Sándor Csányi (born 20 March 1953) is a Hungarian
billionaire businessman and banker. He is the chairman and chief executive officer (CEO) of
OTP Bank Group, one of the largest financial groups in the
CEE Region and the
largest bank in Hungary. He is a shareholder and board member of the Hungarian-based multinational oil and gas company,
MOL Group. He owns Bonafarm, the holding company of a Hungarian agricultural and food manufacture group. With an estimated wealth of 393,4 billion forint ($1,33 billion) as of 2022, he is according to ''
Forbes
''Forbes'' () is an American business magazine founded by B. C. Forbes in 1917. It has been owned by the Hong Kong–based investment group Integrated Whale Media Investments since 2014. Its chairman and editor-in-chief is Steve Forbes. The co ...
'', the
wealthiest person in Hungary, and the country's first billionaire.
Early life
Sándor Csányi was born on the 20 March 1953 in a lower middle-class agricultural family in
Jászárokszállás. His father, József Csányi was the field guard of the
cooperative of Jászárokszállás. His mother, Amália Ballagó was a line driver also in the town's cooperative. He has two brothers. His parents were
beekeepers and produced
sugar beet
A sugar beet is a plant whose root contains a high concentration of sucrose and that is grown commercially for sugar production. In plant breeding, it is known as the Altissima cultivar group of the common beet (''Beta vulgaris''). Together with ...
s. He is of
Jassic descent.
When he was 14 years old, he moved from rural Hungary to
Budapest
Budapest is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns of Hungary, most populous city of Hungary. It is the List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, tenth-largest city in the European Union by popul ...
.
Education
He graduated from
Budapest Business School in 1974 with a bachelor's degree in business administration and in 1980 from the
Budapest University of Economics with a degree in economics and thereafter received his doctorate in 1983.
Career
After graduation he worked at the Revenue Directorate and then at the Secretariat of the Ministry of Finance. Between 1983 and 1986, he was a departmental head at the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Industry. From 1986 to 1989 he worked as a head of department at Magyar Hitel Bank. He was deputy CEO of
Kereskedelmi és Hitelbank from 1989 to 1992. In 1992 he became chairman & CEO of OTP Bank Group and fired a number of managers (which was unheard of in a formerly
socialistic country). He is responsible for the Bank's strategy and overall operation.
After the privatization of
OTP Bank in 1995, he started focusing on questions of broader strategic development.
Through a series of acquisitions and steady organic growth, OTP Group has become one of the major financial institutions in Central Eastern Europe with a footprint in 11 countries; through its 1 656 branches and online channels OTP Group offers universal banking services to over 18.5 million customers.
He is Vice Chairman of the Board of Directors of MOL Group and Co-Chairman of Chinese-Hungarian Business Council.
He has been chairman of the
Hungarian Football Federation (MLSZ) since July 2010.
In 2015, he was elected to the UEFA Executive Committee, and in March 2017 he was elected as a member of the
FIFA Council, before being named vice president of
FIFA
The Fédération Internationale de Football Association (), more commonly known by its acronym FIFA ( ), is the international self-regulatory governing body of association football, beach soccer, and futsal. It was founded on 21 May 1904 to o ...
in February 2019. Csányi was also appointed as a UEFA vice-president in February 2019. He is the Chairman of the UEFA National Team Competition Committee and member of the UEFA Finance
Committee. He is a member of UEFA Professional Football Strategy Council.
He is the owner of
PICK Szeged Handball Club. He is the Honorary Vice President of the International Judo Federation.
He maintained personal friendships with leading politicians, such as then
Minister of Finance, later
Prime Minister
A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...
Péter Medgyessy and Prime Minister
Viktor Orbán
Viktor Mihály Orbán (; born 31 May 1963) is a Hungarian lawyer and politician who has been the 56th prime minister of Hungary since 2010, previously holding the office from 1998 to 2002. He has also led the Fidesz political party since 200 ...
.
His net worth is estimated at over US$1.33 billion.
Together with other rich people of the country, he was implicated with the leaked documents
Panama Papers in 2016. He justified his connection with the argument that it had been necessary due to international cooperation.
Personal life
He is married to Erika Csányi, they live in Budapest, and have five children.
References
External links
{{DEFAULTSORT:Csanyi, Sandor
1953 births
Living people
Hungarian economists
Hungarian chief executives
Members of the UEFA Executive Committee
Hungarian billionaires
Hungarian businesspeople
Hungarian bankers
Corvinus University of Budapest alumni
People from Jász-Nagykun-Szolnok County