Jozsef Varadi grew up in Hungary under Soviet control. His father went to prison for his part in the country's 1956 fight against that control. After prison, his father could not find steady work for years. His mother worked in a factory to help the family.
Varadi finished his university studies in 1989 and later spent ten years at Procter & Gamble. He then joined Malev Hungarian Airlines and became its leader. A change in government cost him that job in 2003. A few months later, he started Wizz Air because he expected more people to want cheap flights when Hungary joined the European Union.
Today, Wizz Air has 265 planes and flies to nearly 200 airports in 50 countries. More than 550 million passengers have traveled with the airline. Varadi is 60 years old. He earned $4.4 million last year.
Varadi usually starts his day with a 30-minute run on an exercise machine. He lives 15 minutes from work and often eats lunch at the company. He has four children and makes time for his family, although work sometimes keeps him away. He has no plans to stop working because he still enjoys building the business.
