Sándor Demján (14 May 1943 – 26 March 2018) was a Hungarian businessman, entrepreneur, and according to

Forbes ''Forbes'' () is an American business magazine owned by Integrated Whale Media Investments and the Forbes family. Published eight times a year, it features articles on finance, industry, investing, and marketing topics. ''Forbes'' also r ...

the second richest person in Hungary with a net worth of 192.0 billion HUF (615 million

EUR The euro (symbol: €; code: EUR) is the official currency of 19 out of the member states of the European Union (EU). This group of states is known as the eurozone or, officially, the euro area, and includes about 340 million citizens . ...

). He was the chairman of

TriGránit TriGranit is one of the largest privately owned real estate platforms in Central Europe, focusing primarily on retail and office buildings in urban locations. TriGranit manages investment, acquisition, development, and construction. In its two d ...

.Meghalt Demján Sándor

Early life

Demján was born in

Börvely Berveni ( hu, Börvely, Hungarian pronunciation: ) is a commune of 3,331 inhabitants situated in Satu Mare County, Romania. It is composed of two villages, Berveni and Lucăceni (''Újkálmánd''). Demographics Ethnic groups (2002 census): *Hu ...

in the

Kingdom of Hungary The Kingdom of Hungary was a monarchy in Central Europe that existed for nearly a millennium, from the Middle Ages into the 20th century. The Principality of Hungary emerged as a Christian kingdom upon the coronation of the first king Stephe ...

(present-day

Berveni Berveni ( hu, Börvely, Hungarian pronunciation: ) is a commune of 3,331 inhabitants situated in Satu Mare County, Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central, Eastern, and Southeastern Europe. ...

Satu Mare County Satu Mare County ( ro, Județul Satu Mare, ) is a county (județ) of Romania, on the border with Hungary and Ukraine. The capital city is Satu Mare. Name In Hungarian, it is known as ''Szatmár megye'', in German as ''Kreis Sathmar'', in Ukrain ...

Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central, Eastern, and Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Moldova to the east, a ...

). His father of

Székely Székely may refer to: *Székelys, Hungarian people from the historical region of Transylvania, Romania **Székely Land, historic and ethnographic area in Transylvania, Romania * Székely (village), a village in northeastern Hungary * Székely (su ...

origin, had moved there in 1940, but was killed during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

. His mother, a

Danube Swabian The Danube Swabians (german: Donauschwaben ) is a collective term for the ethnic German-speaking population who lived in various countries of central-eastern Europe, especially in the Danube River valley, first in the 12th century, and in grea ...

from

Etyek Etyek (german: Edeck) is a village in Fejér County, Hungary, approximately 30 km from Budapest. The area is surrounded by vineyards and is known for its wine Wine is an alcoholic drink typically made from fermented grapes. Yeast cons ...

, moved to Börvely after being displaced in the war. On scholarship, he graduated in business administration in 1965 from the College of Commerce, Catering and Tourism.

Business career

Demján became president of the Gorsium ÁFÉSZ from 1968 to 1973, and from 1973 to 1986, was a co-CEO of their joint venture. From 1986 to 1990, he was the president and one of the founders of the Hungarian Credit Bank. Since 1990, he has been part of the Central European Development Corporation, and in 1991, he was CEO of the Central European Investment Company. In 1996, he inaugurated the opening of the Bank Center, the Granite Pole, and the Pólus Center. In 1996, he became the chairman of

. In 1999, he also inaugurated the

WestEnd City Center The Westend Shopping Center is a shopping centre built by Hungarian TriGránit Ltd. located next to the Western Railway Station, in Budapest, Hungary. Opened on 12 November 1999, it is known for having been the largest mall in Central Europe u ...

, followed in 2000 by the Polus City Center in

Bratislava Bratislava (, also ; ; german: Preßburg/Pressburg ; hu, Pozsony) is the capital and largest city of Slovakia. Officially, the population of the city is about 475,000; however, it is estimated to be more than 660,000 — approximately 140% o ...

opening, and, in 2005, the Silesia City Center in

Katowice Katowice ( , , ; szl, Katowicy; german: Kattowitz, yi, קאַטעוויץ, Kattevitz) is the capital city of the Silesian Voivodeship in southern Poland and the central city of the Upper Silesian metropolitan area. It is the 11th most populo ...

. His wealth has been estimated to HUF 300 billion in assets in 2008; At the time, he was Hungary's richest man. His assets in 2006 has been estimated at HUF 80 billion; In just over two years, his capital almost quadrupled. In 2003, he founded the Prima Primissima Award, dedicated to the protection of Hungarian intellectual achievements, the development of domestic science, and the strengthening of arts and culture. In 2012, he offered a significant part of his assets up for charity. In 2014, Demján announced that, due to age, he would gradually recede in business life, and management of his subordinate companies will be passed on. The 2014 Influence barometer calculated him the sixth most influential person of Hungary.

Death

Demján died on 26 March 2018 at the age of 74.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Demjan, Sandor 1943 births 2018 deaths People from Satu Mare County Székely people Danube-Swabian people Hungarian businesspeople Hungarian company founders Hungarian billionaires