As the summer of 2023 approached, György Matolcsy, president of the central bank (MNB), tried to reassure Hungarian citizens worried about inflation that the rise of the prices would soon come to an end. At a press conference on May 23, he reported encouraging developments and said, “fighting inflation remains our number one goal”.

His son, Ádám Matolcsy, meanwhile, apparently had no need to worry about Hungarian inflation. In the second half of June – just a few weeks after his father’s press conference – he signed a one-year lease on a HUF 3.5 billion (EUR 9.4 million), 5-bedroom, 2-storey luxury villa built on a branch of Dubai’s palm-shaped island in the United Arab Emirates.

According to an official document obtained by Direkt36, the rent for the property was HUF 56 million (EUR 150.000) per year. According to Bayut.com, a well-known real estate site in the United Arab Emirates, villas on that part of the island have at least 8 bathrooms, a swimming pool and a private beach area.

This villa-renting is further proof of the extraordinary luxury in which Ádám Matolcsy lives. Earlier, several newspapers, including Direkt36, reported on the expensive cars and properties used by the central bank president’s son and his circle.

This is not the first time the MNB governor’s son has been linked to Dubai real estate. In May, Direkt36 revealed in an international investigative project that a company called Future Holding, linked to Ádám Matolcsy’s circle, had bought several valuable properties in Dubai. This company also appears in relation to this new villa. According to a document in our possession, Matolcsy rented the villa from Future Holding. The property was also owned by the company at the time of the lease.

It is not clear whether Matolcsy is currently renting the property, nor who exactly owns it now. Ádám Matolcsy did not respond to our questions but said that he moved out of Hungary in 2021, “and my life is mainly supported by my foreign interests and assignments, which have nothing to do with either the Hungarian or foreign state”.

As we have previously described in detail in several articles, Ádám Matolcsy owes much of his business success to the Hungarian National Bank, which is ran by his father, the NHB bank, which also has family ties, and other state institutions. Thanks to family support, Matolcsy and a business circle linked to him have been able to acquire significant wealth in just a few years.

We also contacted György Matolcsy, but the MNB’s communications department only replied that the “central bank president does not deal with the business affairs of his adult son”.

The center of the Matolcsy circle

Palm Jumeirah is visible from space.  The artificially created palm tree-shaped island is an iconic symbol of Dubai, known over the world. But the owners of the luxurious properties built on the palm tree’s branches are not welcoming of uninvited guests to the area. As a source familiar with the city, who asked not to be named, told Direkt36, the entrances to the palm branches are monitored by cameras and barred from unauthorized visitors by barriers and uniformed guards.

“If you don’t live here, you must have an appointment to get in,”

– the source explained, adding that the resident must provide proof to security that you have arrived to see him or her.

In this closed world, protected from prying eyes, Ádám Matolcsy, the son of the governor of the Hungarian National Bank, rented a luxurious villa in the summer of 2023. According to an official document in Direkt36’s possession, the central bank president’s son rented the property for a year, until June 2024. Another document we obtained details other costs associated with the villa, such as cleaning, garbage collection and IT services. According to the document, these cost a total of HUF 1.5 million (EUR 4000) in 2023.

We identified the villa in a photo uploaded to Google Maps

The documents also provide information about the rented property itself, such as the fact that it has 5 bedrooms and a total floor area of 1,242 square meters.  The two-story residence chosen by Matolcsy is one of the island’s “Signature Villa” properties. These types of villas have at least 5 bedrooms and 8 bathrooms. They come with a swimming pool and 4 car parking spaces, as well as separate rooms for driver and maid.  In addition, residents of the Palm Jumeirah have access to a private beach area.

Familiar landlord

According to the document proving the tenancy, Ádám Matolcsy could take possession of the luxurious property from June 21, 2023. The villa had been acquired by Future Holding just five days earlier for a price of 38.5 million dirhams, more than HUF 3.5 billion (EUR 9.4 million), according to Bayut.com transaction data.

As Direkt36 previously reported in an investigative project based on a database obtained by the Center for Advanced Defense Studies (C4ADS) and led by the OCCRP investigative network and the Norwegian newspaper E24, Future Holding Limited had multiple links to Ádám Matolcsy and his circle.

Contact details of people closely linked to the son of the central bank’s president were listed as contacts for the company. One of the email addresses listed at the company, for example, was linked to the former wife of Matolcsy, and to a company previously owned by Ádám Matolcsy.

The other email address linked to Future Holding belongs to Eszter R., an old acquaintance of Ádám Matolcsy, who has close personal and business ties to the son of the MNB President. R. was a bridesmaid at his wedding, but they also has a business relationship with him as she used to work for one of Ádám Matolcsy’s companies.

Eszter R. first made the news as a member of the Matolcsy circle when 444 linked her name to a US-registered company, MN A18 LLC. The article revealed that the company had bought a luxurious 350 sqm, 3-bedroom apartment on the 18th floor of the Crown Building in one of Manhattan’s most expensive neighborhoods.

Real estate empire in progress

Future Holding has acquired several other properties in Dubai in addition to the two-story villa.

In the autumn of 2018, it bought a luxury apartment on the ninth floor of the One at Palm Jumeirah building for around HUF 1.1 billion (EUR 2.8 million), according to the exchange rates at that time. The luxurious residence was featured in detail in our previous article. As we revealed then, the 286 square meter, 3-bedroom luxury apartment overlooks the sea and not only has floor-to-ceiling windows and a walk-in closet, but also a total of 50 square meters of balcony space.

Direkt36, through a public Pinterest account with the name of Ádám Matolcsy, found several photos that were most likely taken in this luxury mansion, showing a man who looks like Matolcsy.

A man who looks like Adam Matolcsy in the Dubai apartment – Source: Pinterest

We also found three additional properties purchased by Future Holding in Dubai. However, for two of the three transactions, there is no contact information next to the company name. Thus, these purchases cannot be clearly linked to the Matolcsy circle.

Money from the bank

As we have written in details in previous articles, state sources have played a major role in the business success of Ádám Matolcsy.

In 2015, Matolcsy acquired the long-established Balaton Bútor furniture factory in Veszprém through a loan from NHB, a company linked to Tamás Szemerey, György Matolcsy’s cousin. The original source of the purchase price was the Hungarian National Bank and its Growth Loan Program. Later, in the spring of 2021, Népszava reported that Balaton Bútor delivered cargo to the Posta Palota, owned by the central bank. Ádám Matolcsy did not deny the delivery to the site and told Direkt36 that his company fulfilled 5 percent of the furniture order for the subcontractor of the project, wining the business in due to their competitive market price.

In 2018, Balaton Bútor also won a contract worth more than HUF 220 million in the tender of the Testnevelési Egyetem, and in 2020 it was selected as one of the companies that could provide furniture for state institutions for a total of HUF 20 billion over 3 years from December 2020. Balaton Bútor has also received at least HUF 600 million in non-reimbursable EU funding since 2015. Before Matolcsy’s arrival, the company’s annual revenues were around HUF 700-800 million. Between 2018 and 2020, this figure was around HUF 1.7 billion, and in 2021 and 2022 it rose significantly to around HUF 3.5 billion. This is mainly due to contracts with businesses and institutions tied to the government.

In December 2018, Ádám Matolcsy was also a member of a small group of entrepreneurs who withdrew their money from the financially troubled NHB just in time. Just a few weeks later, the financial institution was placed under central bank restrictions, and a winding-up order was issued for March 2019.

With this help, Ádám Matolcsy and his business circle have amassed considerable wealth. Their luxurious lifestyle makes them stand out even among the other luxury-loving, government-linked players. They are regularly in the news for their sports cars, expensive watches and increasingly expensive real estate.