Thomas Peterffy (born September 30, 1944) is a Hungarian-born American billionaire businessman. He is the founder, chairman, and the largest shareholder of Interactive Brokers. Peterffy worked as an architectural draftsman after emigrating to the United States, and later became a computer programmer. In 1977, he purchased a seat on the American Stock Exchange and played a role in developing the first electronic trading platform for securities. Forbes‘s 2023 list of The World’s Billionaires estimated his net worth at US$25.3 billion, making him the 57th richest man in the world
The majority of Peterffy’s fortune is derived from Interactive Brokers Group. It’s has more than $10 billion in equity capital, according to its website.
His stake in the business is calculated using his 91% stake in closely held IBG Holdings, which controls about three-quarters of publicly traded IBG, according to its 2022 proxy statement. As of Jan. 1, 2023, Peterffy also controls about 1.8% of the Class A shares, according to regulatory filings.
The billionaire collected about $1 billion from share sales in connection with Interactive Brokers’s initial public offering in 2007, according to a prospectus. Dividends are paid to IBG Holdings on the amount of Class B shares (100) not their equivalent value in membership interests (339 million), according to Deborah Liston of Interactive Brokers’ investor relations.
In December 2017, cumulative tax gross-up payments to Peterffy from Interactive Brokers were removed from his net worth analysis because an undisclosed portion of the funds probably went to pay a tax liability. The change resulted in a $2.7 billion drop in his net worth.
Katherine Ewert, a spokesperson for Interactive Brokers, declined to comment on the calculation.
Biography
Early life and career
Peterffy was born in Budapest, Hungary, on September 30, 1944, in a hospital basement during a Russian air raid. His father emigrated to the U.S. after the failure of the Hungarian Revolution in 1956. Peterffy left his engineering studies in Hungary and emigrated to the United States to join his father in New York in 1965. When his father, who was living with his second wife, did not have room to accommodate his son, he gave Thomas $100 and told him to “make something of himself”.
When he moved to New York City, he did not speak English. Peterffy began his career in the U.S. as an architectural draftsman working on highway projects for an engineering firm. At this firm, he volunteered to program a newly purchased computer. Of his background in programming, Peterffy said, “I think the way a CEO runs his company is a reflection of his background. Business is a collection of processes, and my job is to automate those processes so that they can be done with the greatest amount of efficiency”.
Peterffy left his career designing financial modeling software and bought a seat on the American Stock Exchange to trade equity options. During his career in finance, he has consistently pushed to replace manual processes with more efficient automated ones. He wrote code in his head during the trading day and then applied his ideas to computerized trading models after hours. Peterffy created a stir among traders by introducing handheld computers onto the trading floor in the early 1980s. His business related to his AMEX seat eventually developed into Interactive Brokers. He stepped down as CEO in 2019.
In 2021, Interactive Brokers moved its European headquarters in London and outsourced its operations to two new continental centers. Thereafter, their Western European clients were served by a subsidiary in Ireland, while their Central European operations were based in Budapest. According to Peterffy, he chose Budapest because he was convinced that the Hungarian language and the “unique Hungarian logic” would result in above-average profitability; he also wanted to pay off the debt he owed to his native Hungary. The Budapest-based subsidiary, Interactive Brokers Central Europe Zrt., was established in Hungary and became a member of the Budapest Stock Exchange (BSE) upon its incorporation.
Peterffy, alongside Mark Penn, Victor Ganzi, Josh Harris, and James Tisch, contributed to a $50 million investment fund in The Messenger, a news website that launched in May 2023
Regulatory influence and political views
In 1999, Peterffy was influential in persuading the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) that U.S. options markets could be linked electronically, which would ensure that investors receive the best possible options prices. He has also testified before the United States Senate Banking Subcommittee on Securities, Insurance, and Investment about adding banking regulations
During the 2012 United States presidential campaign, Peterffy created political ads supporting the Republican Party. Peterffy bought millions of dollars of air time on networks such as CNN, CNBC, and Bloomberg. The ads consisted of a minute-long spot narrated by Peterffy, warning against creeping socialism in the United States. The ads were out of the ordinary, because Peterffy was not a candidate and did not buy the ads through a 527 group, but instead paid for them directly.
In the spot, Peterffy said, “America’s wealth comes from the efforts of people striving for success. Take away their incentive with badmouthing success and you take away the wealth that helps us take care of the needy. Yes, in socialism the rich will be poorer, but the poor will also be poorer. People will lose interest in really working hard and creating jobs.”
Peterffy’s ad received mixed responses. Joshua Green, writing for Bloomberg Businessweek, said “The ad, while slightly ridiculous, is deeply sincere and also quite affecting.” Green also asked Peterffy whether the comparison between the United States and Hungary made in the ad was a fair one: “[Peterffy] couldn’t really think that the U.S. was turning into socialist Hungary, could he? The government isn’t suppressing speech and throwing political opponents in jail. No, he conceded, it wasn’t. But it sure feels like that’s the path we’re on.” Politico said that it could have been influential in Ohio due to its large Hungarian American population.
Voter registration records in Connecticut show that Peterffy has been registered as an independent voter. He donated over $60,000 to the Republican National Committee in 2011 and $100,000 to a pro-Donald Trump political group during the 2016 United States presidential election. Discussing the 2016 election in 2021, he said “I am actually not a Trump fan at all. I hope he won’t run again. Peterffy also then said that the Republican Party is “completely adrift”. Peterffy says he did not vote for Trump in the 2016 Republican Party presidential primaries, but supported Trump’s bid for the presidency after Trump became the Republican nominee due to Trump’s opposition to socialism and collectivism. Peterffy lives near Mar-a-Lago, Trump’s Florida estate, and is a member of the Mar-a-Lago Club.
Net Worth
Peterffy owns 75% of Interactive Brokers with his net worth being estimated at $25.3 billion as of 2023. He is the 57th richest man and the richest Hungarian in the world.
Personal life
He is divorced, with three children. He is an avid equestrian. He lives in Palm Beach, Florida. In 2020, he sold his 80-acre Connecticut estate for $21 million after originally listing it for $65M in 2015
Award
Hungarian Order of Merit (2017)
Milestones
- 1944 Thomas Peterffy is born in Budapest, Hungary.
- 1965 Seeing little hope under Soviet rule, emigrates to United States.
- 1967 Begins 10-year stint as a computer programmer.
- 1977 Buys a seat on the American Stock Exchange.
- 1982 Forms Timber Hill to trade equity options on the Amex.
- 2003 Company executes about 12 percent of world global options volume.
- 2007 Interactive Brokers sells shares in an initial public offering.
- 2011 Company becomes the world’s largest online broker.
