For Wizz Air founder Jozsef Varadi, growing up in Soviet-controlled Hungary meant living with the consequences of his father's participation in the 1956 revolution. His father was imprisoned and subsequently excluded from steady employment for years, while his mother supported the family through factory work. Varadi credits that experience with teaching him adaptability and caution about taking stability for granted.
A scholarship helped him attend university, and he graduated from Corvinus University in 1989 with a degree in economics. After brief factory jobs, he spent a decade at Procter & Gamble, eventually becoming sales director for global customers across Europe. He joined Malev Hungarian Airlines in 2001 and soon became CEO, only to be forced out following a government change in 2003.
Within months, Varadi founded Wizz Air, anticipating that Hungary's forthcoming European Union membership and freedom of movement would stimulate demand for inexpensive flights. The airline now operates 265 aircraft to nearly 200 airports in 50 countries and has transported more than 550 million passengers. It also expanded into Spain this year.
Now 60, Varadi earned $4.4 million last year but maintains a regular working routine. He typically begins with a 30-minute treadmill run, lives approximately 15 minutes from his office, and usually lunches in the company cafeteria. He has four children and acknowledges that running an airline has involved missed family events and many nights away.
Varadi regards balance as a matter of personal priorities rather than a universal formula. Although he values time with family and the freedom to choose how he spends his days, he has no retirement date in mind. He says he would rather keep building than sit on a beach.
