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Thomas PeterffyAmerican businessman of Hungarian origin
Date of Birth: 01.01.1944
Country: ![]() |
Content:
- Early Life and Education
- Career in Engineering and Programming
- Entry into Stock Trading
- Founding of Interactive Brokers
- Wealth and Philanthropy
- Political Involvement
Early Life and Education
Thomas Peterffy was born in Budapest, Hungary, in 1944, in a hospital basement during a Soviet air raid. In 1965, he immigrated to the United States as a refugee, fleeing socialist Hungary and interrupting his engineering studies. Arriving in New York City, Peterffy did not speak English.
Career in Engineering and Programming
Peterffy's career in the United States began as a draftsman at an engineering firm working on highway architectural projects. It was during this time that he volunteered to program a newly acquired computer, which ultimately shaped his future.
Entry into Stock Trading
Peterffy abandoned a career in software development for financial modeling and purchased a seat on the American Stock Exchange to trade securities. Throughout his career, he consistently advocated for the replacement of manual processes with more efficient automated ones. Peterffy could mentally write code while on the trading floor during the day and later implement his ideas into computer trading models. He created a sensation among traders in the early 1980s when he introduced handheld calculators to the exchange floor.
Founding of Interactive Brokers
Peterffy's exchange floor business eventually evolved into the brokerage firm Interactive Brokers. Interactive Brokers Group, Inc. (IB) is an online brokerage firm, or electronic trading platform. The company's history dates back to 1977 when Peterffy established a seat on the American Stock Exchange. IB consists of numerous subsidiaries operating in major global markets for stocks, futures, bonds, options, and currencies. The company has an interest in the OneChicago electronic stock exchange, in partnership with the Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE) and CME Group. OneChicago is a privately owned organization regulated by both the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, and currently operates only within the United States equity market. OneChicago's corporate headquarters are located in the Chicago Board of Trade Building.
Wealth and Philanthropy
Peterffy is a successful businessman and philanthropist who is an advocate for low-cost trading. In September 2012, his net worth was estimated at US $4.6 billion. Peterffy is ranked as the 77th wealthiest American and the 3rd wealthiest Connecticut resident. He lives in Greenwich, Connecticut. Peterffy has three children, is divorced, and enjoys horseback riding.
Political Involvement
During the 2012 presidential campaign, Peterffy produced political advertisements supporting the Republican Party. He spent millions of dollars on airtime on CNN and CNBC, warning in one-minute spots of the threat of creeping socialism in the United States. The advertisements drew attention because Peterffy is not a candidate and paid for the airtime himself, without the help of tax-exempt organizations. He did not explicitly urge voters to elect Mitt Romney or oppose Barack Obama, but the implication was clear. The ads received a mixed reaction, with press coverage noting that while the advertising was somewhat amateurish and naive, it was also sincere and may have had an impact.