Rejtett felhajtóerők: a sikeres nagyvállalkozók családi hátteréről
Hidden Drives: On the Family Background of the Successful Grand Entrepreneurs

Summary/Abstract: Within a decade after the collapse of socialism, big private business has developed to a recognisable phenomenon in Hungary, both in its economic weight and social significance. The essay argues that, beside a number of important political, economic, and psychological factors, the social historical antecedents have played decisive parts in shaping the impressively successful career of those involved. In a search for this latter set of components, the paper identifies four typical paths of family history that have served as longterm drives for entering the exceptionally risky – though also exceptionally rewarding – sphere of large-scale private business amid the fluid socio-economic conditions of postsocialism. The first type is represented by the true self-made men, whose success lays in exceptional personal qualities, but who cannot count with the backing of knowledge, wealth and support in their immediate circles. Members of the second group are continuing – though twisting in its content – the upward move of their parents: based on continuous learning and the appreciation of knowledge, they see their major task in accomplishing the mission started once by their parents, and, despite all the sharp historical turns, in stabilising the social position of the family in the upper echelons of Hungarian society. The third and fourth paths originate in pre-war times: those coming from earlier burgeoise backgrounds, in a way ‘rehabilitate’ their ancestors amid the current conditions. However, the respective family-histories under socialism have created significant differences in this regard. Those representing the third path come from families that were able to preserve their middle-class position and lifestyle, while the fourth group suffered serious crises and a lasting (though apparently not fatal) downward turn on the social scale.

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