Meet Soros’s son who will assume a billionaire fortune – 06/12/2023 – Market

Billionaire George Soros, 92, has passed the helm of his financial empire and philanthropic institutions to one of his five children.

Alex, 37 years old, is the second youngest in the family and will take control of a fortune valued at US$ 25 billion (R$ 122 billion).

Born in Hungary, Soros became a billionaire in the financial market, but he has directed the family fortune since the 1990s to strengthen democracy in dozens of countries. He is also one of the biggest donors to the Democratic party in the United States.

However, in recent years, the former fund manager has been the target of anti-Semitic conspiracy theories.

Soros said he passed the baton to his son in an interview with the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) and a spokesman confirmed the information to the BBC. The billionaire said his son “deserved it” to take control of the investment fund.

Alex is a history graduate and will be the only family member on the board of directors of Soros Fund Management, the fund that manages the family’s $25 billion.

He had already assumed the position of chairman of the board of the Open Society Foundation in December 2022 and also already commanded a funding mechanism for political parties in the US.

While Alex has broadly the same political leanings as his father, he told the WSJ that he is “more political” than his father — for example, he reportedly campaigned against Donald Trump’s bid for re-election (which Trump ultimately lost).

“I would very much like politics not to depend so much on money, but as long as the other side is using (a lot of resources), we will have to use them too”, said Alex Soros.

Alex said the Open Society Foundation will continue the same goals it had under his father, including promoting press freedom, reforming criminal justice systems, minority and refugee rights and supporting progressive politicians.

But Alex also wants to include issues like voting rights, reproductive rights and gender equality — as well as having a more US-focused program.

Alex Soros is a fan of hip-hop and the New York Jets football team. He is also known for having a very active social life, attending celebrity parties in Cannes, France, and the Hamptons, USA.

He has also traveled to remote parts of the Amazon and joined the board of human rights campaign group Global Witness.

“Our side has to get better at being more patriotic and inclusive,” he told the WSJ. “Just because someone votes for Trump doesn’t mean they’re lost or racist.”

Who is George Soros

Soros was born in Hungary, where he lived under the terror of the Nazi occupation in 1944 and 1945. His family had to hide their Jewishness in order to survive.

After the war, Soros immigrated to London and then to New York, where he ended up becoming a billionaire with his work in the financial market.

He gained quite a bit of notoriety in the UK when he won around $1 billion betting that the pound would depreciate in 1992.

When the Berlin Wall fell, paving the way for the establishment of democratic governments in the former Soviet bloc, Soros created the Open Society Foundation (OSF) to support the process. OSF now spends approximately $1.5 billion a year supporting progressive causes, educational organizations and human rights in more than 120 countries.

Some of his causes have angered the right, including fighting racial prejudice in the US justice system.

OSF moved its international operations office from Budapest to Berlin in 2018 after the Hungarian government led by Viktor Orbán explicitly campaigned against Soros personally and against the foundation’s work.