George Soros, a liberal philanthropist and billionaire investor, has given his son Alexander management of his controversial pro-democracy foundation.
The 92-year-old entrepreneur, who famously gained $1 billion betting against the British pound during a disastrous financial event known as Black Wednesday in 1992, had previously stated that he did not want any of his five children to take over his Open Society Foundations.
However, last December Mr. Soros reportedly appointed his son Alexander to lead one of the richest humanitarian institutions on the planet. “He’s earned it,” added Soros, whose own fortune is estimated to be worth $6.7 billion.
In an interview with the Wall Street Journal, the 37-year-old heir claimed to be “more political” than his father and stated that he intended to keep contributing family funds to left-leaning US candidates. He also stated that he intends to expand the foundation’s focus beyond gender equity to include voting and abortion rights.
“As much as I would love to get money out of politics, as long as the other side is doing it, we will have to do it too,” Alex said. According to the Journal, the foundation donates around $1.5 billion annually to organizations that support democracy and human rights all over the world.
Great to catch up with Madame Vice President, @KamalaHarris! pic.twitter.com/857S5lvuv6
— Alex Soros (@AlexanderSoros) June 6, 2023
Born in Hungary in 1930, George Soros and his family were able to survive the Nazi occupation thanks to fraudulent identification papers. After establishing a prosperous career in finance, Soros started his charitable effort by awarding scholarships to Black South Africans suffering under apartheid in 1979.
Later, he started focusing on issues relating to freedom of thought and expression through supporting embryonic independent cultural groups forming in Hungary and paying scholarly trips to the West. He also founded the Central European University in Budapest as a place to promote critical thinking following the collapse of the Berlin Wall in 1989.
Right-wing and anti-Semitic conspiracy theorists have long targeted Soros. One of his most prominent opposers is Hungarian PM Viktor Orban, who launched a “Stop Soros” campaign and terminated the entrepeneur’s activities in the Eastern European country.
