Laszlo Carriedas is a wealthy entrepreneur and millionaire with about ten million dollars in his personal bank account (a large sum of money in the 1960s). He was involved in many fields of business including aircraft construction, clothing, oil, cinema, the press and the drink brand Sani-Cola. He is only seen in Flight 714 and Tintin and Alph-Art. He is assisted by his employee Spalding.
The name "Carreidas" is a pun on "carré d'as" which is the French for the poker term "four aces", hence his company's logo (seen on the fine of the Carreidas 160) includes the four suits of a pack of playing cards (clubs, diamonds, hearts and spades).
Carreidas' logo on the fine of the Carreidas 160 aircraft
Hergé based Carreidas on Marcel Dassault, who possessed a similar combination of wealth, aeronautical engineering genius, and quaint notions of fashion (Dassault's wardrobe remained frozen in the mid-1930s).
Personality
As a millionaire with no family, he is alone and moody and was known as "the millionaire who never laughs." Yet, upon meeting Tintin and Captain Haddock, he laughs three times within a very short period, and this astounds him. Generally, he does not like to talk much, but this aspect of his personality also undergoes considerable change in the story. When kidnapped by Rastapopolous, who uses truth serum in an effort to force Carreidas to reveal his Swiss bank account number, Carreidas unexpectedly becomes quite garralous--about everything except the coveted bank account number. Laszlo's cold, shabby and miserable appearance led Captain Haddock initially to conclude that the millionaire was a beggar in the Kemayoran airport. Carreidas loves money, but appears to have sympathy with no one.
Carreidas' Hat
Carriedas is extemely irritable without his favourite hat, a prewar "Brosse and Clackwell," which he is seen to wear everywhere. He becomes fixated about his hat whenever he loses it, to the point where it interferes with escaping from Rastapopolous and then from an erupting volcano.
It is revealed later that Carreidas begun his career as an amoral and selfish young person.
Carreidas using closed-circuit television to cheat in the game of Battleships.
He is especially fond of the game "Battleships" but he cheats his opponents by means of a concealed closed-circuit television camera mounted above the passenger seats in his personal jet.
History
Carreidas as seen in the book series.
Carreidas was born around 1899. His grandfather was a preparator of rahat lukum in Erzurum and although a positive influence, it did not stop Laszlo from grow dishonest. In 12 September of 1903 he stole a pear from a grocery store. Six months later he stole his mother's ring, accusing their maid, Odille. Later he stole 2176 of an unkown currency from his elder sister's handbag.
In Flight 714 he was in Kemayoran airport flying to the astronautics conference in Sydney. There he met Tintin, Haddock and Cuthbert Calculus, the last of whom he grew especially fond of, as he made him laugh for several times that day. He insisted on inviting them to travel with him to Sydney on his personal jet, the Carreidas 160.
However his jet, and Carreidas himself, were targets of Roberto Rastapopoulos, who knew his pseudonym and the fake signature he used for his Swiss bank account. The aircraft was hijacked and landed on Pulau-Pulau Bomba. He was interrogated by Doctor Krollspell to reveal his account number. Howeve, he was rescued by Tintin, and the team escaped with the help of Mik Kanrokitoff, yet he seems to be more focused his lost hat. He is seen wearing a new hat when he, along with Tintin and his companions, board Flight 714 to Sydney.