Prime Minister Viktor Orbán has presented Hungarian Thomas Péterffy with the Grand Cross of the Hungarian Order of Merit.
The prime minister bestowed the honor upon Péterffy, President and CEO of Interactive Brokers Group, in a ceremony in the Hungarian Parliament on Friday.
“Thomas Péterffy chose the free world instead of the socialist-communist system that led nowhere and was consuming its own future, and the highest level of free life, from which he had to climb the steep ladder to his first successes through persistent effort. It is thanks to his innovations that the stock exchange began using computerised trading," the prime minister said.
“While Thomas Péterffy became one of the richest men in the world, he never lost his love of and feeling of responsibility for Hungary, as well as never losing his caution with respect to socialism," PM Orbán added.
Péterffy said it was a special occasion to be able to receive the award in Budapest’s Parliament Building in view of the fact that his great-great-grandfather Tamás Péchy became an MP in 1868 and was later Speaker of the House for twelve years.