 "Meet Alex Soros, the man in-charge of running a $25 billion empire")
George Soros, a billionaire philanthropist, has decided to hand over his $25 billion financial and charitable empire to his son, Alexander Soros, according to media reports on Monday, June 12.
Alexander (known as Alex) is the second youngest among his five siblings and the only family member who is on the investment committee for Soros Fund Management. According to the Wall Street Journal, this fund manages $25 billion for the charitable foundation and his family.
In an interview with the Wall Street Journal (WSJ), George Soros stated that his son had “earned” the position, making the hedge fund manager go back on his previous claims that he would not make any of his children in charge of his investment and charitable organisations.
Who is Alex Soros?
Alex Soros was born on September 10, 1985, in New York City, United States.
Soros graduated from New York University in 2009 and earned his PhD in history from University of California, Berkeley in 2018. In the same year, he attended the World Economic Forum as one of its 'Young Global Leaders’.
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He served as the deputy chair of the Open Society Foundations (OSF) before taking over as chairman in December 2022.
Furthermore, Soros also handles his father's 'super PAC', which is best described as a 'US mechanism to direct funds to political parties” by IANS.
When his new position was announced, Soros told WSJ that he was “more political” than his father, who had become a widely controversial figure due to his opinion regarding politics and democracy.
The young Soros stated that he would continue to fund left-leaning US political candidates and was concerned about Donald Trump’s 2024 campaign for the presidency.
He added that while he did not believe that everyone who voted for Trump was racist or otherwise, his organisation would play an important role in the upcoming presidential race.
Why is George Soros a controversial figure?
George Soros is a Hungarian-American billionaire investor, philanthropist, and political activist. He was born on August 12, 1930, in Budapest, Hungary and is best known for his success as a hedge fund manager and his involvement in financial markets.
He founded the Quantum Fund in 1973 and became one of the most successful investors globally.
Soros is also recognised for his extensive philanthropic work through his Open Society Foundations. These foundations support various causes, including human rights, education, public health, and democracy. Soros has donated billions of dollars to organisations and initiatives around the world to promote open societies and social justice.
Over the years, Soros has been a controversial figure, often targeted by right-wing conspiracy theories and criticism. Some of these conspiracy theories claim that he controls global events or governments through his financial influence. These claims have been widely discredited.
Soros has been involved in political activism and has supported various progressive and liberal causes. He has advocated for democracy, human rights, and social justice, particularly in Eastern Europe and countries transitioning from authoritarian regimes. Soros has also been involved in promoting drug policy reform, criminal justice reform, and addressing climate change.
At the beginning of February, the 92-year-old hedge fund tycoon had stated that Gautam Adani and Prime Minister Narendra Modi's fates are linked and stated that Modi was not a democrat. This drew a lot of criticism of Soros from India.
The External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar called Soros an "old, rich, opinionated person sitting in New York, who still thinks that his views should determine how the entire world works."
Soros had also previously accused India of trying to take away the citizenship of millions of Muslims.
Elon Musk had accused Soros of “hating humanity” and as someone who "wanted to erode the very fabric of civilisation" after the latter sold all his stakes in Tesla in May.