10 richest Slovaks, Forbes publishes ranking for 2022

Ivan Chrenko, the owner of the HB Reavis development group, remains the richest Slovak, based on the Richest Slovaks 2023 ranking of Forbes Slovakia magazine. He is again followed by the Haščák family and the duo of father and son Jozef and Patrik Tkáč.

The 38-position ranking features only three women.

The assets of all rich Slovaks in the ranking total almost €15 billion.

The assets of the richest Slovak shrank compared to the previous year, from €1.83 billion to €1.7 billion.

“The reason for the lower valuation of Chrenko’s assets compared to last year is the revaluation of his company’s assets as a result of the difficult situation on the European real estate market,” Tatiana Vavrová, editor of the magazine, explained for the TASR newswire. “The company fell back into losses last year after two years.”

His HB Reavis changed its strategy recently. It split into two parts with one focused on development and the other on the management of finished properties.

The assets of the Haščák family, which controls a significant stake in the financial group Penta Investments, amount to €1.46 billion, up from last year’s €1.34 billion. It is represented by the wife of founder Jaroslav Haščák, Valéria, who is a trustee and one of the beneficiaries of the Czech trust fund T69, where Haščák, former managing partner of Penta, has transferred part of his stake. Other beneficiaries of the fund are their two sons.

Last year, Penta’s results were most strongly influenced by the performance of the network Dr. Max pharmacies, the sale of the Polish retail chain Empik and the extraordinary profit at the Slovalco aluminium plant in Žiar nad Hronom. Last year, according to Forbes magazine, Penta did well overall, which reflected in the higher valuation of the Haščák family assets.

Businesses operating from abroad

The family and business duo of Jozef and son Patrik Tkáč strengthened their third position with the J&T Finance Group, in which Jozef Tkáč holds the biggest share and Patrik is part of the management, having an excellent year. Their assets increased from €840 million to €920 million.

The top ten is rounded out by the founders of the cybersecurity company Eset - Miroslav Trnka, Peter Paško and Rudolf Hrubý, the co-owner of Moravia Steel and the owner of the healthcare company Agel Tomáš Chrenek and Ivan Jakabovič, another co-owner of J&T Finance Group.

“All of them, with the exception of the founders of Eset, operate from abroad. Either in the form of their main company or trust fund, which are registered there, or residences, which is the case of Ivan Chrenko. Most have opted for nearby Prague,” said Vavrová.

A newcomer to this year’s list is Jozef Jankulák. The sale of his Prešov-based manufacturer of high-precision gearboxes, Spinea, to the American company Timken for €140 million, completed in May 2022, placed him at a combined 25th-27th place.

Women and athletes in the ranking

Another new name in the ranking is Natália Haughey, who as a representative of the family, replaced her father Martin Blaškovič. The latter has handed over her a majority in BC Fin, which controls the Brno-based Zetor group, for example.

The third woman in the ranking is Mária Blašková, holding the 15th position with €400 million assets. She is the heir to a quarter share in the steel empire that her deceased husband, together with Tomáš Chrenek, Evžen Balek and Ján Moder, built around the steelmaker Třinecké Železárny in the Czech Republic. She also owns a quarter stake in Minerfin, a company that trades in iron ore and scrap.

The ranking also features former hockey players Marián Hossa, Zdeno Chára and Marián Gáborík as well as football player Marek Hamšík.

The ranking was compiled on the same principles as all the global magazine’s rankings. The value of net worth is based on the price at which the companies can be sold if the shareholders so decide.