" - for the first time in many years. For example, Tibor Navracsics, an old ally of Orbán and currently Minister of Administration and Development, said in a video podcast by journalist Szabolcs Dul that the luxurious lifestyle of Orbán's elite is damaging the party's image.
He is not the only critical voice in "Fidesz". Orbán himself has responded by adding increasingly absurd lies to his anti-Ukrainian campaign in recent weeks. The latest of these is that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky had pressured the European Union (EU) to raise energy prices in Hungary. It is true that Brussels does not have the authority to do so. However, Orbán attributes to Zelensky words that the Ukrainian president never said. For example, in a video on Facebook, the Hungarian prime minister says: "He (Zelensky) talks about having to take money out of the pockets of Hungarians so that he can continue his war more successfully".