George Soros: meet the son who will take over the empire – 06/15/2023 – Market

Billionaire George Soros, 92, has passed command of his financial empire and philanthropic institutions to one of his five children. His name is Alexander Soros, 37, the eldest from his father’s second marriage. George Soros’ fortune is valued at more than 23 billion euros (almost R$ 120 billion).

Born in Hungary and Holocaust survivor, George Soros became a millionaire in the US financial market, but since the 1990s he has directed his family fortune to support social causes, namely the strengthening of democracy in dozens of countries through the OSF (Open Society Foundations). He is also one of the biggest financiers of the American Democratic Party.

Alexander Soros has a PhD in History and developed a thesis on the impact of the German poet Heinrich Heine (1797-1856) on the philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche (1844-1900). He is the eldest of two children born to George and Susan Weber. The young man is on the board of Bard College, in New York, where the philosopher Hannah Arendt is buried; the Jewish History Center, also in New York; the Central European University in Austria; and other organizations.

In December, Alexander Soros was elected chairman of the OSF board of directors, the Wall Street Journal revealed last Sunday. Before that, he was president of the body that supports the Democrats, reported, this Monday (12), Michael Vachon, spokesman for George Soros, quoted by The Washington Post.

To the WSJ, Alexander Soros declared that he and his father “think alike”, that they believe in freedom of the press but that, in his case, he would bet more on issues such as the right to vote, abortion and gender equality. And he revealed that he was worried about the possibility of Donald Trump returning to the presidency in 2024.

According to the BBC, Alexander Soros is a fan, in music, of hip-hop and, in football, of the New York Jets. He is also known for having an active social life and attending parties in Cannes, France, and in the select Hamptons, USA.

After the fall of the Berlin Wall, George Soros –who studied philosophy at the London School of Economics under Karl Popper (1902-1994)– became a leading supporter of free speech and other democratic priorities in Eastern Europe and the United States. Russia, expanding its action to the rest of the world, from the USA to countries in Latin America, Africa and Asia, mentions its biography on the OSF website.

His support for liberal causes made him enemies in some quarters of the right and made him the target of anti-Semitic attacks and conspiracy theories. Last month, Elon Musk claimed that Soros “hates humanity” and that he “want to erode the very fabric of civilization”. Such a statement came after the billionaire sold Tesla shares.

One of Alexander Soros’ main interests is the Ukrainian War, Mark Leonard, director of the European Council on External Relations, a think tank that receives funding from the OSF, tells The Washington Post. “Since the beginning of the crisis, Alexander reveals an extraordinary knowledge of what is happening in Ukraine. He was in daily contact with the Soros Foundation in Ukraine, speaking with different governments about their policy towards the country”, he adds.

OSF describes itself as the largest independent funder of Ukrainian civil society and citizens’ groups for more than three decades. Its funding since Russia invaded Ukraine in February last year has included supporting the evacuation of civilians, delivering emergency medical supplies, protecting the work of journalists and investigating war crimes, lists the Washington Post.

Since 2015, Russian authorities have banned funding from George Soros, who, in more than 25 years of work in the country, funded internet centers at dozens of universities, supported professors and researchers to travel and study abroad, and funded art centers contemporary.

In addition to Alexander, George Soros is the father of three more sons and a daughter. The tycoon was married to Annaliese Witschak, between 1960 and 1983, and they were the parents of Robert Soros, 60, founder of Soros Capital Management, Andrea Soros, 58, the only daughter who is also on the board of OSF, and Jonathan Soros , 53, founder of JS Capital Management LLC, a private equity firm.

In the same year he got divorced, George Soros married historian Susan Weber, with whom he had two children: Alexander, 37 years old, who now succeeds his father at the head of the family’s destinies, and Gregory, 28 years old. The marriage ended in 2005. In 2013, the billionaire married again, this time with pharmacist Tamiko Bolton, 51 years old.