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{{Short description|Hungarian-American investor and philanthropist (born 1930)}} | |||
'''George Soros''' (born ], ]) is the son of the ] writer ]. | |||
{{Redirect|Soros}} | |||
In ], George Soros escaped ] for the West by participating in an Esperanto youth congress. His is famous as a currency speculator and a philanthropist. | |||
{{Pp|small=yes}} | |||
{{Use American English|date=April 2015}} | |||
{{Use mdy dates|date=February 2021}} | |||
{{Infobox person | |||
| name = George Soros | |||
| honorific_suffix = {{postnominals|country=GBR|size=100%|HonFBA}} | |||
| image = George Soros - Festival Economia 2018 1.jpg | |||
| caption = Soros in 2018 | |||
| birth_name = György Schwartz<ref name="bn1">{{Cite book |last1=Chapman |first1=Roger |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XO9nBwAAQBAJ&pg=PA617 |title=Culture Wars: An Encyclopedia of Issues, Viewpoints and Voices |last2=Ciment |first2=James |date=March 17, 2015 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=9781317473510 |page=617 |language=en |access-date=November 7, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170127132827/https://books.google.com/books?id=XO9nBwAAQBAJ&pg=PA617 |archive-date=January 27, 2017 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="bn2">{{Cite book |last=Kaufman |first=Michael T. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=W1Jn4zYBom8C&pg=PA18 |title=Soros: The Life and Times of a Messianic Billionaire |publisher=Knopf |year=2002 |isbn=9780375405853 |pages=17–18, 23 |language=en |access-date=November 7, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170127191537/https://books.google.com/books?id=W1Jn4zYBom8C&pg=PA18 |archive-date=January 27, 2017 |url-status=live}}</ref> | |||
| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1930|8|12}} | |||
| birth_place = ], ] | |||
| citizenship = Hungary<br />United States<ref name="forbes400">{{Cite news |date=September 2013 |title=Forbes 400 Richest Americans: George Soros |work=] |url=https://www.forbes.com/profile/george-soros |url-status=live |access-date=November 19, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131122003157/http://www.forbes.com/profile/george-soros/ |archive-date=November 22, 2013}}</ref> | |||
| education = ] (], ]) | |||
| occupation = {{hlist|Investor|hedge fund manager|author|philanthropist}} | |||
| known_for = {{plainlist| | |||
* Philanthropy | |||
* Managing ] | |||
* Founding the ] | |||
* Advising the ] | |||
* Founding ]}} | |||
| spouse = {{plainlist| | |||
* {{marriage|Annaliese Witschak|1960|1983|end=div}} | |||
* {{marriage|]|1983|2005|end=div}} | |||
* {{marriage|Tamiko Bolton|2013}}}} | |||
| children = 5, including ], ] and ] | |||
| father = ] | |||
| relatives = ] (brother) | |||
| website = {{official URL}} | |||
}} | |||
'''George Soros'''{{Efn|{{IPAc-en|ˈ|s|ɒr|oʊ|s}} {{respell|SORR|ohss}}<ref>{{YouTube|0zzQk8IwSJE|Authors@Google: George Soros<!-- at 0:27 -->}}</ref> or {{IPAc-en|ˈ|s|ɒr|ɒ|s}} {{respell|SORR|oss}}; {{langx|hu|Soros György}} (]), {{IPA-hu|ˈʃoroʃ ˈɟørɟ|pron}}.}} {{postnominals|country=GBR|HonFBA}} (born '''György Schwartz'''; August 12, 1930)<ref name="bn1" /><ref name="bn2" /> is an American{{Efn|name=fn1|Soros was naturalized as an American citizen on December 18, 1961.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Greenwald |first=Glenn |date=October 20, 2010 |title=George Soros' 'foreign' money |work=]|url=http://www.salon.com/2010/10/20/soros_5/ |url-status=live |access-date=December 15, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151222121648/http://www.salon.com/2010/10/20/soros_5/ |archive-date=December 22, 2015}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last1=Weiss |first1=Gary |last2=Schares |first2=Gail E. |last3=Smith |first3=Geri |last4=Dwyer |first4=Paul |last5=Sandler |first5=Neal |last6=Pennar |first6=Karen |date=August 22, 1993 |title=The Man Who Moves Markets |work=] Businessweek |url=https://www.bloomberg.com/bw/stories/1993-08-22/the-man-who-moves-markets |url-status=live |access-date=December 15, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151222133546/http://www.bloomberg.com/bw/stories/1993-08-22/the-man-who-moves-markets |archive-date=December 22, 2015}}</ref>}} investor and philanthropist.<ref>{{Cite news |title=The incredible life of billionaire investing legend George Soros |language=en |work=]|url=http://www.businessinsider.com/george-soros-billionaire-investor-profile-2017-1 |url-status=live |access-date=February 2, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170203080534/http://www.businessinsider.com/george-soros-billionaire-investor-profile-2017-1 |archive-date=February 3, 2017}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Zuckerman |first=Gregory |date=June 9, 2016 |title=A Bearish George Soros Is Trading Again |work=] |url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/a-bearish-george-soros-is-trading-again-1465429163 |url-status=live |access-date=February 2, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170202035446/https://www.wsj.com/articles/a-bearish-george-soros-is-trading-again-1465429163 |archive-date=February 2, 2017 |issn=0099-9660}}</ref> {{As of|2023|10}}, he had a ] of US$6.7 billion,<ref name=Forbes-2021>{{Cite magazine |title=George Soros |url=https://www.forbes.com/profile/george-soros/ |url-status=live |magazine=Forbes.com |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200302193735/https://www.forbes.com/profile/george-soros/ |archive-date=March 2, 2020 |access-date=June 25, 2021}}</ref><ref name="daily">{{Cite news |title=Bloomberg Billionaires |url=https://www.bloomberg.com/billionaires |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160416035010/http://www.bloomberg.com/billionaires/ |archive-date=April 16, 2016 |access-date=February 6, 2015 |website=Bloomberg.com}} Note that this site is updated daily.</ref> having donated more than $32 billion to the ],<ref>{{Cite web |title=George Soros |url=https://www.opensocietyfoundations.org/people/george-soros |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121016233900/https://www.opensocietyfoundations.org/people/george-soros |archive-date=October 16, 2012 |access-date=December 13, 2018 |website=Open Society Foundations |language=en}}</ref> of which $15 billion has already been distributed, representing 64% of his original fortune. In 2020, '']'' called Soros the "most generous giver" (in terms of percentage of net worth).<ref name="Wang2020">{{cite web |last1=Wang |first1=Jennifer |title=The New Forbes Philanthropy Score: How We Ranked Each Forbes 400 Billionaire Based On Their Giving |url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/jenniferwang/2020/09/08/the-new-forbes-philanthropy-score-how-we-ranked-each-forbes-400-billionaire-based-on-their-giving |website=]}}</ref> He is a resident of ].<ref name=GeorgeSorosNewYorkResidence>{{cite web|url=https://marketrealist.com/billionaires/where-does-george-soros-live-2022/|title=Where Does Billionaire Philanthropist George Soros Live in 2022?|author=Danielle Letenyie|publisher=Market Realist|date=August 2, 2022|access-date=April 1, 2023}}</ref> | |||
Soros emigrated to England in ] and graduated from the ] in ]. | |||
In ], he moved to the ]. He is the chairman of Soros Fund Management and of the Open Society Institute. | |||
Born in ] to a non-observant ] family, Soros survived the ] of ] and moved to the United Kingdom in 1947. He studied at the ] and was awarded a ] in philosophy in 1951, and then a ] degree, also in philosophy, in 1954.<ref name="LSE1"/><ref>{{Cite news |date=May 31, 2018 |title=Who is billionaire financier George Soros? |language=en-GB |publisher=BBC News |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-44301342 |access-date=August 12, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200116160511/https://www.bbc.com/news/world-44301342 |archive-date=January 16, 2020}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=October 28, 2015 |title=These 18 insanely successful people all went to LSE |work=] |url=https://www.businessinsider.com/famous-alumni-from-lse-2015-10 |access-date=August 12, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200320131120/https://www.businessinsider.com/famous-alumni-from-lse-2015-10 |archive-date=March 20, 2020}}</ref> <!--Please note: some sources report that Soros also graduated as a doctor of philosophy, but this is not listed among his qualifications by the LSE, and Soros does not include it in any published CV or biographical entry. --> Soros started his career working in British and American ]s, before setting up his first ], Double Eagle, in 1969.<ref>{{Cite news |date=2023-02-17 |title=George Soros: The man who broke UK's central bank and criticised PM Narendra Modi |url=https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/international/world-news/george-soros-the-man-who-broke-uks-central-bank-and-criticised-pm-narendra-modi/articleshow/98021448.cms?from=mdr |access-date=2024-04-23 |work=The Economic Times |issn=0013-0389}}</ref> Profits from this fund provided the seed money for ], his second hedge fund, in 1970. Double Eagle was renamed ] and was the principal firm Soros advised. At its founding, Quantum Fund had $12 million in ], and {{as of|2011|lc=y}} it had $25 billion, the majority of Soros's overall net worth.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Ungeheuer |first=Frederick |date=May 4, 1987 |title=George Soros: World's Champion Bull Rider |magazine=] |url=http://content.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,964280,00.html |url-status=live |access-date=February 2, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170129014750/http://content.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,964280,00.html |archive-date=January 29, 2017 |issn=0040-781X}}</ref> | |||
Soros became instantly famous on September 22, 1992, when, believing the ] was overvalued, he speculated heavily against it. | |||
The ] was forced to withdraw the currency out of the ], and Soros earned an estimated US$1 billion in the process. | |||
He was dubbed "the man who broke the Bank of England." | |||
In 1997, under similar circumstances, Malaysian Prime Minister ] accused Soros of bringing down the ] currency, the ]. | |||
Soros is known as "The Man Who Broke the ]" as a result of his ] of {{US$|10 billion}} worth of ], which made him a profit of $1 billion, during the 1992 ] UK currency crisis.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Ferguson |first1=Niall |author-link=Niall Ferguson |last2=Schlefer |first2=Jonathan |date=September 9, 2009 |title=Who Broke the Bank of England? |journal=Harvard Business School BGIE Unit Case No. 709-026 |ssrn=1485674}}</ref> Based on his early studies of philosophy, Soros formulated the ] for ]s, to provide insights into ] and ]/] value of securities, as well as value discrepancies used for ] and ] stocks.<ref>{{Citation |last=Open Society Foundations |title=George Soros Lecture Series: Financial Markets |date=October 11, 2010 |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RHSEEJDKJho |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170119173715/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RHSEEJDKJho |access-date=February 2, 2017 |archive-date=January 19, 2017 |url-status=live}}</ref> | |||
Despite his carefully groomed media image, Soros is a controversial figure because on the one hand, as an international investor and currency speculator, he has become extremely wealthy (his fortune in 2000 was estimated at US$ five billion). | |||
On the other, he freely acknowledges that the current system of financial speculation undermines healthy economic development in many underdeveloped countries. | |||
Soros supports ] and ] political causes, to which he dispenses donations through the ].<ref>Shawcross, William (September 1, 1997). {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100508052348/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,986919-1,00.html |date=May 8, 2010 }}. ''Time''.</ref> Between 1979 and 2011, he donated more than $11 billion to various philanthropic causes;<ref>{{Cite web |title=Philanthropy vs. Tyranny: Inside the Open Society Foundations' Biggest Battle Yet |url=https://www.insidephilanthropy.com/home/2015/9/14/philanthropy-vs-tyranny-inside-the-open-society-foundations.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191213130440/https://www.insidephilanthropy.com/home/2015/9/14/philanthropy-vs-tyranny-inside-the-open-society-foundations.html |archive-date=December 13, 2019 |access-date=November 14, 2019 |website=Inside Philanthropy|date=August 17, 2017 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Gershowitz |first=Martin |date=October 4, 2013 |title=George Soros Gets Hitched for Third Time |publisher=] |url=http://www.jewishvoiceny.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=5415:george-soros-gets-hitched-for-third-time&catid=108:jewcy-news&Itemid=291 |url-status=live |access-date=November 10, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170728123110/http://www.jewishvoiceny.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=5415:george-soros-gets-hitched-for-third-time&catid=108:jewcy-news&Itemid=291 |archive-date=July 28, 2017}}</ref> by 2017, his donations "on civil initiatives to reduce poverty and increase transparency, and on scholarships and universities around the world" totaled $12 billion.<ref name="posters">{{Cite news |date=July 11, 2017 |title=George Soros: Hungarian government posters 'anti-Semitic' |work=] |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-40576224 |url-status=live |access-date=July 11, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170712042959/http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-40576224 |archive-date=July 12, 2017}}</ref> He influenced the ] in ] in the late 1980s and early 1990s,<ref name="murphy">{{Cite journal |last=Murphy |first=Brendan |date=July 1993 |title=Finance: The Unifying Theme |url=https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/1993/07/finance-the-unifying-theme/5148/ |url-status=live |journal=The Atlantic |issn=1072-7825 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120715001729/http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/1993/07/finance-the-unifying-theme/5148/ |archive-date=July 15, 2012 |access-date=March 7, 2017}}</ref> and provided one of Europe's largest higher education ] to the ] in his Hungarian hometown.<ref>. ''IPR Strategic Business Information Database''. Info Prod Research. October 16, 2001.</ref> Soros's extensive funding of political causes has made him a "] of European ]".<ref>{{Cite news |date=July 28, 2017 |title=A veto gives the rule of law in Poland a reprieve |newspaper=] |url=https://www.economist.com/news/europe/21725575-governing-law-and-justice-party-still-aims-nobble-judiciary-veto-gives-rule |url-status=live |access-date=July 28, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170728124233/http://www.economist.com/news/europe/21725575-governing-law-and-justice-party-still-aims-nobble-judiciary-veto-gives-rule |archive-date=July 28, 2017}}</ref> Numerous ] theorists have promoted claims that characterize Soros as a dangerous "puppet master" behind alleged global plots.<ref name="NYT20181031" /><ref>{{Cite news |last=Baram |first=Marcus |date=October 5, 2018 |title=Buckle up! Here's a timeline of George Soros conspiracy theories |work=Fast Company |url=https://www.fastcompany.com/90247335/a-timeline-of-george-soros-conspiracy-theories |url-status=live |access-date=October 6, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181005235056/https://www.fastcompany.com/90247335/a-timeline-of-george-soros-conspiracy-theories |archive-date=October 5, 2018}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Wolraich |first=Michael |date=November 14, 2010 |title=Beck's bizarre, dangerous hit at Soros |work=] |url=https://edition.cnn.com/2010/OPINION/11/13/wolraich.beck.soros/index.html |url-status=live |access-date=September 17, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201101213118/https://edition.cnn.com/2010/OPINION/11/13/wolraich.beck.soros/index.html |archive-date=November 1, 2020}}</ref> Criticisms of Soros, ], have often been called ].<ref name="Finkelstein">{{Cite news |last=Finkelstein |first=Daniel |date=February 14, 2018 |title=George Soros and the roots of antisemitism |work=The Times |url=https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/george-soros-and-the-roots-of-antisemitism-z63fhp6z6 |url-status=live |access-date=May 3, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180502222641/https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/george-soros-and-the-roots-of-antisemitism-z63fhp6z6 |archive-date=May 2, 2018}}{{subscription required}}</ref><ref name="Guardian">{{Cite news |last=Behr |first=Rafael |date=February 8, 2018 |title=A secret plot to stop Brexit, or an antisemitic dog whistle? |work=] |url=https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2018/feb/08/brexit-antisemitic-dog-whistle-daily-telegraph-george-soros |url-status=live |access-date=May 3, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180504011051/https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2018/feb/08/brexit-antisemitic-dog-whistle-daily-telegraph-george-soros |archive-date=May 4, 2018}}</ref><ref name="Fisher">{{Cite news |last=Fisher |first=Lucy |date=February 8, 2018 |title=Brexiteers and alt-right unite against 'globalist' billionaire George Soros |work=] |url=https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/brexiteers-and-alt-right-unite-against-globalist-billionaire-george-soros-mrkwspwlz |url-status=live |access-date=May 3, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180504011918/https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/brexiteers-and-alt-right-unite-against-globalist-billionaire-george-soros-mrkwspwlz |archive-date=May 4, 2018}}</ref> In 2018, '']'' reported that "] have gone mainstream, to nearly every corner of the ]".<ref name="NYT20181031">{{Cite news |last1=Shane |first1=Scott |last2=Vogel |first2=Kenneth P. |last3=Kingsley |first3=Patrick |date=October 31, 2018 |title=How Vilification of George Soros Moved From the Fringes to the Mainstream |work=] |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2018/10/31/us/politics/george-soros-bombs-trump.html |url-status=live |access-date=November 1, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181101000652/https://www.nytimes.com/2018/10/31/us/politics/george-soros-bombs-trump.html |archive-date=November 1, 2018}}</ref> | |||
Critics point out that Soros plays the currency markets through Quantum Fund, his privately-owned investment fund registered in ], ], a ] ] which has repeatedly been cited by the International Task Force on Money Laundering of the ] as one of the world's most important centers for laundering the illegal proceeds of the Latin American drug trade. | |||
By operating from Curaçao, Soros avoids paying taxes, and also hides the nature of his investors, and what he does with their money. | |||
==Early life and education== | |||
Soros has been active as a philanthropist since ], when he began providing funds to help black students attend the ] in apartheid ]. | |||
György Schwartz was born on 12 August 1930 in Budapest in the ] to a prosperous non-observant Jewish family, who, like many upper-middle class Hungarian Jews at the time, were uncomfortable with their roots. Soros has wryly described his home as a Jewish ] home.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Slater |first=Robert |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=J7I26pZK8TUC&pg=PA22 |title=Soros: The Life, Ideas, and Impact of the World's Most Influential Investor |date=January 18, 2009 |publisher=McGraw Hill Professional |isbn=9780071608459 |page=30 |language=en |access-date=November 16, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200126141310/https://books.google.com/books?id=J7I26pZK8TUC&pg=PA22 |archive-date=January 26, 2020 |url-status=live}}</ref> The family of his mother Erzsébet (also known as Elizabeth) operated a successful ] store.<ref name=":0">{{Cite magazine |last=Mayer |first=Jane |date=October 18, 2004 |title=The Money Man: Can George Soros's millions insure the defeat of President Bush? |url=https://www.uni-muenster.de/PeaCon/global-texte/r-m/soros-TheNewYorker.htm |url-status=dead |magazine=] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120712065522/http://www.uni-muenster.de/PeaCon/global-texte/r-m/soros-TheNewYorker.htm |archive-date=July 12, 2012 |access-date=May 27, 2012}}</ref> His father ] (also known as Teodoro Ŝvarc) was a lawyer and a well-known ] who edited the Esperanto literary magazine '']'' and raised his son to speak the language.<ref name=":0" /><ref>{{Cite news |last=Cowan |first=Alison Leigh |date=December 16, 2010 |title=How Do You Say 'Billionaire' in Esperanto? |work=] |url=http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/12/16/how-do-you-say-billionaire-in-esperanto/ |url-status=live |access-date=October 27, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101222045726/http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/12/16/how-do-you-say-billionaire-in-esperanto/ |archive-date=December 22, 2010}}</ref> Tivadar had also been a prisoner of war during and after ] until he escaped from Russia and rejoined his family in Budapest.<ref name="Kaufman">{{Cite book |last=Kaufman |first=Michael T. |title=Soros: The Life and Times of a Messianic Billionaire |date=2002 |publisher=] |page=11}}</ref><ref name="NewP">{{Cite book |last=Soros |first=George |url=https://archive.org/details/newparadigmforfi00soro_0 |title=The New Paradigm for Financial Markets: The Credit Crisis of 2008 and What It Means |publisher=PublicAffairs |year=2008 |isbn=978-1-58648-683-9 |page= |quote=Tivadar. |url-access=registration}}</ref> His parents married in 1924. In 1936, Soros's family changed their name from the German-Jewish "Schwartz" to "Soros", as protective camouflage in increasingly antisemitic Hungary.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Soros |first1=Tivadar |url=https://archive.org/details/masquerade00tiva |title=Masquerade: Dancing Around Death in Nazi-occupied Hungary |last2=Tonkin |first2=Humphrey |publisher=Arcade Publishing |year=2001 |isbn=9781559705813 |pages=, Afterword by Humphrey Tonkin |language=en |access-date=November 16, 2016 |url-access=registration}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Zepetnek |first=Steven Tötösy de |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=yCg8S0d6-vMC&pg=PA9 |title=Comparative Central European Holocaust Studies |publisher=Purdue University Press |year=2009 |isbn=9781557535269 |page=9 |language=en |access-date=November 16, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170127184247/https://books.google.com/books?id=yCg8S0d6-vMC&pg=PA9 |archive-date=January 27, 2017 |url-status=live}}</ref> Tivadar liked the new name because it is a ] and because of its meaning. In Hungarian, '']'' means "next"; in ] it means "will soar".<ref>{{Cite book |last=Kaufman |first=Michael T. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=W1Jn4zYBom8C&pg=PA24 |title=Soros: The Life and Times of a Messianic Billionaire |publisher=Knopf |year=2002 |isbn=9780375405853 |page=24 |language=en |access-date=November 7, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170127195056/https://books.google.com/books?id=W1Jn4zYBom8C&pg=PA24 |archive-date=January 27, 2017 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Bessner |first=Daniel |date=July 6, 2018 |title=The George Soros philosophy – and its fatal flaw |work=] |url=https://www.theguardian.com/news/2018/jul/06/the-george-soros-philosophy-and-its-fatal-flaw |url-status=live |access-date=July 7, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180706165042/https://www.theguardian.com/news/2018/jul/06/the-george-soros-philosophy-and-its-fatal-flaw |archive-date=July 6, 2018}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Soros |first=George |date=July 13, 2018 |title=George Soros: I'm a passionate critic of market fundamentalism – Response to Bessner |work=]|url=https://www.theguardian.com/business/2018/jul/13/george-soros-im-a-passionate-critic-of-market-fundamentalism |url-status=live |access-date=July 30, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180730100707/https://www.theguardian.com/business/2018/jul/13/george-soros-im-a-passionate-critic-of-market-fundamentalism |archive-date=July 30, 2018}}</ref> | |||
Soros was 13 years old in March 1944 when ] ].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Holocaust Encyclopedia |url=http://www.ushmm.org/wlc/article.php?lang=en&ModuleId=10005458 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100213195413/http://www.ushmm.org/wlc/article.php?lang=en&ModuleId=10005458 |archive-date=February 13, 2010 |access-date=October 16, 2009 |publisher=Ushmm.org}}</ref> The Nazis barred Jewish children from attending school, and Soros and the other schoolchildren were made to report to the ] ("]"), which had been established during the ]. Soros later described this time to writer ]: | |||
Soros' philanthropic funding in Eastern Europe mostly occurs through the ] and national ]s, which sometimes go under other names, e.g. the ] in ]. These encourage political activity to focus on small-scale volunteer work, promote hierarchy and secret ], and discourage civil society from considering fundamental or systematic changes to the ] economic model. | |||
<blockquote> | |||
The Jewish Council asked the little kids to hand out the deportation notices. I was told to go to the Jewish Council. And there I was given these small slips of paper ... I took this piece of paper to my father. He instantly recognized it. This was a list of Hungarian Jewish lawyers. He said, "You deliver the slips of paper and tell the people that if they report they will be deported". I'm not sure to what extent he knew they were going to be gassed. I did what my father said.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Lewis |first=Michael |date=January 10, 1994 |title=The Speculator |magazine=] |url=https://newrepublic.com/article/74330/the-speculator |url-status=live |access-date=May 29, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180601195113/https://newrepublic.com/article/74330/the-speculator |archive-date=June 1, 2018}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Kaufman |first=Michael T. |url=https://archive.org/details/soros00mich_0/page/32 |title=Soros: The Life and Times of a Messianic Billionaire |publisher=Knopf |year=2002 |isbn=9780375405853 |pages=}}</ref> | |||
</blockquote> | |||
Soros did not return to that job; his family survived the war by purchasing documents to say that they were Christians.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Tamkin |first=Emily |date=2020-08-25 |title=Perspective {{!}} Five myths about George Soros |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/outlook/five-myths/five-myths-about-george-soros/2020/08/06/ad195582-d1e9-11ea-8d32-1ebf4e9d8e0d_story.html |access-date=2024-04-23 |newspaper=Washington Post |language=en-US |issn=0190-8286}}</ref> Later that year at age 14, Soros posed as the Christian godson of an official of the collaborationist Hungarian government's Ministry of Agriculture, who himself had a Jewish wife in hiding. On one occasion, rather than leave the 14-year-old alone, the official took Soros with him while completing an inventory of a Jewish family's confiscated estate. Tivadar saved not only his immediate family, but also many other Hungarian Jews, and Soros later wrote that 1944 had been "the happiest of his life", for it had given him the opportunity to witness his father's heroism.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Kaufman |first=Michael T. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=W1Jn4zYBom8C&pg=PA5 |title=Soros: The Life and Times of a Messianic Billionaire |publisher=Knopf |year=2002 |isbn=9780375405853 |page=5 |language=en |access-date=November 16, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170127052744/https://books.google.com/books?id=W1Jn4zYBom8C&pg=PA5 |archive-date=January 27, 2017 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Kaufman |first=Michael T. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=W1Jn4zYBom8C&pg=PA37 |title=Soros: The Life and Times of a Messianic Billionaire |publisher=Knopf |year=2002 |isbn=9780375405853 |page=37 |language=en |access-date=November 16, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170127091624/https://books.google.com/books?id=W1Jn4zYBom8C&pg=PA37 |archive-date=January 27, 2017 |url-status=live}}</ref> In 1945, Soros survived the ], in which Soviet and German forces fought house-to-house through the city. George and his mother also spent some time hiding with the family of ] and even attended their Lutheran church with them.<ref>{{cite book|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=UUncnapj_hIC&q=lutheran|page=40|chapter=Family Values|title=Soros: The Life and Times of a Messianic Billionaire|isbn=978-0-307-76592-5|last1=Kaufman|first1=Michael T.|date=29 September 2010|publisher=Knopf Doubleday Publishing }}</ref> When he was 17, Soros relocated to Paris before eventually moving to England.<ref name=":1">{{Cite book |last=Ellis |first=Charles D. |title=Wall Street People: True Stories of Today's Masters and Moguls |publisher=John Wiley & Sons |year=2001 |isbn=0-471-23809-0 |location=New York |pages=112 |language=en}}</ref> There he became a student at the ].<ref> {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101122214827/http://www.georgesoros.com/faqs/entry/georgesorosofficialbiography/ |date=November 22, 2010 }}, retrieved March 2, 2011.</ref> While a student of the philosopher ], Soros worked as a railway porter and as a waiter, and once received £40 from a ] charity.<ref name="NPR090409">{{Cite web |last=All Things Considered |date=August 11, 2009 |title=Soros Uses Leverage To Aid New York Children |url=https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=111786652 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090917111735/http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=111786652 |archive-date=September 17, 2009 |access-date=October 16, 2009 |publisher=NPR}}</ref> Soros would sometimes stand at ] lecturing about the virtues of ] in ], which he had learned from his father.<ref>Philip Delves Broughton, {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180323030438/https://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/life/features/the-billionaire-taking-on-the-brexiteers-36587647.html |date=March 23, 2018 }}, Belfast Telegraph, February 10, 2018</ref> Soros obtained his ] in philosophy in 1951 and a ] in philosophy in 1954 from the London School of Economics.<ref name="LSE1">{{Cite web |title=North American Advisory Board |url=http://www.lse.ac.uk/supportingLSE/NorthAmericanAdvisoryBoard.aspx |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170126130530/http://www.lse.ac.uk/supportingLSE/NorthAmericanAdvisoryBoard.aspx |archive-date=January 26, 2017 |access-date=July 20, 2015 |publisher=lse.ac.uk |quote=Mr George Soros (BSc Philosophy 1951, MSc Philosophy 1954) Chairman, Soros Fund Management}}</ref> After graduating, he wanted to stay in the university and work as a professor, but his grades were not high enough, prompting him to work for an investment firm in London.<ref name=":1" /> | |||
==Investment career== | |||
He received honorary doctoral degrees from the New School for Social Research (New York), the ] in ], the ], and ] in ]. Soros was a student of ] and says that his investment strategies are based on a Popperian skepticism about the reliability of any one human belief. | |||
===Early business experience=== | |||
In a discussion at the ] in 2006, Alvin Shuster, former foreign editor of the '']'', asked Soros, "How does one go from an immigrant to a financier? ... When did you realize that you knew how to make money?". Soros replied, "Well, I had a variety of jobs and I ended up selling fancy goods on the seaside, souvenir shops, and I thought, that's really not what I was cut out to do. So, I wrote to every managing director in every ] in London, got just one or two replies, and eventually that's how I got a job in a merchant bank."<ref> {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120129063644/http://www.lawac.org/speech-archive/pdf/2006/Soros_612.pdf |date=January 29, 2012 }} September 20, 2006, Los Angeles World Affairs Council. Retrieved December 7, 2011.</ref> | |||
===Singer and Friedlander=== | |||
For many years, Soros did not involved himself greatly in US politics, but that changed under President ]. | |||
In 1954, Soros began his financial career at the merchant bank ] of London. He worked as a clerk and later moved to the ] department. A fellow employee, Robert Mayer, suggested he apply at his father's brokerage house, F.M. Mayer of New York.<ref name="auto">{{Cite book |last=Arnold |first=Glen |title=The Great Investors: Lessons on Investing from Master Traders |date=2012 |publisher=Pearson |isbn=9780273743385 |location=United Kingdom |page=416}}</ref> | |||
In an interview with '']'' on ], 2003, Soros said that removing Bush from office is the "central focus of my life," and "a matter of life and death." | |||
Towards that goal, Soros and a partner committed $5 million to MoveOn.org, a liberal activist group, bringing to $15.5 million the total of his personal contributions to oust Bush. | |||
He has also written a book, ''The Bubble of American Supremacy'', which will be published in January, 2004. | |||
===F. M. Mayer=== | |||
Soros is married with five children. | |||
In 1956, Soros moved to New York City, where he worked as an arbitrage ] for F. M. Mayer (1956–59). He specialized in European stocks, which were becoming popular with U.S. institutional investors following the formation of the ], which later became the ].<ref name="auto1">{{Cite book |last1=Soros |first1=George |url=https://archive.org/details/sorosonsorosstay00soro_0/page/326 |title=Soros on Soros: Staying Ahead of the Curve |last2=Koenen |first2=Krisztina |last3=Wien |first3=Byron |date=1995 |publisher=J. Wiley |isbn=9780471119777 |location=New York |page=}}</ref> | |||
===Wertheim and Co.=== | |||
==Books== | |||
In 1959, after three years at F. M. Mayer, Soros moved to ] He planned to stay for five years, enough time to save $500,000, after which he intended to return to England to study philosophy.<ref>Kaufman, Michael T., Soros: The Life and Times of a Messianic Billionaire, Chapter 8</ref> He worked as an analyst of European securities until 1963. | |||
During this period, Soros developed the theory of ] to extend the ideas of his tutor at the ], ].<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Soros |first1=George |title=The Tragedy of the European Union: Disintegration or Revival? |last2=Schmitz |first2=Gregor Peter |date=March 11, 2014 |publisher=PublicAffairs |isbn=978-1-61039-422-2 |location=New York |language=en}}</ref> Reflexivity posits that market values are often driven by the fallible ideas of participants, not only by the economic fundamentals of the situation. Ideas and events influence each other in reflexive feedback loops. Soros argued that this process leads to markets having procyclical "virtuous" or "vicious" cycles of boom and bust, in contrast to the equilibrium predictions of more standard neoclassical economics.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Soros |first=George |year=2013 |title=Fallibility, reflexivity, and the human uncertainty principle |journal=Journal of Economic Methodology |volume=20 |issue=4 |pages=309–329 |doi=10.1080/1350178x.2013.859415 |hdl-access=free |hdl=10.1080/1350178X.2013.859415 |s2cid=144650771|issn = 1350-178X }}</ref><ref name="A">{{Cite book |last=Soros, George |url=https://archive.org/details/newparadigmforfi00soro_0 |title=The New Paradigm for Financial Markets |publisher=Public Affairs |year=2008 |isbn=978-1-58648-683-9 |location=New York}}</ref> | |||
*''The Alchemy of Finance'' (1987) | |||
*''Opening the Soviet System'' (1990) | |||
*''Underwriting Democracy'' (1991) | |||
*''Soros on Soros: Staying Ahead of the Curve'' (1995) | |||
*''The Crisis of Global Capitalism'' (1998) | |||
*''Open Society: Reforming Global Capitalism'' (2000) | |||
*''George Soros on Globalization'' (PublicAffairs, March 2002) | |||
== |
===Arnhold and S. Bleichroeder=== | ||
From 1963 to 1973, Soros's experience as a vice president at ] resulted in little enthusiasm for the job; business was slack following the introduction of the ], which undermined the viability of Soros's European trading. He spent the years from 1963 to 1966 with his main focus on the revision of his philosophy dissertation. In 1966, he started a fund with $100,000 of the firm's money to experiment with his trading strategies. | |||
* | |||
* | |||
In 1969, Soros set up the Double Eagle ] with $4m of investors' capital including $250,000 of his own money.<ref>''Soros on Soros'', p. 47</ref> It was based in ], ].<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Koven |first1=Steven G. |title=American immigration policy confronting the nation's challenges |last2=Götzke |first2=Frank |date=2010 |publisher=Springer Science & Business Media |isbn=978-0-387-95940-5 |edition=1 |location=New York |page=89}}</ref> Double Eagle itself was an offshoot of Arnhold and S. Bleichroeder's First Eagle fund established by Soros and that firm's chairman ] in 1967.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Flitter |first=Emily |date=August 29, 2018 |title=Henry Arnhold, Patriarch of a Storied Banking Family, Dies at 96 |work=] |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2018/08/29/business/henry-arnhold-dead.html |url-status=live |access-date=September 9, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180909222109/https://www.nytimes.com/2018/08/29/business/henry-arnhold-dead.html |archive-date=September 9, 2018}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=George Soros Part One: Early Career |url=https://nexchange.com/article/11185 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180910014514/https://nexchange.com/article/11185 |archive-date=September 10, 2018 |access-date=September 9, 2018 |website=NexChange}} Originally published in ValueWalk.com in August 2016.</ref> | |||
* George Soros, , Editorial in ], March 12, 2003. | |||
* | |||
In 1973, the Double Eagle Fund had $12 million and formed the basis of the Soros Fund. George Soros and ] received returns on their share of capital and 20 percent of the profits each year.<ref name="auto1" /> | |||
* | |||
* (pro-] point of view) | |||
===Soros Fund Management=== | |||
In 1970, Soros founded ] and became its chairman. Among those who held senior positions there at various times were Jim Rogers, ], Mark Schwartz, Keith Anderson, and Soros's two sons.<ref name="georgesoros.com"> {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110711084948/http://www.georgesoros.com/faqs/archive/category/finance/ |date=July 11, 2011 }}. George Soros. Retrieved November 25, 2011.</ref><ref name="GuruFocus.com"> {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201110083012/https://www.gurufocus.com/news/109858 |date=November 10, 2020 }}. Gurufocus.com (October 19, 2010). Retrieved November 25, 2011.</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Anderson |first=Jenny |date=April 16, 2008 |title=Wall Street Winners Get Billion-Dollar Paydays |work=] |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/16/business/16wall.html |url-status=live |access-date=July 28, 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090310104250/http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/16/business/16wall.html |archive-date=March 10, 2009}}</ref> | |||
In 1973, due to perceived conflicts of interest limiting his ability to run the two funds, Soros resigned from the management of the Double Eagle Fund. He then established the Soros Fund and gave investors in the Double Eagle Fund the option of transferring to that or staying with Arnhold and S. Bleichroeder. | |||
It was later renamed the ], after the physical theory of ]. By that time the value of the fund had grown to $12m, only a small proportion of which was Soros's own money. He and Jim Rogers reinvested their returns from the fund, and also a large part of their 20% performance fees, thereby expanding their stake.<ref name="auto" /> | |||
By 1981, the fund had grown to $400m, and then a 22% loss in that year and substantial redemptions by some of the investors reduced it to $200m.<ref>''Soros on Soros'', p. 56</ref> | |||
In July 2011, Soros announced that he had returned funds from outside investors' money (valued at $1 billion) and instead invested funds from his $24.5 billion family fortune, due to changes in ] disclosure rules, which he felt would compromise his duties of confidentiality to his investors. The fund had at that time averaged over 20% per year compound returns.<ref name="Guardian711">{{Cite news |last=Dominic |first=Rushe |date=July 26, 2011 |title=George Soros to close hedge fund management group to outside investors |work=] |location=London |url=https://www.theguardian.com/business/2011/jul/26/george-soros-to-close-hedge-fund |url-status=live |access-date=July 27, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130930122357/http://www.theguardian.com/business/2011/jul/26/george-soros-to-close-hedge-fund |archive-date=September 30, 2013}}</ref> | |||
In 2013, the Quantum Fund made $5.5 billion, making it again the most successful hedge fund in history. Since its inception in 1973, the fund has generated $40 billion.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Institutional Investor |url=https://www.institutionalinvestor.com/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200102183622/https://www.institutionalinvestor.com/ |archive-date=January 2, 2020 |access-date=June 16, 2019 |website=Institutional Investor}}</ref> | |||
The fund announced in 2015 that it would inject $300 million to help finance the expansion of Fen Hotels, an Argentine hotel company. The funds will develop 5,000 rooms over the next three years throughout various Latin American countries.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Karmin |first=Craig |title=George Soros Puts Money on Latin America Hotels |work=] |url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/soros-puts-money-on-latin-america-hotels-1447785866 |url-status=live |access-date=November 22, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151122031241/http://www.wsj.com/articles/soros-puts-money-on-latin-america-hotels-1447785866 |archive-date=November 22, 2015 |issn=0099-9660}}</ref> | |||
===Economic crisis in the 1990s and 2000s=== | |||
] Annual Meeting 2011]] | |||
Soros had been building a huge ] in ] for months leading up to the Black Wednesday of September 1992. Soros had recognized the unfavorable position of the United Kingdom in the ]. For Soros, the rate at which the United Kingdom was brought into the European Exchange Rate Mechanism was too high, their inflation was also much too high (triple the German rate), and British interest rates were hurting their asset prices.<ref name="amazon1">{{Cite book |last=Sebastian Mallaby |title=More Money Than God: Hedge Funds and the Making of a New Elite |date=June 10, 2010 |publisher=Penguin Press HC |isbn=9781594202551}}</ref> | |||
By September 16, 1992, the day of Black Wednesday, Soros's fund had ] more than $10 billion in ]s,<ref name="georgesoros.com" /> profiting from the UK government's reluctance to either raise its interest rates to levels comparable to those of other ] countries or ] its currency. | |||
Finally, the UK withdrew from the European Exchange Rate Mechanism, ] the pound. Soros's profit on the bet was estimated at over $1 billion.<ref>Mallaby, Sebastian, ''More Money Than God'', Penguin, 2010, p. 167. {{ISBN|978-1-59420-255-1}}.</ref> He was dubbed "the man who ] of England".<ref>Litterick, David (September 13, 2002), {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180406155925/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/2773265/Billionaire-who-broke-the-Bank-of-England.html |date=April 6, 2018 }}, ''The Telegraph''.</ref> The estimated cost of Black Wednesday to the ] was £3.4 billion.<ref name="telly">{{Cite news |last=Johnston |first=Philip |date=September 10, 2012 |title=Black Wednesday: The day that Britain went over the edge |work=]|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/currency/9533474/Black-Wednesday-The-day-that-Britain-went-over-the-edge.html |url-status=live |access-date=April 13, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150228182924/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/currency/9533474/Black-Wednesday-The-day-that-Britain-went-over-the-edge.html |archive-date=February 28, 2015}}</ref> ], who traded under Soros, originally saw the weakness in the pound and stated: " contribution was pushing him to take a gigantic position".<ref>Steven Drobny, ''Inside the House of Money'', John Wiley & Sons: Hoboken, NJ, 2006.</ref><ref>''Soros on Soros: Staying Ahead of the Curve'' (John Wiley, 1995), {{ISBN|978-0-471-12014-8}}</ref> | |||
On October 26, 1992, '']'' quoted Soros as saying: "Our total ] by Black Wednesday had to be worth almost $10 billion. We planned to sell more than that. In fact, when ] said just before the ] that he would borrow nearly $15 billion to defend sterling, we were amused because that was about how much we wanted to sell." | |||
Soros was believed to have traded billions of ]s on February 5, 1996, in anticipation of selling them short. The markka had been put floating as a result of the ]. The ] and the ] commented at the time they believed that a "conspiracy" was impossible.<ref>{{Cite web |date=February 10, 1996 |title=Amerikkalainen suursijoittaja keinotteli Suomen markalla Miljardien markkojen kauppojen takana tiettävästi George Soros Suomen Pankki ja hallitus pitävät salaliittoa mahdottomana |url=https://www.hs.fi/talous/art-2000003507500.html |url-access=subscription |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191020120052/https://www.hs.fi/talous/art-2000003507500.html |archive-date=October 20, 2019 |access-date=October 20, 2019 |publisher=] |language=fi |quote=An American financier speculated with the Finnish mark - The man behind the trade of billions worth of markkas presumably was George Soros - The Finnish Bank and Government think that a conspiracy is impossible}}</ref> | |||
During the ], the prime minister of Malaysia, ], accused Soros of using the wealth under his control to punish the ] for welcoming ] as a member. With a history of ] remarks, Mahathir made specific reference to Soros's Jewish background ("It is a Jew who triggered the currency plunge")<ref>{{Cite news |date=October 24, 2003 |title=Mahathir's dark side |work=] |location=London |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/comment/telegraph-view/3597972/Mahathirs-dark-side.html |url-status=live |access-date=April 5, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180421180307/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/comment/telegraph-view/3597972/Mahathirs-dark-side.html |archive-date=April 21, 2018}}</ref> and implied Soros was orchestrating the crash as part of a larger Jewish conspiracy. Nine years later, in 2006, Mahathir met with Soros and afterward stated that he accepted that Soros had not been responsible for the crisis.<ref>. ]. Agence France-Presse. December 15, 2006.</ref> In 1998's ''The Crisis of Global Capitalism: Open Society Endangered'', Soros explained his role in the crisis as follows: | |||
<blockquote>The financial crisis that originated in Thailand in 1997 was particularly unnerving because of its scope and severity ... By the beginning of 1997, it was clear to Soros Fund Management that the discrepancy between the trade account and the capital account was becoming untenable. We sold short the Thai baht and the Malaysian ringgit early in 1997 with maturities ranging from six months to a year. (That is, we entered into contracts to deliver at future dates Thai baht and Malaysian ringgit that we did not currently hold.) Subsequently, Prime Minister Mahathir of Malaysia accused me of causing the crisis, a wholly unfounded accusation. We were not sellers of the currency during or several months before the crisis; on the contrary, we were buyers when the currencies began to decline—we were purchasing ringgits to realize the profits on our earlier speculation. (Much too soon, as it turned out. We left most of the potential gain on the table because we were afraid that Mahathir would impose capital controls. He did so, but much later.)<ref>Soros, George (1999). ''The Crisis of Global Capitalism: Open Society Endangered'', 2nd ed., PublicAffairs, {{ISBN|978-1-891620-27-0}}, pp. 208–209.</ref></blockquote> | |||
In 1999, economist ] was critical of Soros's effect on financial markets: | |||
<blockquote>obody who has read a business magazine in the last few years can be unaware that these days there really are investors who not only move money in anticipation of a currency crisis, but actually do their best to trigger that crisis for fun and profit. These new actors on the scene do not yet have a standard name; my proposed term is "Soroi".<ref>{{Cite book |last=Krugman |first=Paul |title=The accidental theorist: and other dispatches from the dismal science |publisher=W. W. Norton & Company |year=1999 |location=New York |page=160 |author-link=Paul Krugman}}</ref></blockquote> | |||
In an interview concerning the ], Soros referred to it as the most serious crisis since the 1930s. According to Soros, ] with its assumption that markets will correct themselves with no need for government intervention in financial affairs has been "some kind of an ] excess". In Soros's view, the markets' moods—a "mood" of the markets being a prevailing bias or optimism/pessimism with which the markets look at reality—"actually can reinforce themselves so that there are these initially self-reinforcing but eventually unsustainable and self-defeating boom/bust sequences or bubbles".<ref>{{Cite web |date=February 6, 2009 |title=George Soros on the financial crisis {{!}} Odeo: Search, Discover and Share Digital Media from Millions of Audio and Video Clips |url=http://odeo.com/episodes/23475214-George-Soros-on-the-financial-crisis |url-status=usurped |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090206215514/http://odeo.com/episodes/23475214-George-Soros-on-the-financial-crisis |archive-date=February 6, 2009 |access-date=December 3, 2019}}</ref> | |||
In reaction to the ], he founded the ] in October 2009. This is a think tank composed of international economic, business, and financial experts, who are mandated to investigate radical new approaches to organizing the international economic and financial system. | |||
====Société Générale insider trading conviction==== | |||
In 1988, Soros was contacted by a French financier named Georges Pébereau, who asked him to participate in an effort to assemble a group of investors to purchase a large number of shares in ], a leading French bank that was part of a privatization program (something instituted by the new government under ]).<ref name=saltmarsh /> Soros eventually decided against participating in the group effort, opting to personally move forward with his strategy of accumulating shares in four French companies: Société Générale, as well as Suez, Paribas, and the ]. | |||
In 1989, the ] (COB, the French stock exchange regulatory authority) conducted an investigation of whether Soros's transaction in Société Générale should be considered ]. Soros had received no information from the Société Générale and had no insider knowledge of the business, but he did possess knowledge that a group of investors was planning a takeover attempt. Initial investigations found Soros innocent, and no charges were brought forward.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Smith |first=Heather |date=October 4, 2011 |title=Soros Insider-Trading Conviction Reviewed by Human Rights Court |work=] |url=http://www.businessweek.com/news/2011-10-04/soros-insider-trading-conviction-reviewed-by-human-rights-court.html |url-status=dead |access-date=October 12, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111007211428/http://www.businessweek.com/news/2011-10-04/soros-insider-trading-conviction-reviewed-by-human-rights-court.html |archive-date=October 7, 2011}}</ref> However, the case was reopened a few years later, and the French Supreme Court confirmed the conviction on June 14, 2006,<ref name="IHT20060614"> {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170207061449/http://www.nytimes.com/2006/06/14/business/worldbusiness/14iht-soros.1974397.html |date=February 7, 2017 }}. ''International Herald Tribune''. June 14, 2006.</ref> although it reduced the penalty to €940,000.<ref name="IHT20060614" /> | |||
Soros denied any wrongdoing, saying news of the takeover was public knowledge<ref name="PBS"> {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170816005000/http://www.pbs.org/now/transcript/transcript_soros.html |date=August 16, 2017 }}. ''Now''. PBS. September 12, 2003. Retrieved February 8, 2007.</ref> and it was documented that his intent to acquire shares of the company predated his own awareness of the takeover.<ref name="IHT20060614" /> In December 2006, he appealed to the ] on various grounds, including that the 14-year delay in bringing the case to trial precluded a fair hearing.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Lichfield |first=John |date=December 22, 2002 |title=Financier Soros fined £1.4m for insider trading |work=]|location=London |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/business/news/financier-soros-fined-aps1-4m-for-insider-trading-136907.html |access-date=October 12, 2011}}</ref> On the basis of ] of the ], stating that no person may be punished for an act that was not a criminal offense at the time that it was committed, the court agreed to hear the appeal.<ref name="saltmarsh">{{Cite news |last=Saltmarsh |first=Matthew |date=September 15, 2010 |title=Soros to Get a Day in Court Over Insider Trading Case |work=] |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/16/business/global/16court.html |url-status=live |access-date=September 18, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150927194621/http://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/16/business/global/16court.html |archive-date=September 27, 2015}}</ref> In October 2011, the court rejected his appeal in a 4–3 decision, saying that Soros had been aware of the risk of breaking insider trading laws.<ref name="insider">{{Cite news |last=Smith, Heather |date=October 6, 2011 |title=Soros Loses Case Against French Insider-Trading Conviction |publisher=Bloomberg L.P. |url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-10-06/soros-loses-human-rights-appeal-against-insider-trading-case.html |url-status=live |access-date=October 9, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111008215906/http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-10-06/soros-loses-human-rights-appeal-against-insider-trading-case.html |archive-date=October 8, 2011}}</ref> | |||
== Political involvement == | |||
Until the 2004 presidential election, Soros had not been a large donor to U.S. political campaigns. According to ], during the 2003–2004 election cycle, Soros donated $23,581,000 to various ]s (tax-exempt groups under the United States tax code, 26 U.S.C. § 527). The groups aimed to defeat President ]. After Bush's reelection, Soros and other donors backed a new political fundraising group called ], which supports progressive causes and the formation of a stronger progressive infrastructure in America.<ref>{{Cite news |title=New Alliance of Democrats Spreads Funding |newspaper=] |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/07/16/AR2006071600882_pf.html |url-status=live |access-date=July 17, 2006 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061001075131/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/07/16/AR2006071600882_pf.html |archive-date=October 1, 2006}}</ref> | |||
In August 2009, Soros donated $35 million to the state of New York to be earmarked for underprivileged children and given to parents who had benefit cards at the rate of $200 per child aged 3 through 17, with no limit as to the number of children that qualified. An additional $140 million was put into the fund by the state of New York from money they had received from the ].<ref name="NPR090409" /> Soros was an initial donor to the ], and he continues to support the organization through the Open Society Foundations. | |||
In October 2011, a ] story, "Soros: not a funder of ]", was published after several commentators pointed out errors in an earlier Reuters story headlined "Who's Behind the Wall St. Protests?" with a lead stating that the ] movement "may have benefited indirectly from the largesse of one of the world's richest men ". Reuters's follow-up article also reported a Soros spokesman and ]' co-founder ] both saying that Adbusters—the reputed catalyst for the first Occupy Wall Street protests—had never received any contributions from Soros, contrary to Reuters's earlier story that reported that "indirect financial links" existed between the two as late as 2010.<ref>Egan, Mark; Nichols, Michelle (October 13, 2011). {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150924155950/http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/10/14/us-wallstreet-protests-funding-idUSTRE79D01Q20111014 |date=September 24, 2015 }}. Reuters; retrieved October 14, 2011.</ref><ref>Egan, Mark; Nichols, Michelle (October 13, 2011). {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151005040134/http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/10/14/us-wallstreet-protests-origins-idUSTRE79C1YN20111014 |date=October 5, 2015 }}. Reuters; retrieved October 13, 2011.</ref> | |||
On September 27, 2012, Soros announced that he was donating $1 million to the ] backing ]'s reelection ].<ref>{{Cite news |last=Confessore |first=Nicholas |date=September 27, 2012 |title=Soros Gives $1 Million to Democratic 'Super PAC{{'-}} |work=]|url=http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/09/27/soros-gives-1-million-to-democratic-super-pac/?smid=tw-nytimes |url-status=live |access-date=September 27, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130510173519/http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/09/27/soros-gives-1-million-to-democratic-super-pac/?smid=tw-nytimes |archive-date=May 10, 2013}}</ref> In October 2013, Soros donated $25,000 to ], becoming a co-chairman of the super PAC's national finance committee.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Haberman |first=Maggie |date=October 24, 2013 |title=George Soros going to bat for Hillary Clinton |work=] |url=http://www.politico.com/story/2013/10/george-soros-hillary-clinton-98796.html |url-status=live |access-date=November 2, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131101174931/http://www.politico.com/story/2013/10/george-soros-hillary-clinton-98796.html |archive-date=November 1, 2013}}</ref> In June 2015, he donated $1 million to the Super PAC ], which supported ] in the ]. He donated $6 million to the PAC in December 2015 and $2.5 million in August 2016.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Priorities USA Action Contributors, 2016 cycle | OpenSecrets |url=https://www.opensecrets.org/pacs/pacgave2.php?cmte=C00495861&cycle=2016 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201030191645/https://www.opensecrets.org/pacs/pacgave2.php?cmte=C00495861&cycle=2016 |archive-date=October 30, 2020 |access-date=November 10, 2020 |website=www.opensecrets.org}}</ref> Soros launched a new super PAC called ''Democracy PAC'' for the ]. By July 2019, he had donated $5.1 million to it.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Severns |first=Maggie |date=July 31, 2019 |title=Soros launches super PAC for 2020 |url=https://www.politico.com/story/2019/07/31/soros-launches-super-pac-2020-1442748 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200604172813/https://www.politico.com/story/2019/07/31/soros-launches-super-pac-2020-1442748 |archive-date=June 4, 2020 |access-date=June 4, 2020 |publisher=Politico}}</ref> | |||
Since 2016, Soros has been donating sums exceeding $1 million to the campaigns of progressive ] proponents through the ''Safety and Justice'' PAC in local ] elections. In many districts, such large contributions were unprecedented and the campaigning strategy was "turned on its head" with a focus on incarceration, ] and bail system, according to the ''Los Angeles Times''.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Bland |first=Scott |date=August 30, 2016 |title=George Soros' quiet overhaul of the U.S. justice system |work=] |url=https://www.politico.com/story/2016/08/george-soros-criminal-justice-reform-227519 |url-status=live |access-date=June 4, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200530173808/https://www.politico.com/story/2016/08/george-soros-criminal-justice-reform-227519 |archive-date=May 30, 2020}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last1=St. John |first1=Paige |last2=Vansickle |first2=Abbie |date=May 23, 2018 |title=Here's why George Soros, liberal groups are spending big to help decide who's your next D.A. |work=] |url=https://www.latimes.com/local/california/la-me-prosecutor-campaign-20180523-story.html |url-status=live |access-date=June 6, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200608071606/https://www.latimes.com/local/california/la-me-prosecutor-campaign-20180523-story.html |archive-date=June 8, 2020}}</ref> ] was elected as the ] with the help of a $1.5 million ad campaign funded by Soros in 2017.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Calvert |first=Scott |date=June 1, 2017 |title=Black Lives Matters Defender May Become Philadelphia's Next District Attorney |work=] |url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/a-civil-rights-attorney-may-become-philadelphias-next-prosecutor-1496322001 |access-date=June 6, 2020}}</ref> Soros was the largest donor supporting the campaign of ] for ] in 2020, contributing $2.25 million to superPACs in Gascón's favor.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Moore |first1=Maloy |last2=Menezes |first2=Ryan |last3=Queally |first3=James |title=Here are the mega-donors and police unions pouring millions into the L.A. County district attorney race |url=https://www.latimes.com/projects/la-district-attorney-race-top-donors/ |access-date=2022-02-03 |work=] |date=3 November 2020}}</ref> Soros gave $2 million to a PAC supporting ]'s campaign for ] in 2020.<ref>{{Cite news |last1=Hinton |first1=Rachel |title=Another billionaire weighs in on state's attorney's race: George Soros gives $2M to group backing Foxx |url=https://chicago.suntimes.com/politics/2020/2/20/21146269/george-soros-kim-foxx-bill-conway-states-attorney |access-date=2022-02-03 |work=] |date=20 February 2020}}</ref> | |||
In the second quarter of 2020, Soros gave at least $500,000 to presumptive Democratic presidential nominee ], becoming one of the campaign's largest donors.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Goldmacher |first=Shane |date=July 16, 2020 |title=Biden Banks $242 Million as Big-Name Donors Write Huge Checks |language=en-US |work=] |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/16/us/politics/joe-biden-fund-raising.html |url-status=live |access-date=July 21, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200722001144/https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/16/us/politics/joe-biden-fund-raising.html |archive-date=July 22, 2020 |issn=0362-4331}}</ref> | |||
For the ], Soros was the country's largest donor. He donated $128.5 million to support the Democratic Party in the election cycle.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Melgar |first1=Luis |last2=Alcantara |first2=Chris |last3=Stanley-Becker |first3=Isaac |last4=Narayanswamy |first4=Anu |last5=Zubak-Skees |first5=Chris |title=Analysis {{!}} Meet the mega-donors pumping millions into the 2022 midterms |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/interactive/2022/top-election-donors-2022/ |newspaper=] |access-date=11 November 2022 |language=en}}</ref> | |||
=== Central and Eastern Europe === | |||
] with flag of the ] blocking the way from the Open Society Institute office, 2005]] | |||
According to Waldemar A. Nielsen, an authority on American philanthropy,<ref>{{Cite news |last=Saxon |first=Wolfgang |date=November 4, 2005 |title=Waldemar Nielsen, Expert on Philanthropy, Dies at 88 |work=] |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2005/11/04/nyregion/04nielsen.html |url-status=live |access-date=February 8, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201110083016/https://www.nytimes.com/2005/11/04/nyregion/waldemar-nielsen-expert-on-philanthropy-dies-at-88.html |archive-date=November 10, 2020}}</ref> " has undertaken... nothing less than to open up the once-closed communist societies of Eastern Europe to a free flow of ideas and scientific knowledge from the outside world".<ref>{{Cite book |last=Nielsen |first=Waldemar A. |title=Inside American Philanthropy: The Dramas of Donorship |publisher=University of Oklahoma Press |year=1996 |page=77}}</ref> From 1979, as an advocate of ']', Soros financially supported dissidents including Poland's ] movement, ] in Czechoslovakia and ] in the ].<ref name="GSb"> {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121016233900/https://www.opensocietyfoundations.org/people/george-soros |date=October 16, 2012 }}, Open Society Foundation</ref> In 1984, he founded his first Open Society Institute in Hungary with a budget of $3 million.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Soros |first=George |date=November 4, 2009 |title=Soros: In revolutionary times the impossible becomes possible |url=http://edition.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/europe/07/27/aoc.soros.opensociety/index.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120107162204/http://edition.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/europe/07/27/aoc.soros.opensociety/index.html |archive-date=January 7, 2012 |access-date=January 7, 2012 |website=CNN.com|publisher=]}}</ref> | |||
Since the fall of the ], Soros's funding has played an important role in the newly independent countries. A 2017 study found that a grant program by George Soros which awarded funding to over 28,000 scientists in the former Soviet republics shortly after the end of the Soviet Union "more than doubled publications on the margin, significantly induced scientists to remain in the science sector, and had long-lasting impacts".<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Ganguli |first=Ina |date=2017 |title=Saving Soviet Science: The Impact of Grants When Government R&D Funding Disappears |url=https://www.aeaweb.org/articles/attachments?retrieve=emk8qC_LAUrIPcDBR1BB5AkFY5d0MRdE |url-status=live |journal=American Economic Journal: Applied Economics |language=en |volume=9 |issue=2 |pages=165–201 |doi=10.1257/app.20160180 |issn=1945-7782 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201110083014/https://www.aeaweb.org/content/file?id=3970 |archive-date=November 10, 2020 |access-date=August 29, 2020}}</ref> His funding of pro-democratic programs in ] was considered by Georgian nationalists to be crucial to the success of the ], although Soros has said that his role has been "greatly exaggerated".<ref>{{Cite web|date=2007-04-26|title=World: Soros Says Revolutions Don't Build Democracies|url=https://www.rferl.org/a/1076135.html|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171019111652/https://www.rferl.org/a/1076135.html|archive-date=2017-10-19|access-date=2021-05-04|website=]}}</ref> ], secretary of the Georgian Security Council and former Minister of Education and Science, is a former executive director of the Open Society Georgia Foundation (]), overseeing a staff of 50 and a budget of $2.5 million.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Alexander Lomaia – Minister of Education and Science (Georgia) |url=http://www.oecd.org/document/49/0,2340,en_21571361_36507471_37001521_1_1_1_1,00.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090211061157/http://www.oecd.org/document/49/0%2C2340%2Cen_21571361_36507471_37001521_1_1_1_1%2C00.html |archive-date=February 11, 2009 |access-date=October 16, 2009 |publisher=Oecd.org}}</ref> | |||
Former Georgian foreign minister ] wrote that institutions like the Soros Foundation were the cradle of democratization and that all the NGOs that gravitated around the Soros Foundation undeniably carried the revolution. She opines that after the revolution the Soros Foundation and the NGOs were integrated into power.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Zourabichvili |first=Salomé |date=April 2008 |title=Article |work=Herodote |publisher=French Institute for Geopolitics}}</ref> | |||
Some Soros-backed pro-democracy initiatives have been banned in ] and ].<ref>{{Cite news |last=Weir |first=Fred |date=February 10, 2005 |title=Democracy rising in ex-Soviet states |work=] |url=http://www.csmonitor.com/2005/0210/p01s03-wosc.html |url-status=live |access-date=March 31, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100416164204/http://www.csmonitor.com/2005/0210/p01s03-wosc.html |archive-date=April 16, 2010}}</ref> Ercis Kurtulus, head of the Social Transparency Movement Association (TSHD) in ], said in an interview 2006 that "Soros carried out his will in Ukraine and Georgia by using these NGOs ... Last year Russia passed a special law prohibiting NGOs from taking money from foreigners. I think this should be banned in Turkey as well."<ref>{{Cite web |date=October 11, 2006 |title=Does Foreign Funding Make NGOs into Puppets? |url=http://www.globalpolicy.org/ngos/fund/2006/1011puppets.htm |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090501063044/http://www.globalpolicy.org/ngos/fund/2006/1011puppets.htm |archive-date=May 1, 2009 |access-date=October 16, 2009 |website=Globalpolicy.org}}</ref> In 1997, Soros closed his foundation in ] after it was fined $3 million by the government for "tax and currency violations". According to ''The New York Times'' 1997, the Belarusian president ] has been widely criticized in the West and in Russia for his efforts to control the Belarus Soros Foundation and other independent NGOs and to suppress civil and human rights. Soros called the fines part of a campaign to "destroy independent society".<ref>{{Cite news |last=Miller |first=Judith |date=September 4, 1997 |title=Soros Closes Foundation in Belarus |work=] |url=https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9400E0D91530F937A3575AC0A961958260 |url-status=live |access-date=October 16, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081206074119/http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9400E0D91530F937A3575AC0A961958260 |archive-date=December 6, 2008}}</ref> | |||
In June 2009, Soros donated $100 million to Central Europe and Eastern Europe to counter the impact of the ] on the poor, voluntary groups and non-government organisations.<ref> {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090622032011/http://www.unian.net/eng/news/news-321844.html |date=June 22, 2009 }}, ] (UNIAN), June 19, 2009.</ref> | |||
Since 2012, the Hungarian ] has labelled George Soros as an ]. The government has disagreed with Soros's involvement in the ]. The government has attacked ], the international civil support foundation created by George Soros, and tried to revoke the licence of ] (Budapest) (which failed mostly due to significant public outrage).<ref name="istandwithceu">{{Cite web |title=#IStartWithCeu |url=https://www.ceu.edu/category/istandwithceu |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180215074820/http://www.ceu.edu/category/istandwithceu |archive-date=February 15, 2018 |access-date=April 18, 2018 |publisher=CEU}}</ref> In response, Soros called the government "a mafia state".<ref name="mafia">{{Cite news |last=Jennifer Rankin |date=June 1, 2017 |title=George Soros attacks Hungarian prime minister for building a 'mafia state' |work=] |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/jun/01/george-soros-attacks-hungarian-president-building-mafia-state |url-status=live |access-date=April 18, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180331150853/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/jun/01/george-soros-attacks-hungarian-president-building-mafia-state |archive-date=March 31, 2018}}</ref> | |||
As the 2018 election period started, the government introduced public posters with a photo of Soros<ref name="poster1">{{Cite web |last=Hungarian government |title=Soros large poster |url=http://img3.hvg.hu/image.aspx?id=4099562d-ee70-4221-bb53-c4952af5c15a&view=da658e97-86c0-40f3-acd3-b0a850f32c30 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181118215218/http://img3.hvg.hu/image.aspx?id=4099562d-ee70-4221-bb53-c4952af5c15a&view=da658e97-86c0-40f3-acd3-b0a850f32c30 |archive-date=November 18, 2018 |access-date=April 18, 2018 |publisher=HVG}}</ref> to create hostility in the general public towards him, using statements such as "Soros wants millions of migrants to live in Hungary", and "Soros wants to dismantle the ]". The government also prepared a three-part law plan called the "Stop Soros package" (which followed other various law changes<ref name="Ktsztv">2017. évi LXXVI. törvény (LXXVI. law of 2017)</ref> in the same year, hindering the workings of several international NGOs in Hungary), which would include various steps against NGOs doing volunteer work related to the refugee crisis. | |||
], 2018. It reads: #Stop Soros #I will profit.]] | |||
In March 2017, six US senators sent a letter to then secretary of state ]<ref>{{Cite news |date=March 24, 2017 |title=Macedonia to George Soros and USAID: Go Away |language=en-US |work=The American Spectator |url=https://spectator.org/macedonia-to-george-soros-and-usaid-go-away/ |url-status=live |access-date=July 25, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170729031200/https://spectator.org/macedonia-to-george-soros-and-usaid-go-away/ |archive-date=July 29, 2017}}</ref> asking that he look into several grants the State Department and the US Agency for International Development (USAID) have given to groups funded by "left-wing" Soros. In the same context, the conservative group ] has filed a ] (FOIA) lawsuit against the U.S. Department of State and USAID compelling them to release records regarding $5 million transferred from USAID to Soros's Open Society branch in Macedonia. The suit alleges that the money was deliberately used to destabilize the Macedonian government.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Takala |first=Rudy |date=April 28, 2017 |title=Why is the State Department refusing to disclose Soros' involvement in Macedonia? |work=]|url=https://thehill.com/blogs/pundits-blog/international/331026-why-is-the-state-department-refusing-to-disclose-soros/ |url-status=live |access-date=July 25, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170714124810/http://thehill.com/blogs/pundits-blog/international/331026-why-is-the-state-department-refusing-to-disclose-soros |archive-date=July 14, 2017}}</ref> The Open Society Foundation has said its activities in Macedonia were aimed at ethnic reconciliation with the Albanian minority and other forms of assistance since the collapse of Yugoslavia.<ref>{{Cite web |date=May 1, 2017 |title=The Open Society Foundations in North Macedonia |url=https://www.opensocietyfoundations.org/newsroom/the-open-society-foundations-in-north-macedonia |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200215154527/https://www.opensocietyfoundations.org/newsroom/the-open-society-foundations-in-north-macedonia |archive-date=February 15, 2020 |access-date=February 28, 2020 |website=Open Society Foundation}}</ref> | |||
In January 2017, the "Stop Operation Soros" (SOS) initiative was launched in Macedonia. SOS seeks to present "questions and answers about the way Soros operates worldwide" and invites citizens to contribute to the research. In a press conference held during the same month, Nenad Mircevski, one of the founders of the initiative, stated that SOS would work towards the "de-Soros-ization" of Macedonia.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Lyman |first=Rick |date=March 1, 2017 |title=After Trump Win, Anti-Soros Forces Are Emboldened in Eastern Europe |language=en-US |work=] |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2017/03/01/world/europe/after-trump-win-anti-soros-forces-are-emboldened-in-eastern-europe.html |url-status=live |access-date=July 25, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170719203948/https://www.nytimes.com/2017/03/01/world/europe/after-trump-win-anti-soros-forces-are-emboldened-in-eastern-europe.html |archive-date=July 19, 2017 |issn=0362-4331}}</ref> | |||
On May 16, 2018, Soros's Open Society Foundations announced they would move its office from Budapest to Berlin, blaming the move on an "increasingly repressive" environment in Hungary.<ref>{{Cite news |title=George Soros foundation to close office in 'repressive' Hungary |work=] |url=https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2018/05/george-soros-foundation-close-office-repressive-hungary-180515160314017.html |url-status=live |access-date=June 6, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180606162837/https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2018/05/george-soros-foundation-close-office-repressive-hungary-180515160314017.html |archive-date=June 6, 2018}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=May 15, 2018 |title=Soros foundation to leave Hungary |work=] |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-44082976 |url-status=live |access-date=June 6, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180618161844/https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-44082976 |archive-date=June 18, 2018 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=May 15, 2018 |title=Soros foundation to close office in Budapest over Hungarian government's 'repressive' policies |work=] |location=London |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2018/05/15/soros-foundation-close-office-budapest-hungarian-governments/ |url-status=live |access-date=June 6, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180618131909/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2018/05/15/soros-foundation-close-office-budapest-hungarian-governments/ |archive-date=June 18, 2018}}</ref> | |||
=== Africa === | |||
The ] is a Soros-affiliated organization.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Open Society Initiative for Southern Africa |url=https://www.opensocietyfoundations.org/about/offices-foundations/open-society-initiative-southern-africa |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161015180006/https://www.opensocietyfoundations.org/about/offices-foundations/open-society-initiative-southern-africa |archive-date=October 15, 2016 |access-date=October 11, 2016 |website=opensocietyfoundations.org}}</ref> | |||
===Diplomacy=== | |||
In November 2005, Soros said: "My personal opinion is there's no alternative but to give ]".<ref>"". Balkan Update. November 20, 2005. {{Webarchive|url=https://archive.today/20150118223636/http://www.balkanupdate.com/2005/11/george-soros-kosovo-should-be.html |date=January 18, 2015 }}</ref> | |||
Soros has helped fund the non-profit group ], established by the former British diplomat ].<ref name="diplomat">" {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170202071022/http://www.nytimes.com/2007/03/03/world/europe/03ross.html |date=February 2, 2017 }}". ''The New York Times.'' March 3, 2007.</ref> | |||
===Drug policy reform=== | |||
Soros has funded worldwide efforts to promote ]. In 2008, Soros donated $400,000 to help fund a successful ballot measure in Massachusetts known as the ] which decriminalized possession of less than {{convert|1|oz|g|abbr=on}} of marijuana in the state. Soros has also funded similar measures in California, Alaska, Oregon, Washington, Colorado, Nevada and Maine.<ref>LeBlanc, Steve, , Associated Press, August 27, 2008 {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080831060134/http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5hQsksgZ-IN6nYS3jJ2NcqpufBlLgD92QQPS00|date=August 31, 2008}}</ref> Among the drug decriminalization groups that have received funding from Soros are the ] and ].<ref> {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081023203541/http://www.norml.org/index.cfm?Group_ID=4416|date=October 23, 2008}}, National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws</ref> Soros donated $1.4 million to publicity efforts to support California's ] in 2008, a failed ballot measure that would have expanded ] programs as alternatives to prison for persons convicted of non-violent drug-related offenses.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Halper |first=Evan |date=November 1, 2008 |title=Wealthy Californians put their agendas to a vote |work=] |url=https://www.latimes.com/news/la-me-billionaires1-2008nov01,0,3904554.story |url-status=live |access-date=October 16, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201110083014/https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2008-nov-01-me-billionaires1-story.html |archive-date=November 10, 2020}}</ref> | |||
In October 2010, Soros donated $1 million to support California's ].<ref>{{Cite news |last=Fagan |first=Kevin |date=October 26, 2010 |title=George Soros gives $1 million to Prop. 19 campaign |work=] |url=http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/blogs/nov05election/detail?entry_id=75546 |url-status=live |access-date=October 30, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101101065430/http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/blogs/nov05election/detail?entry_id=75546 |archive-date=November 1, 2010}}</ref> | |||
According to remarks in an interview in October 2009, it is Soros's opinion that marijuana is less addictive{{Compared to?|date=October 2020}} but not appropriate for use by children and students. He himself has not used marijuana for years.<ref>{{dead link|date=January 2017|bot=InternetArchiveBot|fix-attempted=yes}}, Swedish Radio, October 10, 2009.</ref> Soros has been a major financier of the ] – an organization that promotes cannabis legalization – with roughly $5 million in annual contributions from one of his foundations.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Sorvino |first=Chloe |date=October 2, 2014 |title=An Inside Look At The Biggest Drug Reformer In The Country: George Soros |work=] |url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/chloesorvino/2014/10/02/an-inside-look-at-the-biggest-drug-reformer-in-the-country-george-soros/#738a854b1e29 |url-status=live |access-date=July 9, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200709093108/https://www.forbes.com/sites/chloesorvino/2014/10/02/an-inside-look-at-the-biggest-drug-reformer-in-the-country-george-soros/#738a854b1e29 |archive-date=July 9, 2020}}</ref> | |||
=== Death and dying === | |||
The Project on Death in America, active from 1994 to 2003,<ref>{{Cite web |date=September 11, 2014 |title=The Project on Death in America: twenty years on – by David Clark – End of life studies |url=http://endoflifestudies.academicblogs.co.uk/the-project-on-death-in-america-twenty-years-on/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150723113146/http://endoflifestudies.academicblogs.co.uk/the-project-on-death-in-america-twenty-years-on/ |archive-date=July 23, 2015 |access-date=July 20, 2015 |website=End of life studies}}</ref> was one of the Open Society Institute's projects, which sought to "understand and transform the culture and experience of dying and bereavement".<ref name="projectondeath">{{Cite web |title=Project on Death in America |url=http://www.soros.org/death |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20031009064441/http://www.soros.org/death/ |archive-date=October 9, 2003}}</ref> In 1994, Soros delivered a speech in which he reported that he had offered to help his mother, a member of the ] advocacy organization ], commit suicide.<ref>{{Cite web |title=George Soros: Reflections on Death in America |url=http://www.soros.org/death/george_soros.htm |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070210230320/http://www2.soros.org/death/george_soros.htm |archive-date=February 10, 2007}}</ref> In the same speech, he also endorsed the ],<ref>{{Cite web |date=March 25, 2002 |title=George Soros: Reflections on Death in America contd. 2 | Project on Death in America |url=http://www.soros.org/death/george_soros3.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20020325032428/http://www.soros.org/death/george_soros3.htm |archive-date=March 25, 2002 |access-date=October 16, 2009}}</ref> proceeding to help fund its advertising campaign.<ref>{{Cite news |year=1997 |title=Fatal prescription – re-enactment of the Oregon Death With Dignity Act on physician-assisted suicide |publisher=Findarticles.com |url=http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1252/is_n20_v124/ai_20520550 |url-status=dead |access-date=October 16, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090211054834/http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1252/is_n20_v124/ai_20520550 |archive-date=February 11, 2009}}</ref> | |||
{{Anchor|Conspiracy_theories}} | |||
==Conspiracy theories and threats== | |||
{{Main|George Soros conspiracy theories}} | |||
Because of his Jewish identity, wealth, and philanthropy, Soros has been described as "the perfect code word" for conspiracy theories that unite ] and ]. One prominent Soros-related conspiracy theory is that he is behind the ] or importing migrants to European countries. The Hungarian government spent millions of dollars on a poster campaign demonizing Soros. According to anthropologist Ivan Kalmar, "Many of his most outspoken enemies inside and outside Hungary saw him as leading an international cabal that included other Jews such as the Rothschilds, as well as Freemasons and Illuminati".<ref>{{cite book |last1=Langer |first1=Armin |title=Europe: Continent of Conspiracies |date=2021 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-1-003-04864-0 |chapter=The eternal George Soros: The rise of an antisemitic and Islamophobic conspiracy theory}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Kalmar |first1=Ivan |title=Islamophobia and anti-antisemitism: the case of Hungary and the 'Soros plot' |journal=Patterns of Prejudice |date=2020 |volume=54 |issue=1–2 |pages=182–198 |doi=10.1080/0031322X.2019.1705014|s2cid=219021241 }}</ref> | |||
===Attempted assassination=== | |||
A ] was placed in the mailbox at Soros's home in ], on October 22, 2018, as part of the ]. The package was discovered by a caretaker,<ref>{{Cite magazine |last=Lach |first=Eric |date=October 24, 2018 |title=The Bombs Addressed to Obama, Clinton, and Soros, and the History of Anti-Soros Hate-Mongering |url=https://www.newyorker.com/news/current/the-bombs-addressed-to-obama-clinton-and-soros-and-the-history-of-soros-mongering |url-status=live |magazine=] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181026212611/https://www.newyorker.com/news/current/the-bombs-addressed-to-obama-clinton-and-soros-and-the-history-of-soros-mongering |archive-date=October 26, 2018 |access-date=October 27, 2018}}</ref> who removed it and notified authorities. It was photographed and exploded by the ], which launched an investigation.<ref>{{Cite web |last1=Hutchinson |first1=Bill |last2=Katersky |first2=Aaron |last3=Margolin |first3=Josh |last4=Crudele |first4=Mark |date=October 23, 2018 |title=Would-be attacker hand-delivered pipe bomb to George Soros' home mailbox: Source |url=https://abcnews.go.com/US/billionaire-philanthropist-george-soros-home-explosive-device-found/story?id=58683450 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181023230808/https://abcnews.go.com/US/billionaire-philanthropist-george-soros-home-explosive-device-found/story?id=58683450 |archive-date=October 23, 2018 |access-date=October 24, 2018 |website=]}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last1=Rashbaum |first1=William K. |last2=Mervosh |first2=Sarah |last3=Chow |first3=Andrew R. |date=October 22, 2018 |title=At George Soros's Home in N.Y. Suburb, Explosive Device Is Found in Mailbox |work=] |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2018/10/22/nyregion/george-soros-explosive-device.html |url-status=live |access-date=October 23, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181023025632/https://www.nytimes.com/2018/10/22/nyregion/george-soros-explosive-device.html |archive-date=October 23, 2018}}</ref> For several days afterward, similar bombs were mailed to ], ], and other Democrats and liberals.<ref>{{Cite news |date=October 24, 2018 |title=Explosive Devices Found in Mail Sent to Hillary Clinton and Obama |language=en |work=] |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2018/10/24/nyregion/clinton-obama-explosive-device.html |url-status=live |access-date=October 24, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181024134109/https://www.nytimes.com/2018/10/24/nyregion/clinton-obama-explosive-device.html |archive-date=October 24, 2018}}</ref> | |||
On October 26, 2018, ] was arrested in ], on suspicion of mailing the bombs.<ref>{{Cite news |last1=Hanna |first1=Jason |last2=Perez |first2=Evan |last3=Glover |first3=Scott |last4=Almasy |first4=Steve |last5=Sanchez |first5=Ray |date=October 27, 2018 |title=Bomb suspect arrest: What we know about Cesar Sayoc |work=] Politics |url=https://www.cnn.com/2018/10/26/politics/suspicious-packages-arrest/index.html |url-status=live |access-date=February 28, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181026165125/https://www.cnn.com/2018/10/26/politics/suspicious-packages-arrest/index.html |archive-date=October 26, 2018}}</ref> In August 2019, Sayoc was sentenced to 20 years in prison for mailing 16 pipe bombs to 13 victims. None of the devices exploded.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Bekiempis |first=Victoria |date=August 5, 2019 |title=Cesar Sayoc, who sent pipe bombs to Trump critics, gets 20 years in prison |work=] |location=London |url=https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2019/aug/05/cesar-sayoc-sentencing-pipe-bombs-targets-trump-critics |url-status=live |access-date=February 28, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200228205221/https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2019/aug/05/cesar-sayoc-sentencing-pipe-bombs-targets-trump-critics |archive-date=February 28, 2020}}</ref> | |||
==Political and economic views== | |||
===Reflexivity, financial markets, and economic theory=== | |||
Soros's writings focus heavily on the concept of ], where the biases of individuals enter into market transactions, potentially changing the fundamentals of the economy. Soros argues that different principles apply in markets depending on whether they are in a "near to equilibrium" or a "far from equilibrium" state. He argues that, when markets are rising or falling rapidly, they are typically marked by disequilibrium rather than equilibrium, and that the conventional economic theory of the market (the "]") does not apply in these situations. Soros has popularized the concepts of dynamic disequilibrium, static disequilibrium, and near-equilibrium conditions.<ref name="A" /> He has stated that his own financial success has been attributable to the edge accorded by his understanding of the action of the reflexive effect. Reflexivity is based on three main ideas:<ref name="A" /> | |||
* Reflexivity is best observed under special conditions where investor bias grows and spreads throughout the investment arena. Examples of factors that may give rise to this bias include (a) equity leveraging or (b) the ] habits of speculators. | |||
* Reflexivity appears intermittently since it is most likely to be revealed under certain conditions; i.e., the character of the equilibrium process is best considered in terms of probabilities. | |||
* Investors' observation of and participation in the capital markets may at times influence valuations and fundamental conditions or outcomes. | |||
A recent example (circa 2008) of reflexivity in modern financial markets is that of the debt and equity of housing markets.<ref name="A" /> Lenders began to make more money available to more people in the 1990s to buy houses. More people bought houses with this larger amount of money, thus increasing the prices of these houses. Lenders looked at their balance sheets, which not only showed that they had made more loans, but that the collaterals backing the loans – the value of the houses – had gone up (because more money was chasing the same amount of housing, relatively). Thus they lent out more money because their balance sheets looked good, and prices rose higher still. | |||
This was further amplified by public policy. In the US, home loans were guaranteed by the Federal government. Many national governments saw home ownership as a positive outcome and so introduced grants for first-time home buyers and other financial subsidies, such as the exemption of a primary residence from capital gains taxation. These further encouraged house purchases, leading to further price rises and further relaxation of lending standards. | |||
The concept of reflexivity attempts to explain why markets moving from one equilibrium state to another tend to overshoot or undershoot. Soros's theories were originally dismissed by economists,<ref>{{Cite magazine |last=Solow |first=Robert |date=February 8, 1999 |title=The Amateur |magazine=The New Republic}}</ref> but have received more attention after the 2008 crash including becoming the focus of an issue of the '']''.<ref>{{Cite journal |year=2013 |editor-last=Hands |editor-first=D. Wade |title=Reflexivity and Economics: George Soros's Theory of Reflexivity and the Methodology of Economic Science |journal=Journal of Economic Methodology |series=2013 |volume=20 |issue=4 |pages=309–329 |doi=10.1080/1350178X.2013.859415 |hdl-access=free |hdl=10.1080/1350178X.2013.859415 |s2cid=144650771 |last1=Soros |first1=George }}</ref> | |||
The notion of reflexivity provides an explanation of the theories of ], as developed at the ], although Soros had not publicized his views at the time the discipline was originally developed there in the 1980s.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Davis |first=John |date=December 2013 |title=Soros's Reflexivity Concept in a Complex World: Cauchy Distributions |url=http://epublications.marquette.edu/econ_fac/385/ |url-status=live |journal=Marquette.edu |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160502050145/http://epublications.marquette.edu/econ_fac/385/ |archive-date=May 2, 2016 |access-date=November 10, 2020}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Why do we need an Institute for New Economic Thinking at Oxford? – Videos |url=http://www.oxfordmartin.ox.ac.uk/videos/view/172 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120826121303/http://www.oxfordmartin.ox.ac.uk/videos/view/172 |archive-date=August 26, 2012 |access-date=November 10, 2020 |website=Oxford Martin School}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Beinhocker |first=Eric D. |year=2013 |title=Reflexivity, complexity, and the nature of social science |journal=Journal of Economic Methodology |volume=20 |issue=4 |pages=330–342 |doi=10.1080/1350178X.2013.859403 |s2cid=1007420}}</ref> | |||
===Reflexivity in politics=== | |||
Although the primary manifestation of the reflexive process that Soros discusses is its effects in the financial markets, he has also explored its effects in politics. He has stated that whereas the greatest threats to the "]" in the past were from communism and fascism (as discussed in '']'' by his mentor ]), the largest current threat is from ]. | |||
He has suggested that the contemporary domination of world politics and world trade by the United States is a reflexive phenomenon, insofar as the success of military and financial coercion feeds back to encourage increasingly intense applications of the same policies to the point where they will eventually become unsustainable.<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://archive.org/details/bubbleofamerican00soro |title=The Bubble of American Supremacy: Correcting the Misuse of American Power |publisher=PublicAffairs |year=2003 |isbn=978-1-58648-217-6}}</ref> | |||
===View of problems in the free market system=== | |||
Soros argues that the current system of financial speculation undermines healthy economic development in many underdeveloped countries. He blames many of the world's problems on the failures inherent in what he characterizes as ].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Soros |first=George |title=The Alchemy of Finance |publisher=John Wiley & Sons |year=2003 |isbn=978-0-471-44549-4 |page=13}}</ref> | |||
==== Market predictions ==== | |||
Soros's book ''The New Paradigm for Financial Markets'' (May 2008), described a "superbubble" that had built up over the past 25 years and was ready to collapse. This was the third in a series of books he has written that have predicted disaster. As he states: | |||
{{blockquote|I have a record of crying wolf ... I did it first in ''The Alchemy of Finance'' (in 1987), then in ''The Crisis of Global Capitalism'' (in 1998), and now in this book. So it's three books predicting disaster. the boy cried wolf three times ... the wolf really came.<ref name="predict">" {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170803132236/https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB121400427331093457 |date=August 3, 2017 }}, Now Is Warning of a 'Superbubble'" by Greg Ip, B1, June 21–22, 2008 ''The Wall Street Journal''.</ref>|author=|title=|source=}} | |||
He ascribes his own success to being able to recognize when his predictions are wrong: | |||
{{blockquote|I'm only rich because I know when I'm wrong ... I basically have survived by recognizing my mistakes. I very often used to get backaches due to the fact that I was wrong. Whenever you are wrong you have to fight or flight. When make the decision, the backache goes away.<ref name="predict" />}} | |||
In February 2009, Soros said the world financial system had in effect disintegrated, adding that there was no prospect of a near-term resolution to the crisis.<ref> {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201103000810/https://www.reuters.com/article/newsOne/idUSTRE51K0A920090221 |date=November 3, 2020 }}, '']'', February 21, 2009, Retrieved August 17, 2009.</ref> "We witnessed the collapse of the financial system ... It was placed on life support, and it's still on life support. There's no sign that we are anywhere near a bottom." | |||
In January 2016, at an economic forum in Sri Lanka, Soros predicted a ] akin to the ] based on the state of the global currency, stock and commodity markets as well as the sinking ].<ref>{{Cite web |last1=Haigh |first1=Adam |last2=Ondaatjie |first2=Anusha |date=January 6, 2016 |title=George Soros Sees Crisis in Global Markets That Echoes 2008 |url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-01-07/global-markets-at-the-beginning-of-a-crisis-george-soros-says |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170210101242/https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-01-07/global-markets-at-the-beginning-of-a-crisis-george-soros-says |archive-date=February 10, 2017 |access-date=January 15, 2016 |website=bloomberg.com |publisher=Bloomberg LP}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Clinch |first=Matt |date=January 7, 2016 |title=Soros: It's the 2008 crisis all over again |url=https://www.cnbc.com/2016/01/07/soros-its-the-2008-crisis-all-over-again.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160116060225/http://www.cnbc.com/2016/01/07/soros-its-the-2008-crisis-all-over-again.html |archive-date=January 16, 2016 |access-date=January 15, 2016 |website=cnbc.com |publisher=CNBC LLC.}}</ref> | |||
=== Views on antisemitism and Israel === | |||
When asked what he thought about ], in ''The New Yorker'', Soros replied: "I don't deny Jews the right to a national existence – but I don't want to be a part of it".<ref>{{Cite book |last=Porter |first=Anna |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8FusBAAAQBAJ&pg=PA32 |title=Buying a Better World: George Soros and Billionaire Philanthropy |publisher=Dundurn Press |year=2015 |isbn=978-1-45973-103-5 |page=32 |access-date=April 2, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170403031523/https://books.google.com/books?id=8FusBAAAQBAJ&pg=PA32 |archive-date=April 3, 2017 |url-status=live}}</ref> According to hacked emails released in 2016, Soros's Open Society Foundation has a self-described objective of "challenging Israel's racist and anti-democratic policies" in international forums, in part by questioning Israel's reputation as a democracy.<ref>{{Cite news |title=Hacked Soros e-mails reveal plans to fight Israel's 'racist' policies |url=http://www.jpost.com/Israel-News/Politics-And-Diplomacy/Hacked-Soros-e-mails-reveal-plans-to-fight-Israels-racist-policies-464149 |url-status=live |access-date=November 7, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161114092640/http://www.jpost.com/Israel-News/Politics-And-Diplomacy/Hacked-Soros-e-mails-reveal-plans-to-fight-Israels-racist-policies-464149 |archive-date=November 14, 2016}}, ], from ]</ref> He has funded NGOs which have been actively critical of Israeli policies<ref name="auto2">{{Cite web |last=Leibovitz |first=Liel |date=August 14, 2016 |title=Soros Hack Reveals Evidence of Systemic Anti-Israel Bias |url=http://www.tabletmag.com/scroll/210826/soros-hack-reveals-evidence-of-systemic-anti-israel-bias |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160815160302/http://www.tabletmag.com/scroll/210826/soros-hack-reveals-evidence-of-systemic-anti-israel-bias |archive-date=August 15, 2016 |access-date=August 15, 2016 |website=]}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Israel |first=David |date=August 14, 2016 |title=DC Leaks Publishes George Soros' Files Showing Millions Contributed to Anti-Israel Causes |url=http://www.jewishpress.com/news/breaking-news/dc-leaks-publishes-george-soros-files-showing-millions-contributed-to-anti-israel-causes/2016/08/14/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160816102600/http://www.jewishpress.com/news/breaking-news/dc-leaks-publishes-george-soros-files-showing-millions-contributed-to-anti-israel-causes/2016/08/14/ |archive-date=August 16, 2016 |access-date=August 15, 2016 |website=Jewish Press}}</ref><ref> {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170509020629/https://www.bloomberg.com/view/articles/2016-08-16/how-george-soros-threatens-to-make-israel-a-pariah |date=May 9, 2017 }} By Eli Lake, August 16, 2016, Bloomberg</ref> including groups that campaign for the ] movement against Israel.<ref name="auto2" /> | |||
Speaking before a 2003 conference of the Jewish Funders Network, Soros said that the administrations of ] in the U.S. and ] in Israel, and even the unintended consequences of some of his own actions, were partially contributing to a new European antisemitism. Soros, citing accusations that he was one of the "Jewish financiers" who, in antisemitic terms, "ruled the world by proxy", suggested that, if the direction of those policies were changed, then anti-Semitism would diminish. ], national director of the ] later said that Soros's comments held a simplistic view, were counterproductive, biased and a bigoted perception of the situation, and "blamed the victim" when holding Jews responsible for ]. Jewish philanthropist ], who arranged for Soros's appearance at the conference, clarified that "George Soros does not think Jews should be hated any more than they deserve to be".<ref name="Heilman_JTA">{{Cite news |last=Heilman |first=Uriel |date=November 8, 2003 |title=Soros Says Jews And Israel Cause Anti-Semitism |work=Jewish Telegraphic Agency |url=http://www.jta.org/page_view_story.asp?intarticleid=13428&intcategoryid=4 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20031119203952/http://www.jta.org/page_view_story.asp?intarticleid=13428&intcategoryid=4 |archive-date=November 19, 2003}}</ref> Soros has also said that Jews can overcome antisemitism by "giv up on the tribalness".<ref>{{Cite book |last=Beattie |first=Kirk |title=Congress and the Shaping of the Middle East |publisher=Seven Stories Press |year=2016 |isbn=978-1-60980-562-3 |location=New York}}</ref> | |||
In a subsequent article for '']'', Soros emphasized that: | |||
<blockquote>I do not subscribe to the myths propagated by enemies of Israel and I am not blaming Jews for anti-Semitism. Anti-Semitism predates the birth of Israel. Neither Israel's policies nor the critics of those policies should be held responsible for anti-Semitism. At the same time, I do believe that attitudes toward Israel are influenced by Israel's policies, and attitudes toward the Jewish community are influenced by the pro-Israel lobby's success in suppressing divergent views.<ref>Soros, George. {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081221104958/http://www.nybooks.com/articles/20030 |date=December 21, 2008 }}. ''The New York Review of Books''. April 12, 2007.</ref></blockquote> | |||
In 2017, Israeli businessman ] filed a $10-million lawsuit against Soros, alleging that Soros had influenced the ] to freeze Steinmetz's company BSG Resources out of iron ore mining contracts in the African country due to "long-standing animus toward the state of Israel".<ref> Fox News</ref><ref> {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170424091639/http://www.courthousenews.com/mining-company-sues-george-soros-10-billion/ |date=April 24, 2017 }} | |||
JOSH RUSSELL, April 20, 2017, ]</ref><ref> {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170517231831/https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-04-14/george-soros-sued-by-fellow-billionaire-in-10-billion-mine-row |date=May 17, 2017 }} by Franz Wild, April 14, 2017, Bloomberg</ref> Steinmetz claims that Soros engaged in a "smear" campaign against him and his companies and blames Soros for scrutiny of him by American, Israeli, Swiss, and Guinean authorities.<ref>Jesse Drucker & Isabel Kershner, {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180105235320/https://www.nytimes.com/2017/08/14/business/dealbook/beny-steinmetz-israeli-billionaire-detained.html |date=January 5, 2018 }}, ''The New York Times'' (August 14, 2017).</ref> Soros called Steinmetz's suit "frivolous and entirely false" and said that it was "a desperate PR stunt meant to deflect attention from BSGR's mounting legal problems across multiple jurisdictions".<ref>Jesse Riseborough & Franz Wild, {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180106063859/https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-04-18/soros-calls-10-billion-steinmetz-mine-suit-a-frivolous-stunt |date=January 6, 2018 }}, Bloomberg (April 18, 2017).</ref> | |||
During an award ceremony for ], Soros said that the victims of violence and abuse were becoming "perpetrators of violence", suggesting that this model explained Israel's behavior towards the Palestinians, which led to walkouts and Soros being booed.<ref> {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161024023847/http://forward.com/the-assimilator/338433/the-night-george-soros-stood-in-for-nobelist-holocaust-survivor-imre-kertes/ |date=October 24, 2016 }} April 12, 2016, The Forward, By Masha Leon</ref> | |||
In July 2017, a Hungarian billboard campaign backed by Prime Minister ], which was considered to be anti-semitic by the country's Jewish groups, vilified Soros as an enemy of the state, using the slogan "Let's not allow Soros to have the last laugh".<ref name="GuardianAFP">{{Cite news |date=July 12, 2017 |title=George Soros upset by 'antisemitic' campaign against him in Hungary |work=]|agency=Agence France-Presse |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/jul/12/george-soros-upset-by-anti-semitic-campaign-against-him-in-hungary |url-status=live |access-date=May 2, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190502124407/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/jul/12/george-soros-upset-by-anti-semitic-campaign-against-him-in-hungary |archive-date=May 2, 2019}}</ref> The campaign was estimated to have cost 5.7bn forints (then US$21 million).<ref>{{Cite news |last=Thorpe |first=Nick |date=July 10, 2017 |title=Hungary vilifies financier Soros with crude poster campaign |work=] |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-40554844 |url-status=live |access-date=May 2, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190403202837/https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-40554844 |archive-date=April 3, 2019}}</ref> According to the Israeli ambassador, the campaign "evokes sad memories but also sows hatred and fear", a reference to Hungary's role in the deportation of 500,000 Jews during the ].<ref name="Baker2017">{{Cite news |last=Baker |first=Luke |date=July 10, 2017 |title=Israel backs Hungary, says financier Soros is a threat |work=]|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-israel-hungary-soros-idUSKBN19V1J4 |url-status=live |access-date=May 2, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190418110435/https://www.reuters.com/article/us-israel-hungary-soros-idUSKBN19V1J4 |archive-date=April 18, 2019}}</ref> Lydia Gall of ] asserted that it was reminiscent of Nazi posters during the Second World War featuring "'the laughing Jew'".<ref>{{Cite news |last=Dunai |first=Marton |date=July 6, 2017 |title=Hungarian Jews ask PM Orban to end 'bad dream' of anti-Semitism |work=]|url=https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-hungary-soros-orban-jews/hungarian-jews-ask-pm-orban-to-end-bad-dream-of-anti-semitism-idUKKBN19R24X |url-status=dead |access-date=May 2, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190502131109/https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-hungary-soros-orban-jews/hungarian-jews-ask-pm-orban-to-end-bad-dream-of-anti-semitism-idUKKBN19R24X |archive-date=May 2, 2019}}</ref> Orbán and his government's representative said they had a "zero tolerance" of antisemitism, explaining the posters were aiming to persuade voters that Soros was a "national security risk".<ref name="GuardianAFP" /> | |||
Hours later, in an apparent attempt to ally Israel with Hungary, Israel's ] issued a "clarification", denouncing Soros, stating that he "continuously undermines Israel's democratically elected governments by funding organizations that defame the Jewish state and seek to deny it the right to defend itself".<ref>{{Cite news |last=Ravid |first=Barak |date=July 10, 2018 |title=On Netanyahu's Orders: Israel's Foreign Ministry Retracts Criticism of anti-Semitism in Hungary and Slams George Soros |work=Haaretz |url=https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/israel-retracts-criticism-of-hungary-s-anti-soros-campaign-1.5492668 |url-status=live |access-date=May 2, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190502105115/https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/israel-retracts-criticism-of-hungary-s-anti-soros-campaign-1.5492668 |archive-date=May 2, 2019}}</ref> | |||
Soros's son ] said in an interview that his father cares about Israel, and that he "would like to see Israel in ]'s image. His views are more or less the common views in ] and in the ]." According to Alexander, Soros supports a ]. The younger Soros recounts that after his ] in 1998, his father told him: "If you're serious about being Jewish, you might want to consider immigrating to Israel".<ref>{{Cite news |date=April 25, 2018 |title=Why they hate George Soros|first=Nahum|last=Barnea |url=https://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-5241290,00.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180426002921/https://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-5241290,00.html |archive-date=April 26, 2018 |access-date=April 26, 2018 |website=Ynetnews}}</ref> | |||
In a 2018 interview with ''The New York Times'', Alex Soros, the son of George Soros, when asked why his father fights for an open society, Soros replied that in a non-Jewish state, a Jew can only feel safe when other minorities are protected, which is one of the most important driving forces why his father has been active in his philanthropy: | |||
<blockquote>But he had always "identified firstly as a Jew", and his philanthropy was ultimately an expression of his Jewish identity, in that he felt a solidarity with other minority groups and also because he recognized that a Jew could only truly be safe in a world in which all minorities were protected. Explaining his father's motives, he said, "The reason you fight for an open society is because that's the only society that you can live in, as a Jew—unless you become a nationalist and only fight for your own rights in your own state".<ref>{{Cite news|last=Steinberger|first=Michael|date=July 17, 2018|title=George Soros Bet Big on Liberal Democracy. Now He Fears He Is Losing. (Published 2018)|language=en-US|work=]|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2018/07/17/magazine/george-soros-democrat-open-society.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180717103948/https://www.nytimes.com/2018/07/17/magazine/george-soros-democrat-open-society.html |archive-date=2018-07-17 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live|access-date=February 20, 2021|issn=0362-4331}}</ref></blockquote> | |||
In December 2023, Israel's ambassador to the United Nations, ], accused Soros of supporting pro-Palestinian organizations "that seek the destruction of the State of Israel as a Jewish state".<ref>{{cite news |title=Soros donations to anti-Israel groups unsurprising and 'shameful,' says Erdan |url=https://www.jns.org/soros-donations-to-anti-israel-groups-unsurprising-and-shameful-says-erdan/ |work=Jewish News Syndicate |date=December 4, 2023}}</ref> Soros' son ] dismissed accusations of anti-Semitism as "distorted and dishonest right-wing attacks."<ref>{{cite news |title=Alex Soros deflects antisemitism related to Open Society Foundations |url=https://www.jns.org/alex-soros-deflects-antisemitism-related-to-open-society-foundations/ |work=Jewish News Syndicate |date=February 8, 2024}}</ref> | |||
===Views on the U.S.=== | |||
On November 11, 2003, in an interview with '']'', Soros said that removing President George W. Bush from office was the "central focus of my life" and "a matter of life and death". He said he would sacrifice his entire fortune to defeat Bush "if someone guaranteed it".<ref name="deeppockets">Laura Blumenfeld, , ''The Washington Post'', November 11, 2003; p. A03.</ref><ref> {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140718152705/http://www.newyorker.com/archive/2004/10/18/041018fa_fact3?currentPage=1 |date=July 18, 2014 }}, '']'', Jane Mayer, October 18, 2004</ref> Soros gave $3 million to the ], $2.5 million to ], and $20 million<ref> {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101026043318/http://old.nationalreview.com/york/york200508030928.asp|date=October 26, 2010}}, August 3, 2005: "Soros, who would eventually give ACT $20 million of his own money ..."</ref> to ]. These groups worked to support Democrats in the ]. On September 28, 2004, he dedicated more money to the campaign and kicked off his own multistate tour with a speech, "Why We Must Not Re-elect President Bush",<ref>{{Cite web |date=September 28, 2004 |title=Why We Must Not Re-elect President Bush |url=http://www.commondreams.org/views04/0928-16.htm |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091003210338/http://www.commondreams.org/views04/0928-16.htm |archive-date=October 3, 2009 |access-date=October 16, 2009 |publisher=Commondreams.org}}</ref> delivered at the ] in Washington, D.C. The online transcript of this speech received many views after ] accidentally referred to ] as "factcheck.com" in the vice presidential debate, causing the owner of that domain to redirect all traffic to Soros's site.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Suellentrop |first=Chris |date=October 6, 2004 |title=Cheney Drops the Ball |url=http://www.slate.com/id/2107809/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100616054605/http://www.slate.com/id/2107809 |archive-date=June 16, 2010 |access-date=October 16, 2009 |publisher=Slate.com}}</ref> | |||
His 2003 book, ''The Bubble of American Supremacy'',''<ref>{{Cite book |last=Soros |first=George |url=https://archive.org/details/bubbleofamerican00soro |title=The Bubble of American Supremacy |publisher=Crows Nest M.S.W. Allen & Unwin |year=2004 |isbn=9781586482176 |location=New York}}</ref>'' was a forthright critique of the Bush administration's "War on Terror" as misconceived and counterproductive, and a polemic against the re-election of Bush. He explains the title in the closing chapter by pointing out the parallels in this political context with the self-reinforcing reflexive processes that generate bubbles in stock prices. | |||
When Soros was asked in 2006 about his statement in ''The Age of Fallibility'' that "the main obstacle to a stable and just world order is the United States", he responded that "it happens to coincide with the prevailing opinion in the world. And I think that's rather shocking for Americans to hear. The United States sets the agenda for the world. And the rest of the world has to respond to that agenda. By declaring a 'war on terror' after September 11, we set the wrong agenda for the world ... When you wage war, you inevitably create innocent victims."<ref> {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101111122422/http://www.newsweek.com/2006/06/27/america-the-dangerous.html |date=November 11, 2010 }}, ''Newsweek'', June 27, 2006.</ref> | |||
In 2017, Soros described ] as a con man, and predicted Trump would fail because he believed Trump's ideas were self-contradictory.<ref>{{Cite news |date=January 19, 2017 |title=Soros Says Markets to Slump With Trump, EU Faces Disintegration |newspaper=] |url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-01-19/george-soros-says-markets-will-falter-as-uncertainty-takes-over |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170120142725/https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-01-19/george-soros-says-markets-will-falter-as-uncertainty-takes-over |archive-date=January 20, 2017 |access-date=January 20, 2017 |via=www.bloomberg.com}}</ref> Soros also said he believed Trump was preparing for a ] and expected financial markets to do poorly.<ref name="Guardian20/01/2017" /> | |||
===Views on Europe=== | |||
In October 2011, Soros drafted an open letter entitled "As concerned Europeans we urge Eurozone leaders to unite",<ref>{{Cite news |last=George Soros |date=October 12, 2011 |title=As concerned Europeans we urge Eurozone leaders to unite |work=] |url=http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/0/7d85abd2-f353-11e0-b11b-00144feab49a.html#axzz1aYVAViDt |url-status=live |access-date=January 9, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191210152622/https://www.ft.com/content/7d85abd2-f353-11e0-b11b-00144feab49a#axzz1aYVAViDt |archive-date=December 10, 2019}}</ref> in which he calls for a stronger economic government for Europe using federal means (Common EU treasury, common fiscal supervision, etc.) and warns against the danger of nationalistic solutions to the ]. The letter was co-signed by ], ], ], ], ], and ]. | |||
In October 2015, Soros criticized Hungarian Prime Minister ] and his handling of the ]: "His plan treats the protection of national borders as the objective and the refugees as an obstacle. Our plan treats the protection of refugees as the objective and national borders as the obstacle."<ref>" {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170308074752/https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-10-30/orban-accuses-soros-of-stoking-refugee-wave-to-weaken-europe |date=March 8, 2017 }}". Bloomberg. October 30, 2015.</ref> | |||
Soros expected that ] would fail and the ] would last only a short time.<ref name="Guardian20/01/2017"> {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170120123507/https://www.theguardian.com/business/2017/jan/20/george-soros-theresa-may-wont-last-and-donald-trump-is-would-be-dictator |date=January 20, 2017 }} '']''</ref> Soros is opposed to Brexit and donated £400,000 to the anti-Brexit 'Best for Britain' group.<ref>{{Cite news |date=February 8, 2018 |title=Pro-EU campaign secures £400,000 from George Soros |work=] |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-42984594 |url-status=live |access-date=February 9, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180208213355/http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-42984594 |archive-date=February 8, 2018}}</ref> Soros also hosted a dinner for Conservative donors at his London home to encourage them to follow his lead. Soros's Open Society Foundations also donated a total of £303,000 to two pro-EU organizations, the European Movement UK and Scientists for EU, and a center-right think-tank, Bright Blue.<ref>{{Cite news |last1=Mance |first1=Henry |date=February 8, 2018 |title=George Soros donates £400,000 to anti-Brexit campaign |url=https://www.ft.com/content/df9ed626-0c61-11e8-839d-41ca06376bf2 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181118215317/https://www.ft.com/content/df9ed626-0c61-11e8-839d-41ca06376bf2 |archive-date=November 18, 2018 |access-date=October 6, 2018 |website=]}}</ref> | |||
In 2018, Soros highlighted that Europe faces major challenges related to immigration, austerity, and nations leaving the EU.<ref name="nytimes02018-05-29">{{Cite news |date=May 29, 2018 |title=George Soros's Plan to Fix Europe: DealBook Briefing |work=] |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2018/05/29/business/dealbook/starbucks-bias-race.html |url-status=live |access-date=May 29, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180529133409/https://www.nytimes.com/2018/05/29/business/dealbook/starbucks-bias-race.html |archive-date=May 29, 2018}}</ref> He holds that Europe is facing an existential crisis, in view of the rise of populism, the refugee crisis and a growing rift between Europe and the United States.<ref>{{Cite news |date=May 29, 2018 |title=Soros has warned that the US-Europe alliance 'destruction' may cause major crisis |work=]|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-europe-usa-economy/soros-warns-us-europe-alliance-destruction-may-cause-major-crisis-idUSKCN1IU1PX |url-status=live |access-date=May 29, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180529165656/https://www.reuters.com/article/us-europe-usa-economy/soros-warns-us-europe-alliance-destruction-may-cause-major-crisis-idUSKCN1IU1PX |archive-date=May 29, 2018}}</ref> Soros has also stated that "the euro has many unresolved problems" which "must not be allowed to destroy the European Union". He advocated replacing the notion of a multi-speed Europe by the aim of a "multi-track Europe" that would allow member states a wider variety of choices.<ref name="ecfr-2018-05-29">{{Cite web |date=May 29, 2018 |title=How to save Europe. Keynote speech at ECFR's Annual Council Meeting in Paris |url=http://www.ecfr.eu/article/commentary_how_to_save_europe |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180529132629/http://www.ecfr.eu/article/commentary_how_to_save_europe |archive-date=May 29, 2018 |access-date=May 29, 2018 |publisher=European Council on Foreign Relations}}</ref> | |||
===Views on relations between Europe and Africa=== | |||
In view of the possibility of a further increase of the number of refugees from Africa to Europe, Soros proposes that the European Union devise a "Marshall Plan for Africa" (see '']''), fostering education and employment in Africa in order to reduce emigration.<ref name="nytimes02018-05-29" /><ref name="ecfr-2018-05-29" /> | |||
===Views on China=== | |||
Soros has expressed concern about the growth of Chinese economic and political power, saying, "China has risen very rapidly by looking out for its own interests ... They have now got to accept responsibility for world order and the interests of other people as well". Regarding the political gridlock in America, he said, "Today, China has not only a more vigorous economy but actually a better functioning government than the United States".<ref>{{Cite web |title=Soros: China has better functioning government than U.S. |url=http://blog.foreignpolicy.com/posts/2010/11/16/soros_china_has_better_functioning_government_than_us |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141009092816/http://blog.foreignpolicy.com/posts/2010/11/16/soros_china_has_better_functioning_government_than_us |archive-date=October 9, 2014 |access-date=July 20, 2015 |website=Foreign Policy}}</ref> In July 2015, Soros stated that a "strategic partnership between the US and China could prevent the evolution of two power blocks that may be drawn into military conflict".<ref name="nybookschina">{{Cite journal |last=Soros |first=George |date=July 9, 2015 |title=A Partnership with China to Avoid World War |url=http://www.nybooks.com/articles/2015/07/09/partnership-china-avoid-world-war/ |url-status=live |journal=The New York Review of Books |volume=62 |issue=12 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160117140038/http://www.nybooks.com/articles/2015/07/09/partnership-china-avoid-world-war/ |archive-date=January 17, 2016 |access-date=January 15, 2016}}</ref> In January 2016, during an interview at the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, Soros stated that " hard landing is practically unavoidable". Chinese state media responded by stating "Soros' challenge to the RMB and Hong Kong dollar are doomed to fail, without any doubt".<ref>{{Cite news |title=Debate over future of RMB exchange rate |publisher=WebJD |url=http://www.webjd.cn/2016/01/debate-future-rmb-exchange-rate/ |url-status=dead |access-date=January 27, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160203155830/http://www.webjd.cn/2016/01/debate-future-rmb-exchange-rate/ |archive-date=February 3, 2016}}</ref> | |||
In January 2019, Soros used his annual speech at the ], in Davos, to label ], ] and ], as the "most dangerous opponent of open societies", saying: "China is not the only authoritarian regime in the world but it is the wealthiest, strongest and technologically most advanced". He also urged the ] not to allow the Chinese technology companies ] and ] to dominate the ] telecommunications market as this would present an "unacceptable security risk for the rest of the world".<ref>{{Cite web |last=Miller |first=Joe |date=January 24, 2019 |title=China's Xi Jinping 'most dangerous' to free societies, says George Soros |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-46996116 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190526102645/https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-46996116 |archive-date=May 26, 2019 |access-date=May 26, 2019 |website=]}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=January 24, 2019 |title=Remarks delivered at the World Economic Forum |url=https://www.georgesoros.com/2019/01/24/remarks-delivered-at-the-world-economic-forum-2/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190128222408/https://www.georgesoros.com/2019/01/24/remarks-delivered-at-the-world-economic-forum-2/ |archive-date=January 28, 2019 |access-date=January 28, 2019 |publisher=George Soros}}</ref> Soros also criticized the newest form of China's ]-like system of ] called the ], saying it would give Xi "total control" over the people of China.<ref>{{Cite news |date=January 24, 2019 |title=The 'Mortal Danger' of China's Push Into AI |magazine=] |url=https://www.wired.com/story/mortal-danger-chinas-push-into-ai/ |url-status=live |access-date=May 2, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190507174841/https://www.wired.com/story/mortal-danger-chinas-push-into-ai/ |archive-date=May 7, 2019}}</ref> Additionally, Soros is very critical of American companies that ignore Chinese human rights violations for business reasons, for example slamming ]'s decision to invest big in China as detrimental to worldwide democracy and US national security.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/stocks/george-soros-blackrock-china-mistake-investing-chinese-stocks-markets-2021-9|title=George Soros slams BlackRock's big push into Chinese markets as a 'tragic mistake' that will hurt the US|access-date=December 10, 2021|date=September 7, 2021|work=]|author=Harry Robertson}}</ref> | |||
===Views on Russia and Ukraine=== | |||
In May 2014, Soros told CNN's ]: "I set up a foundation in Ukraine before Ukraine became independent from Russia. And the foundation has been functioning ever since and played an important part in events now."<ref>" {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201108095432/http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/1405/25/fzgps.01.html |date=November 8, 2020 }}". ]. May 25, 2014,</ref> | |||
In January 2015, he said that "Europe needs to wake up and recognize that it is under attack from Russia" and urged Western countries to expand economic ] for its support of separatists in eastern Ukraine.<ref>" {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151122125352/http://www.nybooks.com/articles/archives/2015/feb/05/new-policy-rescue-ukraine/?insrc=hpss |date=November 22, 2015 }}". '']''. February 5, 2014.</ref> | |||
In January 2015, Soros called on the European Union to give $50 billion of bailout money to Ukraine.<ref>" {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150319215825/http://business.financialpost.com/2015/01/08/george-soros-warns-europe-under-russian-attack-urges-ukraine-bailout/ |date=March 19, 2015 }}". '']''. January 8, 2015.</ref> | |||
In July 2015, Soros stated that ] was a challenge to the "prevailing world order", specifically the European Union. He hypothesized that Putin wants to "destabilize all of Ukraine by precipitating a financial and political collapse for which he can disclaim responsibility, while avoiding occupation of a part of eastern Ukraine, which would then depend on Russia for economic support".<ref name="nybookschina" /> In November 2015, Russia banned the Open Society Foundations (OSF) and the Open Society Institute (OSI)—two pro-democracy charities founded by Soros—stating they posed a "threat to the foundations of the constitutional system of the Russian Federation and the security of the state".<ref>{{Cite web |last=Makortoff |first=Kalyeena |date=November 20, 2015 |title=Russia bans George Soros charity as 'security threat' |url=https://www.cnbc.com/2015/11/30/russia-bans-george-soros-charity-as-security-threat.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160116065138/http://www.cnbc.com/2015/11/30/russia-bans-george-soros-charity-as-security-threat.html |archive-date=January 16, 2016 |access-date=January 15, 2016 |website=cnbc.com |publisher=CNBC LLC}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |date=November 30, 2015 |title=Russia Bans George Soros Foundation as State Security 'Threat' |url=http://fortune.com/2015/11/30/russia-bans-george-soros-foundation-as-state-security-threat/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160116084501/http://fortune.com/2015/11/30/russia-bans-george-soros-foundation-as-state-security-threat/ |archive-date=January 16, 2016 |access-date=January 15, 2016 |website=fortune.com |publisher=Fortune}}</ref> In January 2016, 53 books related to Soros's "Renewal of Humanitarian Education" program were withdrawn at the Vorkuta Mining and Economic College in the ], with 427 additional books seized for shredding. A Russian intergovernmental letter released in December 2015 stated that Soros's charities were "forming a perverted perception of history and making ideological directives, alien to Russian ideology, popular". Most of these books were published with funds donated by Soros's charities.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Makortoff |first=Kayleena |date=January 14, 2016 |title=Soros charity targeted in Russia book-burning |url=https://www.cnbc.com/2016/01/14/soros-charity-targeted-in-russia-book-burning.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160117140038/http://www.cnbc.com/2016/01/14/soros-charity-targeted-in-russia-book-burning.html |archive-date=January 17, 2016 |access-date=January 15, 2016 |website=cnbc.com |publisher=CNBC LLC}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Cain |first=Sian |date=May 6, 2016 |title=Russian culture ministry denies reports of book burning |work=]|url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/2016/may/06/russian-culture-ministry-denies-reports-of-book-burning |url-status=live |access-date=February 23, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180224052823/https://www.theguardian.com/books/2016/may/06/russian-culture-ministry-denies-reports-of-book-burning |archive-date=February 24, 2018}}</ref> | |||
In May 2022, Soros stated that the ] may be the start of "a ]" and that Putin must be defeated "as soon as possible". He also stated that "Other issues that concern all of humanity—fighting pandemics and climate change, avoiding nuclear war, maintaining global institutions—have had to take a back seat to that struggle. That's why I say civilization may not survive."<ref>{{Cite web |last=Sahadi |first=Jeanne |date=2022-05-24 |title=Society 'may not survive' Putin's war, says billionaire George Soros |url=https://www.cnn.com/2022/05/24/economy/george-soros-davos-world-economic-forum/index.html |access-date=2022-06-01 |website=]}}</ref> | |||
===Views on India and Narendra Modi=== | |||
In February 2023, Soros criticized Indian Prime Minister ] for his alleged ], cronyism and authoritarianism, saying that "India is...a democracy. But its leader, Narendra Modi, is no democrat. Inciting violence against Muslims was an important factor in his meteoric rise."<ref>{{cite news |title=How George Soros became a punching bag for rightwing Twitter in India |url=https://qz.com/george-soros-indian-rightwing-twitters-punching-bag-1850385524 |work=Quartz |date=April 28, 2023}}</ref> Modi's ] accused Soros of trying to undermine Indian democracy.<ref>{{cite news |title=India's BJP slams Soros for saying Adani's troubles will weaken Modi |url=https://www.reuters.com/world/india/indias-bjp-slams-soros-saying-adanis-troubles-will-weaken-modi-2023-02-17/ |work=Reuters |date=17 February 2023}}</ref> Indian foreign minister ] claimed that Soros is a "dangerous" person.<ref>{{cite news |title=India hits back after George Soros says Adani troubles will greatly weaken Modi's grip on power |url=https://www.cnbc.com/2023/02/20/india-hits-back-after-soros-comments-on-adani-fallout-and-pm-modi.html |work=CNBC |date=February 20, 2023}}</ref> India allegedly ran a disinformation campaign against Soros.<ref>{{cite news |title="Everyone is absolutely terrified": Inside a US ally's secret war on its American critics |url=https://www.vox.com/world-politics/24160779/inside-indias-secret-campaign-to-threaten-and-harass-americans |work=Vox |date=May 22, 2024}}</ref> | |||
==Wealth and philanthropy== | |||
{{Further|topic=George Soros's philanthropy|List of projects supported by George Soros}}] alumni society in Malaysia.]]{{as of|2020|March}}, '']'' magazine listed Soros as the 162nd richest person in the world, with a ] of $8.3 billion.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Forbes Billionaires 2021: The Richest People in the World |website=] |url=https://www.forbes.com/billionaires/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141129074957/http://www.forbes.com/billionaires/ |archive-date=November 29, 2014 |access-date=September 4, 2020}}</ref> He has also donated 64% of his original fortune, and distributed more than $15 billion through his Open Society Foundations (an international grantmaking network that supports advancing justice, education, public health and independent media). Forbes has called him the most generous giver (when measured as a percentage of net worth).<ref name="Wang2020"/> | |||
Soros has been active as a philanthropist since the 1970s, when he began providing funds to help ] students attend the ] in ] South Africa,<ref name="GSb" /> and began funding dissident movements behind the ].{{Citation needed|date=August 2023}} | |||
Soros's philanthropic funding includes efforts to promote non-violent ] in the ]. These efforts, mostly in ] and Eastern Europe, occur primarily through the ] (originally Open Society Institute or OSI) and national Soros Foundations, which sometimes go under other names (such as the ] in Poland). As of 2003, ] estimated that he had given away a total of $4 billion.<ref name="PBS" /> The OSI says it has spent about $500 million annually in recent years. | |||
In 2003, former ] chairman ] wrote in the foreword of Soros's book ''The Alchemy of Finance'': | |||
<blockquote>George Soros has made his mark as an enormously successful speculator, wise enough to largely withdraw when still way ahead of the game. The bulk of his enormous winnings is now devoted to encouraging transitional and emerging nations to become "open societies", open not only in the sense of freedom of commerce but—more important—tolerant of new ideas and different modes of thinking and behavior.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Soros |first=George |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qxkiYul2wgoC&pg=PR12 |title=The Alchemy of Finance |publisher=John Wiley & Sons |year=2003 |isbn=978-0-471-44549-4 |page=xii |access-date=October 17, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201110083021/https://books.google.com/books?id=qxkiYul2wgoC&pg=PR12 |archive-date=November 10, 2020 |url-status=live}}</ref></blockquote> | |||
''Time'' magazine in 2007 cited two specific projects—$100 million toward Internet infrastructure for regional ], and $50 million for the ] to eradicate extreme poverty in Africa—noting that Soros had given $742 million to projects in the U.S., and given away a total of more than $7 billion.<ref>{{failed verification|date=December 2014}}{{unreliable source?|date=December 2014}} {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100921163744/http://georgesoros.com/faqs/entry/georgesorosphilanthropyisunprecedented/|date=September 21, 2010}}. George Soros. Retrieved November 25, 2011.</ref> | |||
Other notable projects have included aid to scientists and universities throughout central and eastern Europe, help to civilians during the ], and ]. Soros also pledged an endowment of €420 million to the ] (CEU). | |||
According to '']''<ref>York, Byron, {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141028041717/http://www.nationalreview.com/articles/213708/soros-funded-stewart-defense/byron-york |date=October 28, 2014 }}, ''National Review Online''; retrieved February 7, 2007.</ref> the Open Society Institute gave $20,000 in September 2002 to the Defense Committee of ], the lawyer who has defended controversial, poor, and often unpopular defendants in court and was sentenced to 2{{sfrac|1|3}} years in prison for "providing material support for a terrorist conspiracy" via a press conference for a client. An OSI spokeswoman said "it appeared to us at that time that there was a right-to-counsel issue worthy of our support", but claimed later requests for support were declined.{{citation needed|date=July 2020}} | |||
In September 2006, Soros pledged $50 million to the Millennium Promise, led by economist ] to provide educational, agricultural, and medical aid to help villages in Africa enduring poverty. '']'' termed this endeavor a "departure" for Soros whose philanthropic focus had been on fostering democracy and good government, but Soros noted that most poverty resulted from bad governance.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Dugger |first=Celia W. |date=September 13, 2006 |title=Philanthropist Gives $50 Million to Help Aid the Poor in Africa |work=] |location=Africa |url=http://travel2.nytimes.com/2006/09/13/us/13soros.html |url-status=dead |access-date=October 16, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090409170818/http://travel2.nytimes.com/2006/09/13/us/13soros.html |archive-date=April 9, 2009}}</ref> | |||
In May 2011, Soros donated $60 million to ], establishing the Bard College Center for Civic Engagement.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Foderaro |first=Lisa W. |date=2011-05-17 |title=$60 Million Gift to Bolster Bard College's Global Work |language=en-US |work=] |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/17/nyregion/bard-college-given-60-million-for-global-initiatives.html |access-date=2023-07-04 |issn=0362-4331}}</ref> | |||
Soros played a role in the ] (1984–89)<ref name=murphy /> and provided a substantial endowment to ] in ].<ref>. ''IPR Strategic Business Information Database''. Info Prod Research. November 25, 2009 {{dead link|date=June 2016|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}</ref> The Open Society Foundations has active programs in more than 60 countries around the world with total expenditures currently averaging approximately $600 million a year.<ref name="forbes400" /><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.georgesoros.com/faqs/entry/georgesorosphilanthropyisunprecedented/ |title=Active Programs |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20100921163744/http://www.georgesoros.com/faqs/entry/georgesorosphilanthropyisunprecedented/|archivedate=September 21, 2010}}</ref> | |||
On October 17, 2017, it was announced that Soros had transferred $18 billion to the Open Society Foundations.<ref>{{Cite news |last=David Gelles |date=October 17, 2017 |title=George Soros Transfers Billions to Open Society Foundations |work=] |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2017/10/17/business/george-soros-open-society-foundations.html |url-status=live |access-date=December 27, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171227224029/https://www.nytimes.com/2017/10/17/business/george-soros-open-society-foundations.html |archive-date=December 27, 2017}}</ref> In October 2018, Soros donated $2 million to the ] via the ] program.<ref>{{Cite news |date=October 15, 2018 |title=George Soros, founder of Open Society Foundations, invests in the future of free and open knowledge |language=en-US |work=Wikimedia Foundation |url=https://wikimediafoundation.org/2018/10/15/george-soros-invests-future-free-open-knowledge/ |url-status=live |access-date=October 19, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181020011626/https://wikimediafoundation.org/2018/10/15/george-soros-invests-future-free-open-knowledge/ |archive-date=October 20, 2018}}</ref> | |||
In January 2020, Soros announced a $1 billion endowment donation at the ], establishing the Open Society University Network a global network of educational institutions in partnership with ] and the ].<ref>{{Cite web |title=George Soros Announces Global Initiative to Transform Higher Education |url=https://www.opensocietyfoundations.org/newsroom/george-soros-launches-global-network-to-transform-higher-education |access-date=2023-07-04 |website=www.opensocietyfoundations.org |language=en}}</ref> Bard College president ] serves as chancellor of the Open Society University Network.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Network |first=Open Society University |title=Who We Are {{!}} Open Society University Network |url=https://opensocietyuniversitynetwork.org/about/who-we-are/ |access-date=2023-07-04 |website=opensocietyuniversitynetwork.org |language=en}}</ref> | |||
In July 2020, Soros's Foundations announced plans to give $220 million in grants for racial justice groups, criminal justice reform and civic engagement.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Herndon |first=Astead W. |date=July 13, 2020 |title=George Soros's Foundation Pours $220 Million Into Racial Equality Push |language=en-US |work=] |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/13/us/politics/george-soros-racial-justice-organizations.html |url-status=bot: unknown |access-date=July 21, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200721204734/https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/13/us/politics/george-soros-racial-justice-organizations.html |archive-date=July 21, 2020 |issn=0362-4331 }}</ref> | |||
In July 2020, Soros donated $100 million to ], to strengthen and expand Bard's Center for Civic Engagement initiatives, and its leadership role as a founding partner of the Open Society University Network.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Relations |first=Bard Public |title=Open Society Foundations Invest $100 Million in Bard College: Strengthening the Global Network |url=https://www.bard.edu/news/details/?id=16985&prefurl=osf-100-million-bard-college-strengthening-global-network |access-date=2023-07-04 |website=www.bard.edu |language=en}}</ref> | |||
In April 2021, Soros pledged $500 million to the endowment of ]. The donation sits among the largest ever made to higher education in the United States.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Relations |first=Bard Public |title=Bard College Receives $500 Million Endowment Pledge from Investor and Philanthropist George Soros |url=https://www.bard.edu/news/details/?id=17623&prefurl=bard-college-receives-500-million-endowment-pledge-from-investor-and-philanthropist-george-soros-2021-04-01 |access-date=2023-07-04 |website=www.bard.edu |language=en}}</ref> Following the $500 million donation Soros donated $25 million to the ] in August 2021,<ref>{{Cite web |last=Block |first=Fang |title=Marieluise Hessel Foundation and George Soros Each Donate $25 Million to Bard College |url=https://www.barrons.com/articles/marieluise-hessel-foundation-and-george-soros-each-donate-25-million-to-bard-college-01630102210 |access-date=2023-07-04 |website=www.barrons.com |language=en-US}}</ref> as well as an additional $25 million donation to Bard in September 2022.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Block |first=Fang |title=Bard College Receives $50 Million Gift to Bolster Indigenous Studies |url=https://www.barrons.com/articles/bard-college-receives-50-million-gift-to-bolster-indigenous-studies-01664394554 |access-date=2023-07-04 |website=www.barrons.com |language=en-US}}</ref> | |||
== Personal life == | |||
Soros has been married three times and divorced twice. In 1960, he married Annaliese Witschak (born January 3, 1934). Annaliese was an ethnic German immigrant, who had been orphaned during the war. Although she was not Jewish, she was well-liked by Soros's parents, as she had also experienced the privation and displacement brought about by ].<ref>Kaufman, Michael T., {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200801225539/https://books.google.com/books?id=UUncnapj_hIC&pg=PT134&lpg=PT134&dq=annaliese+witschak+soros#v=onepage&q=annaliese |date=August 1, 2020 }}</ref> They divorced in 1983. They had three children: | |||
* ] (born 1963): The founder of the ] in Budapest, as well as a network of foundations in Eastern Europe. In 1992, he married Melissa Robin Schiff at the ] in New York City. The Rabbi Dr. David Posner officiated the ceremony.<ref> {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170126105032/http://www.nytimes.com/1992/05/24/style/weddings-melissa-schiff-robert-d-soros.html |date=January 26, 2017 }} May 24, 1992.</ref> | |||
* Andrea Soros Colombel (born June 11, 1965): The founder and president of Trace Foundation, established in 1993 to promote the cultural continuity and sustainable development of ] communities within China. She is also a founding partner and member of the board of directors of the ], a global venture fund that employs an entrepreneurial approach in addressing the problems of global poverty<ref> {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120527161032/http://www.acumenfund.org/about-us/board-of-directors.html|date=May 27, 2012}} retrieved May 26, 2012.</ref> She is married to Eric Colombel (born October 26, 1963). | |||
* ] (born September 10, 1970): A hedge fund manager and political donor. In 2012, he co-founded ], a super PAC dedicated to reducing the influence of money in politics. In 1997, he married Jennifer Ann Allan (born November 26, 1969).<ref> {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170211155203/http://www.nytimes.com/1997/08/17/style/jonathan-soros-and-jennifer-allan.html |date=February 11, 2017 }}, August 17, 1997.</ref> | |||
In 1983, George Soros married ]. They divorced in 2005. They have two children: | |||
* ] (born 1985): Alexander has gained prominence for his donations to social and political causes, focusing his philanthropic efforts on "progressive causes that might not have widespread support."<ref name="West">{{Cite news |last=West |first=Melanie Grayce |date=September 16, 2011 |title=Younger Soros Tries to Learn From Father's Giving |work=] |url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424053111904060604576573191027617806 |url-status=live |access-date=September 16, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150306124733/http://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424053111904060604576573191027617806 |archive-date=March 6, 2015}}</ref> Alexander led the list of student political donors in the 2010 election cycle.<ref>Hepler, Lauren (October 20, 2010). {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101120230940/http://www.opensecrets.org/news/2010/10/college-life-conjures-visions-of.html |date=November 20, 2010 }}. ].</ref> | |||
* Gregory James Soros (born 1988), artist. | |||
As a child, Soros fantasized about being a God.<ref>{{cite news |author1=Gail Counsell |title=The billionaire who built on chaos: Gail Counsell charts the rise of a speculator who considers himself 'some kind of god' |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/business/the-billionaire-who-built-on-chaos-gail-counsell-charts-the-rise-of-a-speculator-who-considers-himself-some-kind-of-god-1489380.html |access-date=9 August 2023 |work=The Independent|date=3 June 1993|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20230604080456/https://www.independent.co.uk/news/business/the-billionaire-who-built-on-chaos-gail-counsell-charts-the-rise-of-a-speculator-who-considers-himself-some-kind-of-god-1489380.html |archive-date=4 June 2023}}</ref> In his book ''Underwriting Democracy'', he wrote, "If truth be known, I carried some rather potent messianic fantasies with me from childhood, which I felt I had to control, otherwise they might get me in trouble."<ref>{{cite book |author1=George Soros |title=Underwriting Democracy: Encouraging Free Enterpirse And Democratic Reform Among the Soviets and in Eastern Europe |date=1 April 2004 |publisher=PublicAffairs |isbn=978-1586482275 |page=1 |url=https://www.georgesoros.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/underwriting_democracy-chap-1-2017_10_05.pdf |access-date=9 August 2023 |chapter=Chapter 1: ''Cracking the Communist Structure''}}</ref> He later elaborated on that passage in an interview saying, "It is a sort of disease when you consider yourself some kind of god, the creator of everything, but I feel comfortable about it now since I began to live it out."<ref>{{cite news |last1=Ehrenfeld |first1=Rachel |last2=Macomber |first2=Shawn |title=George Soros: The 'God' Who Carries Around Some Dangerous Demons |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2004-oct-04-oe-ehrenfeld4-story.html |access-date=9 August 2023 |work=Los Angeles Times |date=4 October 2004|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20230807092252/https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2004-oct-04-oe-ehrenfeld4-story.html |archive-date=7 August 2023}}</ref> | |||
In a 1998 interview with '']'', Soros said he was not religious and does not believe in God.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Dunn |first1=Bill |title=George Soros – Freedom From Religion Foundation |url=https://ffrf.org/ftod-cr/item/35027-george-soros |website=ffrf.org |date=August 12, 1980 |access-date=5 February 2022 |language=en-gb}}</ref> | |||
In 2008, Soros met Tamiko Bolton;<ref>{{Cite news |date=August 13, 2012 |title=George Soros, 82, engaged to yoga website boss Tamiko Bolton, 40 |work=] |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/personalfinance/investing/9471568/George-Sortos-82-engaged-to-yoga-website-boss-Tamiko-Bolton-40.html |access-date=July 20, 2015|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131002233859/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/personalfinance/investing/9471568/George-Soros-82-engaged-to-yoga-website-boss-Tamiko-Bolton-40.html|archive-date=October 2, 2013 }}</ref> they married on September 21, 2013.<ref>{{cite news | url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-soros-wedding-idUSBRE98J0XZ20130922 | title=Billionaire Soros weds consultant in third marriage | newspaper=]| date=September 22, 2013 }}</ref> His older brother, ], a private investor and philanthropist, died on June 15, 2013.<ref>{{Cite news | last=Hershey | first=Robert D. Jr. |date=June 15, 2013 |title=Paul Soros, Shipping Innovator, Dies at 87 |work=] |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2013/06/16/business/paul-soros-shipping-innovator-dies-at-87.html |url-status=live |access-date=June 15, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130616040745/http://www.nytimes.com/2013/06/16/business/paul-soros-shipping-innovator-dies-at-87.html |archive-date=June 16, 2013}}</ref> {{As of|2022}}, Soros owned homes on ] in ], in ] on ], and in ], within ].<ref name=GeorgeSorosNewYorkResidence/> | |||
In December 2023, Soros was ] during a ] targeting American political figures.<ref name=":2">{{Cite web |last=Wehner |first=Greg |date=2024-01-01 |title=Soros' Southampton, NY, estate latest to fall victim to fake 911 'swatting' call |url=https://www.foxnews.com/us/soros-southampton-ny-estate-latest-fall-victim-fake-swatting-call |access-date=2024-01-02 |website=Fox News |language=en-US}}</ref> | |||
== Honors and awards == | |||
Soros has received honorary doctoral degrees from the ] in New York, the ] in 1980, the ], and a ] from ] in 1991.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Honorary Degrees Since 1702 {{!}} Office of the Secretary and Vice President for University Life |url=https://secretary.yale.edu/programs-services/honorary-degrees/since-1702?page=6 |access-date=2024-12-21 |website=secretary.yale.edu}}</ref><ref name=":3">{{Cite web |title=Building Open Societies: Soros Foundations Network 2002 Report |url=https://www.opensocietyfoundations.org/uploads/569ceb5a-5a08-472e-ac5f-00b0c0595cf2/a_complete_report_0.pdf |access-date=2024-12-21 |website=}}</ref> He received an honorary ] degree in economics from the ] in 1995.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Lauree Honoris Causa: George Soros – Lauree Honoris Causa – Archivio Storico – Università di Bologna |url=http://www.archiviostorico.unibo.it/it/struttura-organizzativa/sezione-archivio-storico/lauree-honoris-causa/george-soros.asp?IDFolder=333&IDOggetto=18186&LN=IT |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170207113545/http://www.archiviostorico.unibo.it/it/struttura-organizzativa/sezione-archivio-storico/lauree-honoris-causa/george-soros.asp?IDFolder=333&IDOggetto=18186&LN=IT |archive-date=February 7, 2017 |access-date=February 7, 2017 |website=www.archiviostorico.unibo.it}}</ref><ref name=":3" /> | |||
In 2005, Soros was a minority partner in a group that tried to buy the ], a ] baseball team. Some Republican lawmakers suggested that they might move to revoke ]'s antitrust exemption if Soros bought the team.<ref>{{Cite news |date=June 28, 2005 |title=Soros's Nats Bid Irks Republicans |newspaper=] |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/06/27/AR2005062701447.html |url-status=live |access-date=May 19, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110629023237/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/06/27/AR2005062701447.html |archive-date=June 29, 2011}}</ref> In 2008, Soros's name was associated with ], an Italian association football team, but the club was not sold. Soros was a financial backer of Washington Soccer L.P., the group that owned the operating rights to ] club ] when the league was founded in 1995, but the group lost these rights in 2000.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Goff |first=Steven |date=October 12, 2000 |title=United's Ownership Uncertain; After Sale Fell Through, MLS Might Take Over Operation |publisher=Pqasb.pqarchiver.com |url=https://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/washingtonpost/access/62439758.html?dids=62439758:62439758&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT&fmac=&date=Oct+12%2C+2000&author=Steven+Goff&desc=United%27s+Ownership+Uncertain%3B+After+Sale+Fell+Through%2C+MLS+Might+Take+Over+Operation |url-status=dead |access-date=October 16, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090210214040/http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/washingtonpost/access/62439758.html?dids=62439758:62439758&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT&fmac=&date=Oct+12%2C+2000&author=Steven+Goff&desc=United%27s+Ownership+Uncertain%3B+After+Sale+Fell+Through%2C+MLS+Might+Take+Over+Operation |archive-date=February 10, 2009}}</ref> On August 21, 2012, ] reported SEC filings showing Soros acquired roughly a 2% stake in English football club ] through the purchase of 3 million of the club's Class-A shares.<ref>{{Cite news |date=August 21, 2012 |title=Manchester United: George Soros invests in football club |work=]|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-19328750 |url-status=live |access-date=August 21, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120821095608/http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-19328750 |archive-date=August 21, 2012}}</ref> | |||
In 2008, Soros was inducted into Institutional Investors Alpha's Hedge Fund Manager Hall of Fame along with ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ], and ].<ref name="InstitutionalInvestor2008September23">{{Cite news |date=September 23, 2008 |title=Cohen, Simons, 12 Others Enter Hedge Fund Hall |language=en |publisher=Institutional Investor |agency=Institutional Investor LLC |url=https://www.institutionalinvestor.com/article/b18bl36h7n2yzt/cohen-simons-12-others-enter-hedge-fund-hall |url-status=live |url-access=limited |access-date=June 16, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190616211911/https://www.institutionalinvestor.com/article/b18bl36h7n2yzt/cohen-simons-12-others-enter-hedge-fund-hall |archive-date=June 16, 2019}}</ref> | |||
In January 2014, Soros was ranked number 1 in LCH Investments list of top 20 managers having posting gains of almost $42 billion since the launch of his Quantum Endowment Fund in 1973.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Cosgrave |first=Jenny |date=January 26, 2015 |title=Ackman's returns make him a top 20 fund manager |url=https://www.cnbc.com/2015/01/26/ackmans-returns-make-him-a-top-20-fund-manager.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170816111447/https://www.cnbc.com/2015/01/26/ackmans-returns-make-him-a-top-20-fund-manager.html |archive-date=August 16, 2017 |access-date=March 21, 2017 |website=]}}</ref> | |||
In July 2017, Soros was elected an ] of the ] (HonFBA), the United Kingdom's ] for the humanities and social sciences.<ref>{{Cite web |date=July 21, 2017 |title=Elections to the British Academy celebrate the diversity of UK research |url=https://www.britac.ac.uk/news/elections-british-academy-celebrate-diversity-uk-research |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170730015354/https://www.britac.ac.uk/news/elections-british-academy-celebrate-diversity-uk-research |archive-date=July 30, 2017}}</ref> | |||
Soros was the '']'' Person of the Year for 2018, with the ''FT'' describing him as "a standard bearer for liberal democracy, an idea under siege from populists".<ref>{{Cite web |title=FT Person of the Year: George Soros |url=https://www.ft.com/content/2bd12012-01e4-11e9-9d01-cd4d49afbbe3 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181219075743/https://www.ft.com/content/2bd12012-01e4-11e9-9d01-cd4d49afbbe3 |archive-date=December 19, 2018 |access-date=December 19, 2018 |website=] |language=en-GB}}</ref> | |||
In April 2019, Soros was awarded the ] for Courage.<ref>{{Cite web |title=George Soros |url=http://www.ridenhour.org |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190910031633/http://www.ridenhour.org/ |archive-date=September 10, 2019 |access-date=April 19, 2019 |website=Ridenhour Prizes |language=en-US}}</ref> In his acceptance address Soros said: "In my native ], the government of ] has turned me into the super villain of an alleged plot to destroy the supposed Christian identity of the Hungarian nation... donate the prize money associated with this award to the '']'', an online English-language publication that provides daily updates on ] politics. It renders an important service by exposing to the world what Prime Minister Viktor Orbán is telling his own people . It deserves to be better known and supported."<ref>{{Cite web |last=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |date=April 17, 2019 |title=Soros accepts Ridenhour Prize for Courage in an age of lies |url=https://thelensnola.org/2019/04/17/soros-accepts-ridenhour-prize-for-courage-in-an-age-of-lies/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190508053642/https://thelensnola.org/2019/04/17/soros-accepts-ridenhour-prize-for-courage-in-an-age-of-lies/ |archive-date=May 8, 2019 |access-date=December 3, 2019 |website=The Lens |language=en-US}}</ref> | |||
==Publications and scholarship== | |||
=== Books authored or co-authored === | |||
* ''The Tragedy of the European Union: Disintegration or Revival?'' (PublicAffairs, 2014). {{ISBN|978-1-61039-421-5}}. | |||
* ''Financial Turmoil in Europe and the United States: Essays'' (PublicAffairs, 2012). {{ISBN|978-1-61039-161-0}}. | |||
* ''The Soros Lectures at the Central European University'' (PublicAffairs, 2010) {{ISBN|978-1-58648-885-7}}. | |||
* ''The New Paradigm for Financial Markets: The Credit Crisis of 2008 and What it Means'' (PublicAffairs, 2008). {{ISBN|978-1-58648-683-9}}. | |||
* ''The Age of Fallibility: Consequences of the War on Terror'' (PublicAffairs, 2006) {{ISBN|978-1-58648-359-3}}. | |||
* ''Underwriting Democracy: Encouraging Free Enterprise and Democratic Reform Among the Soviets and in Eastern Europe'' (Free Press, 1991) {{ISBN|978-0-02-930285-9}} (paperback; PublicAffairs, 2004; {{ISBN|978-1-58648-227-5}}). | |||
* ''George Soros on Globalization'' (PublicAffairs, 2002) {{ISBN|978-1-58648-125-4}} (paperback; PublicAffairs, 2005; {{ISBN|978-1-58648-278-7}}). | |||
* ''The Bubble of American Supremacy: Correcting the Misuse of American Power'' (PublicAffairs, 2003) {{ISBN|978-1-58648-217-6}} (paperback; PublicAffairs, 2004; {{ISBN|978-1-58648-292-3}}). | |||
* ''Open Society: Reforming Global Capitalism'' (PublicAffairs, 2001) {{ISBN|978-1-58648-019-6}}. | |||
* With Mark Amadeus Notturno, ''Science and the Open Society: The Future of Karl Popper's Philosophy'' (Central European University Press, 2000) {{ISBN|978-963-9116-69-6}} (paperback: Central European University Press, 2000; {{ISBN|978-963-9116-70-2}}). | |||
* ''The Crisis of Global Capitalism: Open Society Endangered'' (PublicAffairs, 1998) {{ISBN|978-1-891620-27-0}}. | |||
* '']'' (John Wiley, 1995) {{ISBN|978-0-471-12014-8}} (paperback; Wiley, 1995; {{ISBN|978-0-471-11977-7}}). | |||
* ''Opening the Soviet System'' (Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 1990) {{ISBN|978-0-297-82055-0}} (paperback: Perseus Books, 1996; {{ISBN|978-0-8133-1205-7}}). | |||
* ''The Alchemy of Finance'' (Simon & Schuster, 1988) {{ISBN|978-0-671-66238-7}} (paperback: Wiley, 2003; {{ISBN|978-0-471-44549-4}}). | |||
=== Notable op-eds === | |||
* George Soros, "", '']'', October 26, 2010. | |||
* George Soros, "The Crisis and the Euro", '']'', August 19, 2010. | |||
* George Soros, {{Cite news |title=Paulson Cannot be Allowed a Blank Cheque |newspaper = Financial Times|date = September 24, 2008|url=http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/9973c5b0-8a6d-11dd-a76a-0000779fd18c,dwp_uuid=11f94e6e-7e94-11dd-b1af-000077b07658.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080926204125/http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/9973c5b0-8a6d-11dd-a76a-0000779fd18c,dwp_uuid=11f94e6e-7e94-11dd-b1af-000077b07658.html |archive-date=September 26, 2008 |access-date=May 3, 2012}}, ''Financial Times'', September 24, 2008. | |||
* George Soros, "On Israel, America and AIPAC", ''The New York Review of Books'', April 12, 2007. | |||
* George Soros, "The Bubble of American Supremacy", '']'', December 2003, also audio recording of this article via ], read by ], 18 minutes. | |||
* George Soros, "Soros on Brazil", '']'', August 13, 2002. | |||
* George Soros, "Bitter Thoughts with Faith in Russia", '']'' ('']''), translated from the Russian by Olga Kryazheva, February 27, 2000. | |||
* George Soros, , ''The Atlantic Monthly'', February 1997. | |||
=== Television === | |||
* A half-hour '']'' television lecture by Soros was transmitted by ] on 1 August 1993, and published in '']'' the following day as "Why Appeasement Must Not Have Another Chance".<ref>''The Times'', August 2, 1993</ref> | |||
== See also == | |||
{{Portal|Banks|Business|Hungary|Judaism|Sports|United States}} | |||
{{cols}} | |||
* ] | |||
* ] | |||
* ], former chief investment officer of Soros Fund Management | |||
* ] | |||
{{colend}} | |||
==Explanatory notes== | |||
{{notelist}} | |||
==References== | |||
{{Reflist}} | |||
==Further reading== | |||
===Journalism=== | |||
* {{Cite web |last=Authers |first=John |date=May 19, 2008 |title=A successful prophet of the markets |url=http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/304f1e6e-253b-11dd-a14a-000077b07658.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080602062326/http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/304f1e6e-253b-11dd-a14a-000077b07658.html |archive-date=June 2, 2008 |work=] |access-date=May 24, 2022}} | |||
* Laura Blumenfeld, {{Cite web |title=Billionaire Soros Takes on Bush |website = ]|url=https://www.msnbc.com/news/991865.asp?vts=111120030842&cp1=1 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20051127200608/http://www.msnbc.com/news/991865.asp?vts=111120030842&cp1=1 |archive-date=November 27, 2005 |access-date=April 7, 2004}}, '']'', November 11, 2003 | |||
* Connie Bruck, Abstract of ''The New Yorker'' profile of Soros "The World According to Soros", ''The New Yorker'', January 23, 1995. | |||
* ], gladwell.com "Blowing Up", '']'', April 22 & 29, 2002. | |||
* Matt Welch, Open Season on 'Open Society': Why an anti-communist "Holocaust survivor is being demonized as a Socialist, Self-hating Jew". '']'', December 8, 2003 | |||
* {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100710005332/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,986206-7,00.html |date=July 10, 2010 }}, ''Time'', April 21, 1997. Retrieved May 21, 2007. | |||
* {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101205162803/http://www.time.com/time/specials/2007/time100powergivers/article/0,28804,1616375_1615711_1615683,00.html |date=December 5, 2010 }}, ''Time'', May 14, 2007, Retrieved May 21, 2007. | |||
===Scholarly perspectives=== | |||
* {{Cite journal |last=Bryant |first=C.G.A. |year=2002 |title=George Soros's theory of reflexivity: a comparison with the theories of Giddens and Beck and a consideration of its practical value |journal=Economy and Society |volume=31 |issue=1 |pages=112–131 |doi=10.1080/03085140120109277 |s2cid=143594005|url=http://usir.salford.ac.uk/id/eprint/1223/ }} | |||
* {{Cite journal |last1=Cross |first1=R. |last2=Strachan, D. |year=1997 |title=On George Soros and economic analysis |journal=Kyklos |volume=50 |issue=4 |pages=561–574 |doi=10.1111/1467-6435.00030}} | |||
* {{Cite arXiv |eprint=0901.4447 |class=q-fin.GN |first=C.P. |last=Kwong |title=Mathematical analysis of Soros's theory of reflexivity |year=2008}} | |||
* {{Cite book |last=Nielsen |first=Waldemar A. |title=Inside American Philanthropy: The Dramas of Donorship |publisher=University of Oklahoma Press |year=1996 |isbn=978-0-8061-2802-3 |location=Norman, Oklahoma |pages=77–82}} | |||
* {{Cite book |last=Pettis |first=Michael |title=The Volatility Machine: Emerging Economies and the Threat of Financial Collapse |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=2001 |isbn=978-0-19-514330-0 |location=Oxford}} | |||
* {{Cite journal |last=Stone |first=Diane |year=2007 |title=Market Principles, Philanthropic Ideals and Public Service Values: The Public Policy Program at the Central European University |url=http://wrap.warwick.ac.uk/647/1/WRAP_Stone_Market_Principles.pdf |journal=PS: Political Science and Politics |volume=40 |issue=3 |pages=545–551 |doi=10.1017/S1049096507070795|s2cid=53387414 }} | |||
* {{Cite journal |last=Stone |first=Diane |year=2010 |title=Transnational Philanthropy or Policy Transfer? The Transnational Norms of the Open Society Institute |url=http://wrap.warwick.ac.uk/1741/1/WRAP_Stone_OSI__Policy_Transfer_FINAL.pdf |journal=Policy and Politics |volume=38 |pages=269–87 |doi=10.1332/030557309x458416 |number=2}} | |||
==External links== | |||
{{sister project links|d=Q12908|n=no|c=Category:George Soros|b=no|v=no|voy=no|wikt=no|s=no|m=no|mw=no|species=no}} | |||
* {{Official website}} | |||
* Information on the website of Open Society Foundations | |||
* at ] | |||
* at '']'' | |||
* {{C-SPAN|5416}} | |||
* {{Charlie Rose view|242}} | |||
* {{Guardian topic}} | |||
* {{New York Times topic|people/s/george_soros}} | |||
* | |||
* | |||
* at the ] | |||
{{George Soros}} | |||
{{Authority control}} | |||
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Latest revision as of 18:15, 26 December 2024
Hungarian-American investor and philanthropist (born 1930) "Soros" redirects here. For other uses, see Soros (disambiguation).
George SorosHonFBA | |
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Soros in 2018 | |
Born | György Schwartz (1930-08-12) August 12, 1930 (age 94) Budapest, Kingdom of Hungary |
Citizenship | Hungary United States |
Education | London School of Economics (BSc, MSc) |
Occupations |
|
Known for |
|
Spouses |
|
Children | 5, including Robert, Jonathan and Alexander |
Father | Tivadar Soros |
Relatives | Paul Soros (brother) |
Website | www |
George Soros HonFBA (born György Schwartz; August 12, 1930) is an American investor and philanthropist. As of October 2023, he had a net worth of US$6.7 billion, having donated more than $32 billion to the Open Society Foundations, of which $15 billion has already been distributed, representing 64% of his original fortune. In 2020, Forbes called Soros the "most generous giver" (in terms of percentage of net worth). He is a resident of New York.
Born in Budapest to a non-observant Jewish family, Soros survived the Nazi occupation of Hungary and moved to the United Kingdom in 1947. He studied at the London School of Economics and was awarded a BSc in philosophy in 1951, and then a Master of Science degree, also in philosophy, in 1954. Soros started his career working in British and American merchant banks, before setting up his first hedge fund, Double Eagle, in 1969. Profits from this fund provided the seed money for Soros Fund Management, his second hedge fund, in 1970. Double Eagle was renamed Quantum Fund and was the principal firm Soros advised. At its founding, Quantum Fund had $12 million in assets under management, and as of 2011 it had $25 billion, the majority of Soros's overall net worth.
Soros is known as "The Man Who Broke the Bank of England" as a result of his short sale of US$10 billion worth of pounds sterling, which made him a profit of $1 billion, during the 1992 Black Wednesday UK currency crisis. Based on his early studies of philosophy, Soros formulated the General Theory of Reflexivity for capital markets, to provide insights into asset bubbles and fundamental/market value of securities, as well as value discrepancies used for shorting and swapping stocks.
Soros supports progressive and liberal political causes, to which he dispenses donations through the Open Society Foundations. Between 1979 and 2011, he donated more than $11 billion to various philanthropic causes; by 2017, his donations "on civil initiatives to reduce poverty and increase transparency, and on scholarships and universities around the world" totaled $12 billion. He influenced the fall of communism in Eastern Europe in the late 1980s and early 1990s, and provided one of Europe's largest higher education endowments to the Central European University in his Hungarian hometown. Soros's extensive funding of political causes has made him a "bugaboo of European nationalists". Numerous far-right theorists have promoted claims that characterize Soros as a dangerous "puppet master" behind alleged global plots. Criticisms of Soros, who is of Jewish descent, have often been called antisemitic. In 2018, The New York Times reported that "conspiracy theories about him have gone mainstream, to nearly every corner of the Republican Party".
Early life and education
György Schwartz was born on 12 August 1930 in Budapest in the Kingdom of Hungary to a prosperous non-observant Jewish family, who, like many upper-middle class Hungarian Jews at the time, were uncomfortable with their roots. Soros has wryly described his home as a Jewish antisemitic home. The family of his mother Erzsébet (also known as Elizabeth) operated a successful silk store. His father Tivadar (also known as Teodoro Ŝvarc) was a lawyer and a well-known Esperanto author who edited the Esperanto literary magazine Literatura Mondo and raised his son to speak the language. Tivadar had also been a prisoner of war during and after World War I until he escaped from Russia and rejoined his family in Budapest. His parents married in 1924. In 1936, Soros's family changed their name from the German-Jewish "Schwartz" to "Soros", as protective camouflage in increasingly antisemitic Hungary. Tivadar liked the new name because it is a palindrome and because of its meaning. In Hungarian, soros means "next"; in Esperanto it means "will soar".
Soros was 13 years old in March 1944 when Nazi Germany occupied Hungary. The Nazis barred Jewish children from attending school, and Soros and the other schoolchildren were made to report to the Judenrat ("Jewish Council"), which had been established during the occupation. Soros later described this time to writer Michael Lewis:
The Jewish Council asked the little kids to hand out the deportation notices. I was told to go to the Jewish Council. And there I was given these small slips of paper ... I took this piece of paper to my father. He instantly recognized it. This was a list of Hungarian Jewish lawyers. He said, "You deliver the slips of paper and tell the people that if they report they will be deported". I'm not sure to what extent he knew they were going to be gassed. I did what my father said.
Soros did not return to that job; his family survived the war by purchasing documents to say that they were Christians. Later that year at age 14, Soros posed as the Christian godson of an official of the collaborationist Hungarian government's Ministry of Agriculture, who himself had a Jewish wife in hiding. On one occasion, rather than leave the 14-year-old alone, the official took Soros with him while completing an inventory of a Jewish family's confiscated estate. Tivadar saved not only his immediate family, but also many other Hungarian Jews, and Soros later wrote that 1944 had been "the happiest of his life", for it had given him the opportunity to witness his father's heroism. In 1945, Soros survived the Siege of Budapest, in which Soviet and German forces fought house-to-house through the city. George and his mother also spent some time hiding with the family of Elza Brandeisz and even attended their Lutheran church with them. When he was 17, Soros relocated to Paris before eventually moving to England. There he became a student at the London School of Economics. While a student of the philosopher Karl Popper, Soros worked as a railway porter and as a waiter, and once received £40 from a Quaker charity. Soros would sometimes stand at Speakers' Corner lecturing about the virtues of internationalism in Esperanto, which he had learned from his father. Soros obtained his Bachelor of Science in philosophy in 1951 and a Master of Science in philosophy in 1954 from the London School of Economics. After graduating, he wanted to stay in the university and work as a professor, but his grades were not high enough, prompting him to work for an investment firm in London.
Investment career
Early business experience
In a discussion at the Los Angeles World Affairs Council in 2006, Alvin Shuster, former foreign editor of the Los Angeles Times, asked Soros, "How does one go from an immigrant to a financier? ... When did you realize that you knew how to make money?". Soros replied, "Well, I had a variety of jobs and I ended up selling fancy goods on the seaside, souvenir shops, and I thought, that's really not what I was cut out to do. So, I wrote to every managing director in every merchant bank in London, got just one or two replies, and eventually that's how I got a job in a merchant bank."
Singer and Friedlander
In 1954, Soros began his financial career at the merchant bank Singer & Friedlander of London. He worked as a clerk and later moved to the arbitrage department. A fellow employee, Robert Mayer, suggested he apply at his father's brokerage house, F.M. Mayer of New York.
F. M. Mayer
In 1956, Soros moved to New York City, where he worked as an arbitrage trader for F. M. Mayer (1956–59). He specialized in European stocks, which were becoming popular with U.S. institutional investors following the formation of the Coal and Steel Community, which later became the Common Market.
Wertheim and Co.
In 1959, after three years at F. M. Mayer, Soros moved to Wertheim & Co. He planned to stay for five years, enough time to save $500,000, after which he intended to return to England to study philosophy. He worked as an analyst of European securities until 1963.
During this period, Soros developed the theory of reflexivity to extend the ideas of his tutor at the London School of Economics, Karl Popper. Reflexivity posits that market values are often driven by the fallible ideas of participants, not only by the economic fundamentals of the situation. Ideas and events influence each other in reflexive feedback loops. Soros argued that this process leads to markets having procyclical "virtuous" or "vicious" cycles of boom and bust, in contrast to the equilibrium predictions of more standard neoclassical economics.
Arnhold and S. Bleichroeder
From 1963 to 1973, Soros's experience as a vice president at Arnhold and S. Bleichroeder resulted in little enthusiasm for the job; business was slack following the introduction of the Interest Equalization Tax, which undermined the viability of Soros's European trading. He spent the years from 1963 to 1966 with his main focus on the revision of his philosophy dissertation. In 1966, he started a fund with $100,000 of the firm's money to experiment with his trading strategies.
In 1969, Soros set up the Double Eagle hedge fund with $4m of investors' capital including $250,000 of his own money. It was based in Curaçao, Dutch Antilles. Double Eagle itself was an offshoot of Arnhold and S. Bleichroeder's First Eagle fund established by Soros and that firm's chairman Henry H. Arnhold in 1967.
In 1973, the Double Eagle Fund had $12 million and formed the basis of the Soros Fund. George Soros and Jim Rogers received returns on their share of capital and 20 percent of the profits each year.
Soros Fund Management
In 1970, Soros founded Soros Fund Management and became its chairman. Among those who held senior positions there at various times were Jim Rogers, Stanley Druckenmiller, Mark Schwartz, Keith Anderson, and Soros's two sons.
In 1973, due to perceived conflicts of interest limiting his ability to run the two funds, Soros resigned from the management of the Double Eagle Fund. He then established the Soros Fund and gave investors in the Double Eagle Fund the option of transferring to that or staying with Arnhold and S. Bleichroeder.
It was later renamed the Quantum Fund, after the physical theory of quantum mechanics. By that time the value of the fund had grown to $12m, only a small proportion of which was Soros's own money. He and Jim Rogers reinvested their returns from the fund, and also a large part of their 20% performance fees, thereby expanding their stake.
By 1981, the fund had grown to $400m, and then a 22% loss in that year and substantial redemptions by some of the investors reduced it to $200m.
In July 2011, Soros announced that he had returned funds from outside investors' money (valued at $1 billion) and instead invested funds from his $24.5 billion family fortune, due to changes in U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission disclosure rules, which he felt would compromise his duties of confidentiality to his investors. The fund had at that time averaged over 20% per year compound returns.
In 2013, the Quantum Fund made $5.5 billion, making it again the most successful hedge fund in history. Since its inception in 1973, the fund has generated $40 billion.
The fund announced in 2015 that it would inject $300 million to help finance the expansion of Fen Hotels, an Argentine hotel company. The funds will develop 5,000 rooms over the next three years throughout various Latin American countries.
Economic crisis in the 1990s and 2000s
Soros had been building a huge short position in pounds sterling for months leading up to the Black Wednesday of September 1992. Soros had recognized the unfavorable position of the United Kingdom in the European Exchange Rate Mechanism. For Soros, the rate at which the United Kingdom was brought into the European Exchange Rate Mechanism was too high, their inflation was also much too high (triple the German rate), and British interest rates were hurting their asset prices.
By September 16, 1992, the day of Black Wednesday, Soros's fund had sold short more than $10 billion in pounds, profiting from the UK government's reluctance to either raise its interest rates to levels comparable to those of other European Exchange Rate Mechanism countries or float its currency.
Finally, the UK withdrew from the European Exchange Rate Mechanism, devaluing the pound. Soros's profit on the bet was estimated at over $1 billion. He was dubbed "the man who broke the Bank of England". The estimated cost of Black Wednesday to the UK Treasury was £3.4 billion. Stanley Druckenmiller, who traded under Soros, originally saw the weakness in the pound and stated: " contribution was pushing him to take a gigantic position".
On October 26, 1992, The New York Times quoted Soros as saying: "Our total position by Black Wednesday had to be worth almost $10 billion. We planned to sell more than that. In fact, when Norman Lamont said just before the devaluation that he would borrow nearly $15 billion to defend sterling, we were amused because that was about how much we wanted to sell."
Soros was believed to have traded billions of Finnish markkas on February 5, 1996, in anticipation of selling them short. The markka had been put floating as a result of the early 1990s depression. The Bank of Finland and the Finnish Government commented at the time they believed that a "conspiracy" was impossible.
During the 1997 Asian financial crisis, the prime minister of Malaysia, Mahathir Mohamad, accused Soros of using the wealth under his control to punish the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) for welcoming Myanmar as a member. With a history of antisemitic remarks, Mahathir made specific reference to Soros's Jewish background ("It is a Jew who triggered the currency plunge") and implied Soros was orchestrating the crash as part of a larger Jewish conspiracy. Nine years later, in 2006, Mahathir met with Soros and afterward stated that he accepted that Soros had not been responsible for the crisis. In 1998's The Crisis of Global Capitalism: Open Society Endangered, Soros explained his role in the crisis as follows:
The financial crisis that originated in Thailand in 1997 was particularly unnerving because of its scope and severity ... By the beginning of 1997, it was clear to Soros Fund Management that the discrepancy between the trade account and the capital account was becoming untenable. We sold short the Thai baht and the Malaysian ringgit early in 1997 with maturities ranging from six months to a year. (That is, we entered into contracts to deliver at future dates Thai baht and Malaysian ringgit that we did not currently hold.) Subsequently, Prime Minister Mahathir of Malaysia accused me of causing the crisis, a wholly unfounded accusation. We were not sellers of the currency during or several months before the crisis; on the contrary, we were buyers when the currencies began to decline—we were purchasing ringgits to realize the profits on our earlier speculation. (Much too soon, as it turned out. We left most of the potential gain on the table because we were afraid that Mahathir would impose capital controls. He did so, but much later.)
In 1999, economist Paul Krugman was critical of Soros's effect on financial markets:
obody who has read a business magazine in the last few years can be unaware that these days there really are investors who not only move money in anticipation of a currency crisis, but actually do their best to trigger that crisis for fun and profit. These new actors on the scene do not yet have a standard name; my proposed term is "Soroi".
In an interview concerning the late-2000s recession, Soros referred to it as the most serious crisis since the 1930s. According to Soros, market fundamentalism with its assumption that markets will correct themselves with no need for government intervention in financial affairs has been "some kind of an ideological excess". In Soros's view, the markets' moods—a "mood" of the markets being a prevailing bias or optimism/pessimism with which the markets look at reality—"actually can reinforce themselves so that there are these initially self-reinforcing but eventually unsustainable and self-defeating boom/bust sequences or bubbles".
In reaction to the Great Recession, he founded the Institute for New Economic Thinking in October 2009. This is a think tank composed of international economic, business, and financial experts, who are mandated to investigate radical new approaches to organizing the international economic and financial system.
Société Générale insider trading conviction
In 1988, Soros was contacted by a French financier named Georges Pébereau, who asked him to participate in an effort to assemble a group of investors to purchase a large number of shares in Société Générale, a leading French bank that was part of a privatization program (something instituted by the new government under Jacques Chirac). Soros eventually decided against participating in the group effort, opting to personally move forward with his strategy of accumulating shares in four French companies: Société Générale, as well as Suez, Paribas, and the Compagnie Générale d'Électricité.
In 1989, the Commission des Opérations de Bourse (COB, the French stock exchange regulatory authority) conducted an investigation of whether Soros's transaction in Société Générale should be considered insider trading. Soros had received no information from the Société Générale and had no insider knowledge of the business, but he did possess knowledge that a group of investors was planning a takeover attempt. Initial investigations found Soros innocent, and no charges were brought forward. However, the case was reopened a few years later, and the French Supreme Court confirmed the conviction on June 14, 2006, although it reduced the penalty to €940,000.
Soros denied any wrongdoing, saying news of the takeover was public knowledge and it was documented that his intent to acquire shares of the company predated his own awareness of the takeover. In December 2006, he appealed to the European Court of Human Rights on various grounds, including that the 14-year delay in bringing the case to trial precluded a fair hearing. On the basis of Article 7 of the European Convention on Human Rights, stating that no person may be punished for an act that was not a criminal offense at the time that it was committed, the court agreed to hear the appeal. In October 2011, the court rejected his appeal in a 4–3 decision, saying that Soros had been aware of the risk of breaking insider trading laws.
Political involvement
Until the 2004 presidential election, Soros had not been a large donor to U.S. political campaigns. According to OpenSecrets, during the 2003–2004 election cycle, Soros donated $23,581,000 to various 527 Groups (tax-exempt groups under the United States tax code, 26 U.S.C. § 527). The groups aimed to defeat President George W. Bush. After Bush's reelection, Soros and other donors backed a new political fundraising group called Democracy Alliance, which supports progressive causes and the formation of a stronger progressive infrastructure in America.
In August 2009, Soros donated $35 million to the state of New York to be earmarked for underprivileged children and given to parents who had benefit cards at the rate of $200 per child aged 3 through 17, with no limit as to the number of children that qualified. An additional $140 million was put into the fund by the state of New York from money they had received from the 2009 federal recovery act. Soros was an initial donor to the Center for American Progress, and he continues to support the organization through the Open Society Foundations.
In October 2011, a Reuters story, "Soros: not a funder of Wall Street Protests", was published after several commentators pointed out errors in an earlier Reuters story headlined "Who's Behind the Wall St. Protests?" with a lead stating that the Occupy Wall Street movement "may have benefited indirectly from the largesse of one of the world's richest men ". Reuters's follow-up article also reported a Soros spokesman and Adbusters' co-founder Kalle Lasn both saying that Adbusters—the reputed catalyst for the first Occupy Wall Street protests—had never received any contributions from Soros, contrary to Reuters's earlier story that reported that "indirect financial links" existed between the two as late as 2010.
On September 27, 2012, Soros announced that he was donating $1 million to the super PAC backing President Barack Obama's reelection Priorities USA Action. In October 2013, Soros donated $25,000 to Ready for Hillary, becoming a co-chairman of the super PAC's national finance committee. In June 2015, he donated $1 million to the Super PAC Priorities USA Action, which supported Hillary Clinton in the 2016 presidential race. He donated $6 million to the PAC in December 2015 and $2.5 million in August 2016. Soros launched a new super PAC called Democracy PAC for the 2020 election cycle. By July 2019, he had donated $5.1 million to it.
Since 2016, Soros has been donating sums exceeding $1 million to the campaigns of progressive criminal justice reform proponents through the Safety and Justice PAC in local district attorney elections. In many districts, such large contributions were unprecedented and the campaigning strategy was "turned on its head" with a focus on incarceration, police misconduct and bail system, according to the Los Angeles Times. Larry Krasner was elected as the District Attorney of Philadelphia with the help of a $1.5 million ad campaign funded by Soros in 2017. Soros was the largest donor supporting the campaign of George Gascón for Los Angeles County District Attorney in 2020, contributing $2.25 million to superPACs in Gascón's favor. Soros gave $2 million to a PAC supporting Kim Foxx's campaign for Cook County State's Attorney in 2020.
In the second quarter of 2020, Soros gave at least $500,000 to presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden, becoming one of the campaign's largest donors.
For the 2022 United States elections, Soros was the country's largest donor. He donated $128.5 million to support the Democratic Party in the election cycle.
Central and Eastern Europe
According to Waldemar A. Nielsen, an authority on American philanthropy, " has undertaken... nothing less than to open up the once-closed communist societies of Eastern Europe to a free flow of ideas and scientific knowledge from the outside world". From 1979, as an advocate of 'open societies', Soros financially supported dissidents including Poland's Solidarity movement, Charter 77 in Czechoslovakia and Andrei Sakharov in the Soviet Union. In 1984, he founded his first Open Society Institute in Hungary with a budget of $3 million.
Since the fall of the Soviet Union, Soros's funding has played an important role in the newly independent countries. A 2017 study found that a grant program by George Soros which awarded funding to over 28,000 scientists in the former Soviet republics shortly after the end of the Soviet Union "more than doubled publications on the margin, significantly induced scientists to remain in the science sector, and had long-lasting impacts". His funding of pro-democratic programs in Georgia was considered by Georgian nationalists to be crucial to the success of the Rose Revolution, although Soros has said that his role has been "greatly exaggerated". Alexander Lomaia, secretary of the Georgian Security Council and former Minister of Education and Science, is a former executive director of the Open Society Georgia Foundation (Soros Foundation), overseeing a staff of 50 and a budget of $2.5 million.
Former Georgian foreign minister Salomé Zourabichvili wrote that institutions like the Soros Foundation were the cradle of democratization and that all the NGOs that gravitated around the Soros Foundation undeniably carried the revolution. She opines that after the revolution the Soros Foundation and the NGOs were integrated into power.
Some Soros-backed pro-democracy initiatives have been banned in Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan. Ercis Kurtulus, head of the Social Transparency Movement Association (TSHD) in Turkey, said in an interview 2006 that "Soros carried out his will in Ukraine and Georgia by using these NGOs ... Last year Russia passed a special law prohibiting NGOs from taking money from foreigners. I think this should be banned in Turkey as well." In 1997, Soros closed his foundation in Belarus after it was fined $3 million by the government for "tax and currency violations". According to The New York Times 1997, the Belarusian president Alexander Lukashenko has been widely criticized in the West and in Russia for his efforts to control the Belarus Soros Foundation and other independent NGOs and to suppress civil and human rights. Soros called the fines part of a campaign to "destroy independent society".
In June 2009, Soros donated $100 million to Central Europe and Eastern Europe to counter the impact of the Great Recession on the poor, voluntary groups and non-government organisations.
Since 2012, the Hungarian Fidesz government has labelled George Soros as an enemy of the state. The government has disagreed with Soros's involvement in the 2015 European migrant crisis. The government has attacked OSF, the international civil support foundation created by George Soros, and tried to revoke the licence of Central European University (Budapest) (which failed mostly due to significant public outrage). In response, Soros called the government "a mafia state".
As the 2018 election period started, the government introduced public posters with a photo of Soros to create hostility in the general public towards him, using statements such as "Soros wants millions of migrants to live in Hungary", and "Soros wants to dismantle the border fence". The government also prepared a three-part law plan called the "Stop Soros package" (which followed other various law changes in the same year, hindering the workings of several international NGOs in Hungary), which would include various steps against NGOs doing volunteer work related to the refugee crisis.
In March 2017, six US senators sent a letter to then secretary of state Rex Tillerson asking that he look into several grants the State Department and the US Agency for International Development (USAID) have given to groups funded by "left-wing" Soros. In the same context, the conservative group Judicial Watch has filed a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuit against the U.S. Department of State and USAID compelling them to release records regarding $5 million transferred from USAID to Soros's Open Society branch in Macedonia. The suit alleges that the money was deliberately used to destabilize the Macedonian government. The Open Society Foundation has said its activities in Macedonia were aimed at ethnic reconciliation with the Albanian minority and other forms of assistance since the collapse of Yugoslavia.
In January 2017, the "Stop Operation Soros" (SOS) initiative was launched in Macedonia. SOS seeks to present "questions and answers about the way Soros operates worldwide" and invites citizens to contribute to the research. In a press conference held during the same month, Nenad Mircevski, one of the founders of the initiative, stated that SOS would work towards the "de-Soros-ization" of Macedonia.
On May 16, 2018, Soros's Open Society Foundations announced they would move its office from Budapest to Berlin, blaming the move on an "increasingly repressive" environment in Hungary.
Africa
The Open Society Initiative for Southern Africa is a Soros-affiliated organization.
Diplomacy
In November 2005, Soros said: "My personal opinion is there's no alternative but to give Kosovo independence".
Soros has helped fund the non-profit group Independent Diplomat, established by the former British diplomat Carne Ross.
Drug policy reform
Soros has funded worldwide efforts to promote drug policy reform. In 2008, Soros donated $400,000 to help fund a successful ballot measure in Massachusetts known as the Massachusetts Sensible Marijuana Policy Initiative which decriminalized possession of less than 1 oz (28 g) of marijuana in the state. Soros has also funded similar measures in California, Alaska, Oregon, Washington, Colorado, Nevada and Maine. Among the drug decriminalization groups that have received funding from Soros are the Lindesmith Center and Drug Policy Foundation. Soros donated $1.4 million to publicity efforts to support California's Proposition 5 in 2008, a failed ballot measure that would have expanded drug rehabilitation programs as alternatives to prison for persons convicted of non-violent drug-related offenses.
In October 2010, Soros donated $1 million to support California's Proposition 19.
According to remarks in an interview in October 2009, it is Soros's opinion that marijuana is less addictive but not appropriate for use by children and students. He himself has not used marijuana for years. Soros has been a major financier of the Drug Policy Alliance – an organization that promotes cannabis legalization – with roughly $5 million in annual contributions from one of his foundations.
Death and dying
The Project on Death in America, active from 1994 to 2003, was one of the Open Society Institute's projects, which sought to "understand and transform the culture and experience of dying and bereavement". In 1994, Soros delivered a speech in which he reported that he had offered to help his mother, a member of the right-to-die advocacy organization Hemlock Society, commit suicide. In the same speech, he also endorsed the Oregon Death with Dignity Act, proceeding to help fund its advertising campaign.
Conspiracy theories and threats
Main article: George Soros conspiracy theoriesBecause of his Jewish identity, wealth, and philanthropy, Soros has been described as "the perfect code word" for conspiracy theories that unite antisemitism and Islamophobia. One prominent Soros-related conspiracy theory is that he is behind the 2015 European migrant crisis or importing migrants to European countries. The Hungarian government spent millions of dollars on a poster campaign demonizing Soros. According to anthropologist Ivan Kalmar, "Many of his most outspoken enemies inside and outside Hungary saw him as leading an international cabal that included other Jews such as the Rothschilds, as well as Freemasons and Illuminati".
Attempted assassination
A pipe bomb was placed in the mailbox at Soros's home in Katonah, New York, on October 22, 2018, as part of the October 2018 United States mail bombing attempts. The package was discovered by a caretaker, who removed it and notified authorities. It was photographed and exploded by the FBI, which launched an investigation. For several days afterward, similar bombs were mailed to Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama, and other Democrats and liberals.
On October 26, 2018, Cesar Sayoc Jr. was arrested in Aventura, Florida, on suspicion of mailing the bombs. In August 2019, Sayoc was sentenced to 20 years in prison for mailing 16 pipe bombs to 13 victims. None of the devices exploded.
Political and economic views
Reflexivity, financial markets, and economic theory
Soros's writings focus heavily on the concept of reflexivity, where the biases of individuals enter into market transactions, potentially changing the fundamentals of the economy. Soros argues that different principles apply in markets depending on whether they are in a "near to equilibrium" or a "far from equilibrium" state. He argues that, when markets are rising or falling rapidly, they are typically marked by disequilibrium rather than equilibrium, and that the conventional economic theory of the market (the "efficient market hypothesis") does not apply in these situations. Soros has popularized the concepts of dynamic disequilibrium, static disequilibrium, and near-equilibrium conditions. He has stated that his own financial success has been attributable to the edge accorded by his understanding of the action of the reflexive effect. Reflexivity is based on three main ideas:
- Reflexivity is best observed under special conditions where investor bias grows and spreads throughout the investment arena. Examples of factors that may give rise to this bias include (a) equity leveraging or (b) the trend-following habits of speculators.
- Reflexivity appears intermittently since it is most likely to be revealed under certain conditions; i.e., the character of the equilibrium process is best considered in terms of probabilities.
- Investors' observation of and participation in the capital markets may at times influence valuations and fundamental conditions or outcomes.
A recent example (circa 2008) of reflexivity in modern financial markets is that of the debt and equity of housing markets. Lenders began to make more money available to more people in the 1990s to buy houses. More people bought houses with this larger amount of money, thus increasing the prices of these houses. Lenders looked at their balance sheets, which not only showed that they had made more loans, but that the collaterals backing the loans – the value of the houses – had gone up (because more money was chasing the same amount of housing, relatively). Thus they lent out more money because their balance sheets looked good, and prices rose higher still.
This was further amplified by public policy. In the US, home loans were guaranteed by the Federal government. Many national governments saw home ownership as a positive outcome and so introduced grants for first-time home buyers and other financial subsidies, such as the exemption of a primary residence from capital gains taxation. These further encouraged house purchases, leading to further price rises and further relaxation of lending standards.
The concept of reflexivity attempts to explain why markets moving from one equilibrium state to another tend to overshoot or undershoot. Soros's theories were originally dismissed by economists, but have received more attention after the 2008 crash including becoming the focus of an issue of the Journal of Economic Methodology.
The notion of reflexivity provides an explanation of the theories of complexity economics, as developed at the Santa Fe Institute, although Soros had not publicized his views at the time the discipline was originally developed there in the 1980s.
Reflexivity in politics
Although the primary manifestation of the reflexive process that Soros discusses is its effects in the financial markets, he has also explored its effects in politics. He has stated that whereas the greatest threats to the "open society" in the past were from communism and fascism (as discussed in The Open Society and Its Enemies by his mentor Karl Popper), the largest current threat is from market fundamentalism.
He has suggested that the contemporary domination of world politics and world trade by the United States is a reflexive phenomenon, insofar as the success of military and financial coercion feeds back to encourage increasingly intense applications of the same policies to the point where they will eventually become unsustainable.
View of problems in the free market system
Soros argues that the current system of financial speculation undermines healthy economic development in many underdeveloped countries. He blames many of the world's problems on the failures inherent in what he characterizes as market fundamentalism.
Market predictions
Soros's book The New Paradigm for Financial Markets (May 2008), described a "superbubble" that had built up over the past 25 years and was ready to collapse. This was the third in a series of books he has written that have predicted disaster. As he states:
I have a record of crying wolf ... I did it first in The Alchemy of Finance (in 1987), then in The Crisis of Global Capitalism (in 1998), and now in this book. So it's three books predicting disaster. the boy cried wolf three times ... the wolf really came.
He ascribes his own success to being able to recognize when his predictions are wrong:
I'm only rich because I know when I'm wrong ... I basically have survived by recognizing my mistakes. I very often used to get backaches due to the fact that I was wrong. Whenever you are wrong you have to fight or flight. When make the decision, the backache goes away.
In February 2009, Soros said the world financial system had in effect disintegrated, adding that there was no prospect of a near-term resolution to the crisis. "We witnessed the collapse of the financial system ... It was placed on life support, and it's still on life support. There's no sign that we are anywhere near a bottom."
In January 2016, at an economic forum in Sri Lanka, Soros predicted a financial crisis akin to the 2007–2008 financial crisis based on the state of the global currency, stock and commodity markets as well as the sinking Chinese yuan.
Views on antisemitism and Israel
When asked what he thought about Israel, in The New Yorker, Soros replied: "I don't deny Jews the right to a national existence – but I don't want to be a part of it". According to hacked emails released in 2016, Soros's Open Society Foundation has a self-described objective of "challenging Israel's racist and anti-democratic policies" in international forums, in part by questioning Israel's reputation as a democracy. He has funded NGOs which have been actively critical of Israeli policies including groups that campaign for the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement against Israel.
Speaking before a 2003 conference of the Jewish Funders Network, Soros said that the administrations of George W. Bush in the U.S. and Ariel Sharon in Israel, and even the unintended consequences of some of his own actions, were partially contributing to a new European antisemitism. Soros, citing accusations that he was one of the "Jewish financiers" who, in antisemitic terms, "ruled the world by proxy", suggested that, if the direction of those policies were changed, then anti-Semitism would diminish. Abraham Foxman, national director of the Anti-Defamation League later said that Soros's comments held a simplistic view, were counterproductive, biased and a bigoted perception of the situation, and "blamed the victim" when holding Jews responsible for antisemitism. Jewish philanthropist Michael Steinhardt, who arranged for Soros's appearance at the conference, clarified that "George Soros does not think Jews should be hated any more than they deserve to be". Soros has also said that Jews can overcome antisemitism by "giv up on the tribalness".
In a subsequent article for The New York Review of Books, Soros emphasized that:
I do not subscribe to the myths propagated by enemies of Israel and I am not blaming Jews for anti-Semitism. Anti-Semitism predates the birth of Israel. Neither Israel's policies nor the critics of those policies should be held responsible for anti-Semitism. At the same time, I do believe that attitudes toward Israel are influenced by Israel's policies, and attitudes toward the Jewish community are influenced by the pro-Israel lobby's success in suppressing divergent views.
In 2017, Israeli businessman Beny Steinmetz filed a $10-million lawsuit against Soros, alleging that Soros had influenced the government of Guinea to freeze Steinmetz's company BSG Resources out of iron ore mining contracts in the African country due to "long-standing animus toward the state of Israel". Steinmetz claims that Soros engaged in a "smear" campaign against him and his companies and blames Soros for scrutiny of him by American, Israeli, Swiss, and Guinean authorities. Soros called Steinmetz's suit "frivolous and entirely false" and said that it was "a desperate PR stunt meant to deflect attention from BSGR's mounting legal problems across multiple jurisdictions".
During an award ceremony for Imre Kertész, Soros said that the victims of violence and abuse were becoming "perpetrators of violence", suggesting that this model explained Israel's behavior towards the Palestinians, which led to walkouts and Soros being booed.
In July 2017, a Hungarian billboard campaign backed by Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, which was considered to be anti-semitic by the country's Jewish groups, vilified Soros as an enemy of the state, using the slogan "Let's not allow Soros to have the last laugh". The campaign was estimated to have cost 5.7bn forints (then US$21 million). According to the Israeli ambassador, the campaign "evokes sad memories but also sows hatred and fear", a reference to Hungary's role in the deportation of 500,000 Jews during the Holocaust. Lydia Gall of Human Rights Watch asserted that it was reminiscent of Nazi posters during the Second World War featuring "'the laughing Jew'". Orbán and his government's representative said they had a "zero tolerance" of antisemitism, explaining the posters were aiming to persuade voters that Soros was a "national security risk".
Hours later, in an apparent attempt to ally Israel with Hungary, Israel's Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued a "clarification", denouncing Soros, stating that he "continuously undermines Israel's democratically elected governments by funding organizations that defame the Jewish state and seek to deny it the right to defend itself".
Soros's son Alexander said in an interview that his father cares about Israel, and that he "would like to see Israel in Yitzhak Rabin's image. His views are more or less the common views in Meretz and in the Labor Party." According to Alexander, Soros supports a two-state solution. The younger Soros recounts that after his bar mitzvah in 1998, his father told him: "If you're serious about being Jewish, you might want to consider immigrating to Israel".
In a 2018 interview with The New York Times, Alex Soros, the son of George Soros, when asked why his father fights for an open society, Soros replied that in a non-Jewish state, a Jew can only feel safe when other minorities are protected, which is one of the most important driving forces why his father has been active in his philanthropy:
But he had always "identified firstly as a Jew", and his philanthropy was ultimately an expression of his Jewish identity, in that he felt a solidarity with other minority groups and also because he recognized that a Jew could only truly be safe in a world in which all minorities were protected. Explaining his father's motives, he said, "The reason you fight for an open society is because that's the only society that you can live in, as a Jew—unless you become a nationalist and only fight for your own rights in your own state".
In December 2023, Israel's ambassador to the United Nations, Gilad Erdan, accused Soros of supporting pro-Palestinian organizations "that seek the destruction of the State of Israel as a Jewish state". Soros' son Alexander dismissed accusations of anti-Semitism as "distorted and dishonest right-wing attacks."
Views on the U.S.
On November 11, 2003, in an interview with The Washington Post, Soros said that removing President George W. Bush from office was the "central focus of my life" and "a matter of life and death". He said he would sacrifice his entire fortune to defeat Bush "if someone guaranteed it". Soros gave $3 million to the Center for American Progress, $2.5 million to MoveOn.org, and $20 million to America Coming Together. These groups worked to support Democrats in the 2004 election. On September 28, 2004, he dedicated more money to the campaign and kicked off his own multistate tour with a speech, "Why We Must Not Re-elect President Bush", delivered at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C. The online transcript of this speech received many views after Dick Cheney accidentally referred to FactCheck.org as "factcheck.com" in the vice presidential debate, causing the owner of that domain to redirect all traffic to Soros's site.
His 2003 book, The Bubble of American Supremacy, was a forthright critique of the Bush administration's "War on Terror" as misconceived and counterproductive, and a polemic against the re-election of Bush. He explains the title in the closing chapter by pointing out the parallels in this political context with the self-reinforcing reflexive processes that generate bubbles in stock prices.
When Soros was asked in 2006 about his statement in The Age of Fallibility that "the main obstacle to a stable and just world order is the United States", he responded that "it happens to coincide with the prevailing opinion in the world. And I think that's rather shocking for Americans to hear. The United States sets the agenda for the world. And the rest of the world has to respond to that agenda. By declaring a 'war on terror' after September 11, we set the wrong agenda for the world ... When you wage war, you inevitably create innocent victims."
In 2017, Soros described Donald Trump as a con man, and predicted Trump would fail because he believed Trump's ideas were self-contradictory. Soros also said he believed Trump was preparing for a trade war and expected financial markets to do poorly.
Views on Europe
In October 2011, Soros drafted an open letter entitled "As concerned Europeans we urge Eurozone leaders to unite", in which he calls for a stronger economic government for Europe using federal means (Common EU treasury, common fiscal supervision, etc.) and warns against the danger of nationalistic solutions to the Great Recession. The letter was co-signed by Javier Solana, Daniel Cohn-Bendit, Andrew Duff, Emma Bonino, Massimo D'Alema, and Vaira Vīķe-Freiberga.
In October 2015, Soros criticized Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán and his handling of the 2015 European migrant crisis: "His plan treats the protection of national borders as the objective and the refugees as an obstacle. Our plan treats the protection of refugees as the objective and national borders as the obstacle."
Soros expected that Brexit would fail and the Premiership of Theresa May would last only a short time. Soros is opposed to Brexit and donated £400,000 to the anti-Brexit 'Best for Britain' group. Soros also hosted a dinner for Conservative donors at his London home to encourage them to follow his lead. Soros's Open Society Foundations also donated a total of £303,000 to two pro-EU organizations, the European Movement UK and Scientists for EU, and a center-right think-tank, Bright Blue.
In 2018, Soros highlighted that Europe faces major challenges related to immigration, austerity, and nations leaving the EU. He holds that Europe is facing an existential crisis, in view of the rise of populism, the refugee crisis and a growing rift between Europe and the United States. Soros has also stated that "the euro has many unresolved problems" which "must not be allowed to destroy the European Union". He advocated replacing the notion of a multi-speed Europe by the aim of a "multi-track Europe" that would allow member states a wider variety of choices.
Views on relations between Europe and Africa
In view of the possibility of a further increase of the number of refugees from Africa to Europe, Soros proposes that the European Union devise a "Marshall Plan for Africa" (see Marshall Plan), fostering education and employment in Africa in order to reduce emigration.
Views on China
Soros has expressed concern about the growth of Chinese economic and political power, saying, "China has risen very rapidly by looking out for its own interests ... They have now got to accept responsibility for world order and the interests of other people as well". Regarding the political gridlock in America, he said, "Today, China has not only a more vigorous economy but actually a better functioning government than the United States". In July 2015, Soros stated that a "strategic partnership between the US and China could prevent the evolution of two power blocks that may be drawn into military conflict". In January 2016, during an interview at the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, Soros stated that " hard landing is practically unavoidable". Chinese state media responded by stating "Soros' challenge to the RMB and Hong Kong dollar are doomed to fail, without any doubt".
In January 2019, Soros used his annual speech at the World Economic Forum, in Davos, to label Xi Jinping, General Secretary of the Chinese Communist Party and President of China, as the "most dangerous opponent of open societies", saying: "China is not the only authoritarian regime in the world but it is the wealthiest, strongest and technologically most advanced". He also urged the United States not to allow the Chinese technology companies Huawei and ZTE to dominate the 5G telecommunications market as this would present an "unacceptable security risk for the rest of the world". Soros also criticized the newest form of China's Big Brother-like system of mass surveillance called the Social Credit System, saying it would give Xi "total control" over the people of China. Additionally, Soros is very critical of American companies that ignore Chinese human rights violations for business reasons, for example slamming BlackRock's decision to invest big in China as detrimental to worldwide democracy and US national security.
Views on Russia and Ukraine
In May 2014, Soros told CNN's Fareed Zakaria: "I set up a foundation in Ukraine before Ukraine became independent from Russia. And the foundation has been functioning ever since and played an important part in events now."
In January 2015, he said that "Europe needs to wake up and recognize that it is under attack from Russia" and urged Western countries to expand economic sanctions against Russia for its support of separatists in eastern Ukraine.
In January 2015, Soros called on the European Union to give $50 billion of bailout money to Ukraine.
In July 2015, Soros stated that Putin's annexation of Crimea was a challenge to the "prevailing world order", specifically the European Union. He hypothesized that Putin wants to "destabilize all of Ukraine by precipitating a financial and political collapse for which he can disclaim responsibility, while avoiding occupation of a part of eastern Ukraine, which would then depend on Russia for economic support". In November 2015, Russia banned the Open Society Foundations (OSF) and the Open Society Institute (OSI)—two pro-democracy charities founded by Soros—stating they posed a "threat to the foundations of the constitutional system of the Russian Federation and the security of the state". In January 2016, 53 books related to Soros's "Renewal of Humanitarian Education" program were withdrawn at the Vorkuta Mining and Economic College in the Komi Republic, with 427 additional books seized for shredding. A Russian intergovernmental letter released in December 2015 stated that Soros's charities were "forming a perverted perception of history and making ideological directives, alien to Russian ideology, popular". Most of these books were published with funds donated by Soros's charities.
In May 2022, Soros stated that the Russian invasion of Ukraine may be the start of "a third world war" and that Putin must be defeated "as soon as possible". He also stated that "Other issues that concern all of humanity—fighting pandemics and climate change, avoiding nuclear war, maintaining global institutions—have had to take a back seat to that struggle. That's why I say civilization may not survive."
Views on India and Narendra Modi
In February 2023, Soros criticized Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi for his alleged Islamophobia, cronyism and authoritarianism, saying that "India is...a democracy. But its leader, Narendra Modi, is no democrat. Inciting violence against Muslims was an important factor in his meteoric rise." Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party accused Soros of trying to undermine Indian democracy. Indian foreign minister S. Jaishankar claimed that Soros is a "dangerous" person. India allegedly ran a disinformation campaign against Soros.
Wealth and philanthropy
Further information on George Soros's philanthropy: List of projects supported by George SorosAs of March 2020, Forbes magazine listed Soros as the 162nd richest person in the world, with a net worth of $8.3 billion. He has also donated 64% of his original fortune, and distributed more than $15 billion through his Open Society Foundations (an international grantmaking network that supports advancing justice, education, public health and independent media). Forbes has called him the most generous giver (when measured as a percentage of net worth).
Soros has been active as a philanthropist since the 1970s, when he began providing funds to help black students attend the University of Cape Town in apartheid South Africa, and began funding dissident movements behind the Iron Curtain.
Soros's philanthropic funding includes efforts to promote non-violent democratization in the post-communist states. These efforts, mostly in Central and Eastern Europe, occur primarily through the Open Society Foundations (originally Open Society Institute or OSI) and national Soros Foundations, which sometimes go under other names (such as the Stefan Batory Foundation in Poland). As of 2003, PBS estimated that he had given away a total of $4 billion. The OSI says it has spent about $500 million annually in recent years.
In 2003, former Federal Reserve chairman Paul Volcker wrote in the foreword of Soros's book The Alchemy of Finance:
George Soros has made his mark as an enormously successful speculator, wise enough to largely withdraw when still way ahead of the game. The bulk of his enormous winnings is now devoted to encouraging transitional and emerging nations to become "open societies", open not only in the sense of freedom of commerce but—more important—tolerant of new ideas and different modes of thinking and behavior.
Time magazine in 2007 cited two specific projects—$100 million toward Internet infrastructure for regional Russian universities, and $50 million for the Millennium Promise to eradicate extreme poverty in Africa—noting that Soros had given $742 million to projects in the U.S., and given away a total of more than $7 billion.
Other notable projects have included aid to scientists and universities throughout central and eastern Europe, help to civilians during the siege of Sarajevo, and Transparency International. Soros also pledged an endowment of €420 million to the Central European University (CEU).
According to National Review Online the Open Society Institute gave $20,000 in September 2002 to the Defense Committee of Lynne Stewart, the lawyer who has defended controversial, poor, and often unpopular defendants in court and was sentenced to 21/3 years in prison for "providing material support for a terrorist conspiracy" via a press conference for a client. An OSI spokeswoman said "it appeared to us at that time that there was a right-to-counsel issue worthy of our support", but claimed later requests for support were declined.
In September 2006, Soros pledged $50 million to the Millennium Promise, led by economist Jeffrey Sachs to provide educational, agricultural, and medical aid to help villages in Africa enduring poverty. The New York Times termed this endeavor a "departure" for Soros whose philanthropic focus had been on fostering democracy and good government, but Soros noted that most poverty resulted from bad governance.
In May 2011, Soros donated $60 million to Bard College, establishing the Bard College Center for Civic Engagement.
Soros played a role in the peaceful transition from communism to democracy in Hungary (1984–89) and provided a substantial endowment to Central European University in Budapest. The Open Society Foundations has active programs in more than 60 countries around the world with total expenditures currently averaging approximately $600 million a year.
On October 17, 2017, it was announced that Soros had transferred $18 billion to the Open Society Foundations. In October 2018, Soros donated $2 million to the Wikimedia Foundation via the Wikimedia Endowment program.
In January 2020, Soros announced a $1 billion endowment donation at the World Economic Forum, establishing the Open Society University Network a global network of educational institutions in partnership with Bard College and the Central European University. Bard College president Leon Botstein serves as chancellor of the Open Society University Network.
In July 2020, Soros's Foundations announced plans to give $220 million in grants for racial justice groups, criminal justice reform and civic engagement.
In July 2020, Soros donated $100 million to Bard College, to strengthen and expand Bard's Center for Civic Engagement initiatives, and its leadership role as a founding partner of the Open Society University Network.
In April 2021, Soros pledged $500 million to the endowment of Bard College. The donation sits among the largest ever made to higher education in the United States. Following the $500 million donation Soros donated $25 million to the Center for Curatorial Studies at Bard College in August 2021, as well as an additional $25 million donation to Bard in September 2022.
Personal life
Soros has been married three times and divorced twice. In 1960, he married Annaliese Witschak (born January 3, 1934). Annaliese was an ethnic German immigrant, who had been orphaned during the war. Although she was not Jewish, she was well-liked by Soros's parents, as she had also experienced the privation and displacement brought about by World War II. They divorced in 1983. They had three children:
- Robert Daniel Soros (born 1963): The founder of the Central European University in Budapest, as well as a network of foundations in Eastern Europe. In 1992, he married Melissa Robin Schiff at the Temple Emanu-El in New York City. The Rabbi Dr. David Posner officiated the ceremony.
- Andrea Soros Colombel (born June 11, 1965): The founder and president of Trace Foundation, established in 1993 to promote the cultural continuity and sustainable development of Tibetan communities within China. She is also a founding partner and member of the board of directors of the Acumen Fund, a global venture fund that employs an entrepreneurial approach in addressing the problems of global poverty She is married to Eric Colombel (born October 26, 1963).
- Jonathan Tivadar Soros (born September 10, 1970): A hedge fund manager and political donor. In 2012, he co-founded Friends of Democracy, a super PAC dedicated to reducing the influence of money in politics. In 1997, he married Jennifer Ann Allan (born November 26, 1969).
In 1983, George Soros married Susan Weber. They divorced in 2005. They have two children:
- Alexander Soros (born 1985): Alexander has gained prominence for his donations to social and political causes, focusing his philanthropic efforts on "progressive causes that might not have widespread support." Alexander led the list of student political donors in the 2010 election cycle.
- Gregory James Soros (born 1988), artist.
As a child, Soros fantasized about being a God. In his book Underwriting Democracy, he wrote, "If truth be known, I carried some rather potent messianic fantasies with me from childhood, which I felt I had to control, otherwise they might get me in trouble." He later elaborated on that passage in an interview saying, "It is a sort of disease when you consider yourself some kind of god, the creator of everything, but I feel comfortable about it now since I began to live it out."
In a 1998 interview with CBS News, Soros said he was not religious and does not believe in God.
In 2008, Soros met Tamiko Bolton; they married on September 21, 2013. His older brother, Paul Soros, a private investor and philanthropist, died on June 15, 2013. As of 2022, Soros owned homes on Fifth Avenue in Manhattan, in The Hamptons on Long Island, and in Katonah, New York, within Westchester County.
In December 2023, Soros was swatted during a period of similar harassment targeting American political figures.
Honors and awards
Soros has received honorary doctoral degrees from the New School for Social Research in New York, the University of Oxford in 1980, the Corvinus University of Budapest, and a Doctor of Humane Letters from Yale University in 1991. He received an honorary laurea degree in economics from the University of Bologna in 1995.
In 2005, Soros was a minority partner in a group that tried to buy the Washington Nationals, a Major League baseball team. Some Republican lawmakers suggested that they might move to revoke Major League Baseball's antitrust exemption if Soros bought the team. In 2008, Soros's name was associated with AS Roma, an Italian association football team, but the club was not sold. Soros was a financial backer of Washington Soccer L.P., the group that owned the operating rights to Major League Soccer club D.C. United when the league was founded in 1995, but the group lost these rights in 2000. On August 21, 2012, BBC reported SEC filings showing Soros acquired roughly a 2% stake in English football club Manchester United through the purchase of 3 million of the club's Class-A shares.
In 2008, Soros was inducted into Institutional Investors Alpha's Hedge Fund Manager Hall of Fame along with Alfred Jones, Bruce Kovner, David Swensen, Jack Nash, James Simons, Julian Roberston, Kenneth Griffin, Leon Levy, Louis Bacon, Michael Steinhardt, Paul Tudor Jones, Seth Klarman, and Steven A. Cohen.
In January 2014, Soros was ranked number 1 in LCH Investments list of top 20 managers having posting gains of almost $42 billion since the launch of his Quantum Endowment Fund in 1973.
In July 2017, Soros was elected an Honorary Fellow of the British Academy (HonFBA), the United Kingdom's national academy for the humanities and social sciences.
Soros was the Financial Times Person of the Year for 2018, with the FT describing him as "a standard bearer for liberal democracy, an idea under siege from populists".
In April 2019, Soros was awarded the Ridenhour Prize for Courage. In his acceptance address Soros said: "In my native Hungary, the government of Viktor Orbán has turned me into the super villain of an alleged plot to destroy the supposed Christian identity of the Hungarian nation... donate the prize money associated with this award to the Hungarian Spectrum, an online English-language publication that provides daily updates on Hungarian politics. It renders an important service by exposing to the world what Prime Minister Viktor Orbán is telling his own people . It deserves to be better known and supported."
Publications and scholarship
Books authored or co-authored
- The Tragedy of the European Union: Disintegration or Revival? (PublicAffairs, 2014). ISBN 978-1-61039-421-5.
- Financial Turmoil in Europe and the United States: Essays (PublicAffairs, 2012). ISBN 978-1-61039-161-0.
- The Soros Lectures at the Central European University (PublicAffairs, 2010) ISBN 978-1-58648-885-7.
- The New Paradigm for Financial Markets: The Credit Crisis of 2008 and What it Means (PublicAffairs, 2008). ISBN 978-1-58648-683-9.
- The Age of Fallibility: Consequences of the War on Terror (PublicAffairs, 2006) ISBN 978-1-58648-359-3.
- Underwriting Democracy: Encouraging Free Enterprise and Democratic Reform Among the Soviets and in Eastern Europe (Free Press, 1991) ISBN 978-0-02-930285-9 (paperback; PublicAffairs, 2004; ISBN 978-1-58648-227-5).
- George Soros on Globalization (PublicAffairs, 2002) ISBN 978-1-58648-125-4 (paperback; PublicAffairs, 2005; ISBN 978-1-58648-278-7).
- The Bubble of American Supremacy: Correcting the Misuse of American Power (PublicAffairs, 2003) ISBN 978-1-58648-217-6 (paperback; PublicAffairs, 2004; ISBN 978-1-58648-292-3).
- Open Society: Reforming Global Capitalism (PublicAffairs, 2001) ISBN 978-1-58648-019-6.
- With Mark Amadeus Notturno, Science and the Open Society: The Future of Karl Popper's Philosophy (Central European University Press, 2000) ISBN 978-963-9116-69-6 (paperback: Central European University Press, 2000; ISBN 978-963-9116-70-2).
- The Crisis of Global Capitalism: Open Society Endangered (PublicAffairs, 1998) ISBN 978-1-891620-27-0.
- Soros on Soros: Staying Ahead of the Curve (John Wiley, 1995) ISBN 978-0-471-12014-8 (paperback; Wiley, 1995; ISBN 978-0-471-11977-7).
- Opening the Soviet System (Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 1990) ISBN 978-0-297-82055-0 (paperback: Perseus Books, 1996; ISBN 978-0-8133-1205-7).
- The Alchemy of Finance (Simon & Schuster, 1988) ISBN 978-0-671-66238-7 (paperback: Wiley, 2003; ISBN 978-0-471-44549-4).
Notable op-eds
- George Soros, "Why I support legal marijuana", The Wall Street Journal, October 26, 2010.
- George Soros, "The Crisis and the Euro", The New York Review of Books, August 19, 2010.
- George Soros, "Paulson Cannot be Allowed a Blank Cheque". Financial Times. September 24, 2008. Archived from the original on September 26, 2008. Retrieved May 3, 2012., Financial Times, September 24, 2008.
- George Soros, "On Israel, America and AIPAC", The New York Review of Books, April 12, 2007.
- George Soros, "The Bubble of American Supremacy", The Atlantic, December 2003, also audio recording of this article via Assistive Media, read by Grover Gardner, 18 minutes.
- George Soros, "Soros on Brazil", Financial Times, August 13, 2002.
- George Soros, "Bitter Thoughts with Faith in Russia", Moskovskiye Novosti (Moscow News), translated from the Russian by Olga Kryazheva, February 27, 2000.
- George Soros, "The Capitalist Threat", The Atlantic Monthly, February 1997.
Television
- A half-hour Opinions television lecture by Soros was transmitted by Channel 4 on 1 August 1993, and published in The Times the following day as "Why Appeasement Must Not Have Another Chance".
See also
- Forbes 400
- Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft
- Scott Bessent, former chief investment officer of Soros Fund Management
- Tides Foundation
Explanatory notes
- /ˈsɒroʊs/ SORR-ohss or /ˈsɒrɒs/ SORR-oss; Hungarian: Soros György (name written in Eastern order), pronounced [ˈʃoroʃ ˈɟørɟ].
- Soros was naturalized as an American citizen on December 18, 1961.
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Mr George Soros (BSc Philosophy 1951, MSc Philosophy 1954) Chairman, Soros Fund Management
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Tivadar.
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- Cain, Sian (May 6, 2016). "Russian culture ministry denies reports of book burning". The Guardian. Archived from the original on February 24, 2018. Retrieved February 23, 2018.
- Sahadi, Jeanne (May 24, 2022). "Society 'may not survive' Putin's war, says billionaire George Soros". CNN. Retrieved June 1, 2022.
- "How George Soros became a punching bag for rightwing Twitter in India". Quartz. April 28, 2023.
- "India's BJP slams Soros for saying Adani's troubles will weaken Modi". Reuters. February 17, 2023.
- "India hits back after George Soros says Adani troubles will greatly weaken Modi's grip on power". CNBC. February 20, 2023.
- ""Everyone is absolutely terrified": Inside a US ally's secret war on its American critics". Vox. May 22, 2024.
- "Forbes Billionaires 2021: The Richest People in the World". Forbes. Archived from the original on November 29, 2014. Retrieved September 4, 2020.
- Soros, George (2003). The Alchemy of Finance. John Wiley & Sons. p. xii. ISBN 978-0-471-44549-4. Archived from the original on November 10, 2020. Retrieved October 17, 2020.
- Philanthropy Archived September 21, 2010, at the Wayback Machine. George Soros. Retrieved November 25, 2011.
- York, Byron, Soros Funded Stewart Defense Archived October 28, 2014, at the Wayback Machine, National Review Online; retrieved February 7, 2007.
- Dugger, Celia W. (September 13, 2006). "Philanthropist Gives $50 Million to Help Aid the Poor in Africa". The New York Times. Africa. Archived from the original on April 9, 2009. Retrieved October 16, 2009.
- Foderaro, Lisa W. (May 17, 2011). "$60 Million Gift to Bolster Bard College's Global Work". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved July 4, 2023.
- "Hungary: Soros Donates $250 Million to University in Budapest". IPR Strategic Business Information Database. Info Prod Research. November 25, 2009
- "Active Programs". Archived from the original on September 21, 2010.
- David Gelles (October 17, 2017). "George Soros Transfers Billions to Open Society Foundations". The New York Times. Archived from the original on December 27, 2017. Retrieved December 27, 2017.
- "George Soros, founder of Open Society Foundations, invests in the future of free and open knowledge". Wikimedia Foundation. October 15, 2018. Archived from the original on October 20, 2018. Retrieved October 19, 2018.
- "George Soros Announces Global Initiative to Transform Higher Education". www.opensocietyfoundations.org. Retrieved July 4, 2023.
- Network, Open Society University. "Who We Are | Open Society University Network". opensocietyuniversitynetwork.org. Retrieved July 4, 2023.
- Herndon, Astead W. (July 13, 2020). "George Soros's Foundation Pours $220 Million Into Racial Equality Push". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on July 21, 2020. Retrieved July 21, 2020.
{{cite news}}
: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link) - Relations, Bard Public. "Open Society Foundations Invest $100 Million in Bard College: Strengthening the Global Network". www.bard.edu. Retrieved July 4, 2023.
- Relations, Bard Public. "Bard College Receives $500 Million Endowment Pledge from Investor and Philanthropist George Soros". www.bard.edu. Retrieved July 4, 2023.
- Block, Fang. "Marieluise Hessel Foundation and George Soros Each Donate $25 Million to Bard College". www.barrons.com. Retrieved July 4, 2023.
- Block, Fang. "Bard College Receives $50 Million Gift to Bolster Indigenous Studies". www.barrons.com. Retrieved July 4, 2023.
- Kaufman, Michael T., Soros: The Life and Times of a Messianic Billionaire. Archived August 1, 2020, at the Wayback Machine
- The New York Times: "WEDDINGS; Melissa Schiff, Robert D. Soros" Archived January 26, 2017, at the Wayback Machine May 24, 1992.
- Acumen Fund Board of Directors biographies: Andrea Soros Colombel Archived May 27, 2012, at the Wayback Machine retrieved May 26, 2012.
- The New York Times: "Jonathan Soros and Jennifer Allan" Archived February 11, 2017, at the Wayback Machine, August 17, 1997.
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- The Times, August 2, 1993
Further reading
Journalism
- Authers, John (May 19, 2008). "A successful prophet of the markets". Financial Times. Archived from the original on June 2, 2008. Retrieved May 24, 2022.
- Laura Blumenfeld, "Billionaire Soros Takes on Bush". MSNBC. Archived from the original on November 27, 2005. Retrieved April 7, 2004., The Washington Post, November 11, 2003
- Connie Bruck, Abstract of The New Yorker profile of Soros "The World According to Soros", The New Yorker, January 23, 1995.
- Malcolm Gladwell, gladwell.com "Blowing Up", The New Yorker, April 22 & 29, 2002.
- Matt Welch, Open Season on 'Open Society': Why an anti-communist "Holocaust survivor is being demonized as a Socialist, Self-hating Jew". Reason, December 8, 2003
- "Time's 25 Most Influential Americans" Archived July 10, 2010, at the Wayback Machine, Time, April 21, 1997. Retrieved May 21, 2007.
- "The Time 100: The Power Givers: George Soros" Archived December 5, 2010, at the Wayback Machine, Time, May 14, 2007, Retrieved May 21, 2007.
Scholarly perspectives
- Bryant, C.G.A. (2002). "George Soros's theory of reflexivity: a comparison with the theories of Giddens and Beck and a consideration of its practical value". Economy and Society. 31 (1): 112–131. doi:10.1080/03085140120109277. S2CID 143594005.
- Cross, R.; Strachan, D. (1997). "On George Soros and economic analysis". Kyklos. 50 (4): 561–574. doi:10.1111/1467-6435.00030.
- Kwong, C.P. (2008). "Mathematical analysis of Soros's theory of reflexivity". arXiv:0901.4447 .
- Nielsen, Waldemar A. (1996). Inside American Philanthropy: The Dramas of Donorship. Norman, Oklahoma: University of Oklahoma Press. pp. 77–82. ISBN 978-0-8061-2802-3.
- Pettis, Michael (2001). The Volatility Machine: Emerging Economies and the Threat of Financial Collapse. Oxford: Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-514330-0.
- Stone, Diane (2007). "Market Principles, Philanthropic Ideals and Public Service Values: The Public Policy Program at the Central European University" (PDF). PS: Political Science and Politics. 40 (3): 545–551. doi:10.1017/S1049096507070795. S2CID 53387414.
- Stone, Diane (2010). "Transnational Philanthropy or Policy Transfer? The Transnational Norms of the Open Society Institute" (PDF). Policy and Politics. 38 (2): 269–87. doi:10.1332/030557309x458416.
External links
- Official website
- George Soros Information on the website of Open Society Foundations
- Column archives at Project Syndicate
- Column archives at The New York Review of Books
- Appearances on C-SPAN
- George Soros on Charlie Rose
- George Soros collected news and commentary at The Guardian
- George Soros collected news and commentary at The New York Times
- Forbes.com: George Soros
- NYTimes: George Soros
- Membership at the Council on Foreign Relations
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