William Penn Life, 2012 (47. évfolyam, 1-12. szám)
2012-12-01 / 12. szám
Tibor s Take Take? THE LONG SUCCESSION of television, radio and print ads during the recent election was simply astounding. The vast amount of funds spent on getting the message across was estimated to be in the billions of dollars. I was dumbfounded by the incredible amount of negative and repetitive ads from both sides of the aisle. But, around the middle of October, a different sort of political ad was broadcast during several primetime television programs. The first time I saw this ad was during the game show Jeopardy. I turned down the volume to avoid listening to the same old politicos. I really did not pay attention to it until the name "Peterffy" appeared on screen. I quickly turned up the volume and heard about a dozen words spoken in broken English. As the product of an American-Hungarian home and community, I quickly identifed the speaker's inflection and certain stresses of vowel and consonant blends as those of someone raised in the land of the Magyars. I hit the replay button on my remote and viewed the ad again. Sure enough, the message was delivered by a man named Thomas Peterffy. This message was paid for by Peterffy from his own funds. It included old pictures of him as a boy, the Hungarian Revolution of 1956 and Magyars struggling in daily life. What made the story more impressive was that the picturess were in black and white. Without being partial, I saw the Peterffy endorsement as rather refreshing from the point of originality. Being that the ad ran at the same time on the calendar as the Revolution—albeit 56 years later—was quite ingenious as well. In retrospect, this one minute video may be the single best way of reminding the American public about Hungary's battle against the tyranny of Communism in 1956. Thomas Peterffy was born in the basement of a hospital during a bombing raid conducted by the Russians on Budapest during the final stages of World War II. He studied to be an engineer, but when he emigrated to America in 1965, his interests were diverted to other venues. (His family actually attempted to come to America on three different occasions.) Although he spoke little English, he quickly obtained a job as a draftsman for projects in the building of the American interstate highway systems. There he became involved with the use of computers in business. As a self taught programmer, he learned how to use computer technology in banking and money systems. His interest in computers was temporarily sidelined as he rerouted his career in the direction of finance. At that time, he acquired a seat on the American Stock Exchange as an equity broker. That is where Peterffy realized his niche in American business. He saw the need to replace the antiquated and cumbersome system of trading stocks by word of mouth and handwritten documentation with instant messaging through computers and portable messaging devices. The initial reaction to this new method of trading was less than receptive. Eventually, the logic, convenience and practicality of selling and trading of stocks, bonds and futures by computer technologies won out. Peterffy and his idea of selling stocks instantly through the use of computers is now the norm worldwide. Peterffy is now a very rich man. He has amassed a fortune estimated at more than $5 billion. He is listed among the top 200 richest persons in the world. Peterffy spent nearly $10 million dollars to televise those ads. In early November, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette and Toledo Blade collaborated on a feature article about Peterffy and his political message. This well-written story not only told about the commercial but also offered readers some viewpoints and opinions concerning the content and purpose of the ad. As with many billionaires and celebrity types, Thomas Peterffy is quite private. He is the divorced father of three. He owns a large estate/farm in Greenwich, Conn. He is an avid equestrian. He diverts most of his charitable contributions to "Teach for America." - Tibor Let's hear your take Let me know how you enjoy my thoughts and views on growing up Hungarian Style. If you have any questions or comments about me or my column, please email me at: silverkingl937@yahoo.com, or drop me a letter in care of the William Penn Association, 709 Brighton Road, Pittsburgh, PA 15233. Tibor Check Jr. is a member of Branch 28 Youngstown, Ohio, and a student at the Cleveland-Marshall College of Law. He serves as a host of the “Souvenirs of Hungary” weekly radio show broadcast on WKTL-90.7 FM in Struthers, Ohio. William Penn Life 0 December 2012 0 7
