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, the wealthiest person in Hungary,[1] and the country's first billionaire.[2]
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 beets. He is of Jassic descent.[3]
When he was 14 years old, he moved from rural Hungary to Budapest.[4]
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.[6] After the privatization of OTP Bank in 1995, he started focusing on questions of broader strategic development.[4] 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 [7] and Co-Chairman of Chinese-Hungarian Business Council.[8]
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 in February 2019.[10] Csányi was also appointed as a UEFA vice-president in February 2019.[11] 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.[12]
He is the owner of PICK Szeged Handball Club.[13] He is the Honorary Vice President of the International Judo Federation.[14]
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.[15][16]
Personal life
He is married to Erika Csányi,[citation needed] they live in Budapest, and have five children.[17]
