HELL Energy Magyarország (Hungary) Ltd has announced its intention to initiate a recall of the latest edition of Forbes and pursue legal action against the magazine’s publisher. The energy drink company previously sued Forbes Hungary in 2019 to prevent the publication of its owners’ personal information in the magazine’s annual special edition listing the 50 richest Hungarians. At that time, a temporary court order required the publisher to recall the January issue, and the names of the owners were removed from the magazine’s online platform.
HELL Energy noted in a statement that in 2019 the court prohibited the publisher of Forbes from handling any data related to the private individuals involved, including any form of press coverage. Despite this injunction, the explicit objections of the individuals involved, and the ongoing legal dispute, Forbes has once again published the personal data of HELL Energy’s private owners, accompanied by what the company describes as ‘sensationalist and ad hominem comments in a tabloid style’. The company also emphasized that the civil lawsuit related to the matter has been ongoing for years, with only a non-final first-instance ruling issued in February 2024. The initial step in this litigation was the 2019 interim measure, in which the court prohibited Forbes from handling any personal data of the individuals concerned.
HELL Energy contends that this interim order remains in effect until the case is definitively resolved.
Due to the violation of this interim order, the owners have taken further legal action against Forbes, with similar measures planned in response to the recent publication.
‘The owners seek to preserve the peace of their private and family lives, as well as their personal privacy. They are pursuing all available legal avenues before the relevant authorities and courts,’ the statement reads. The company further added that they consider the protection of their personal privacy and data a fundamental right of great value, which they will respect, provided that the boundaries are clearly defined by a final court ruling. The statement also underlined that the owners have no objection to press reports concerning their business ventures, ‘as long as the content is factual, based on substantiated information, and maintains the good reputation of the companies.’
HELL Energy confirmed that Forbes had informed them prior to the article’s publication about the editorial principles, valuation methodology, and data management procedures. In response, the owners repeatedly expressed their disagreement with the values derived from Forbes’ calculations, labelling them as unfounded. They also reiterated their belief that the 2019 interim order remains in effect and urged the magazine not to violate the law by publishing the piece.
Nevertheless, Forbes published the article in its latest edition, including several claims that HELL Energy deems inaccurate. In their statement, HELL Energy highlighted that since its founding, the company has made investments totalling 118.1 billion forints, of which only 10.04 per cent came from state support.
Related articles:
