Thomas Peterffy

Thomas Peterffy is a Hungarian-born American billionaire businessman. He is the founder, chairman, and the largest shareholder of Interactive Brokers. Peterffy worked as an architectural draftsman after emigrating to the United States, and later became a computer programmer. 

• A digital trading pioneer, Thomas Peterffy is CEO of Interactive Brokers, which markets its specialized trading platform to sophisticated investors.
• He founded Interactive Brokers in 1993 after originally starting in market-making.
• In March 2017, he announced part of his market-making operation would phase out. It had been under attack by faster competitors.
• Peterffy arrived in America in 1965 at age 21, the penniless descendant of Hungarian aristocrats who lost nearly everything to the Soviets.
• Peterffy is a major landowner with more than 500,000 acres of timberland, primarily located in Florida, the state where he lives.