A legendary self-made profiteer, philanthropist and destroyer of ultra-liberal capitalism, George Soros, who is about to cede control of his empire to one of his sons, has become the target of ultra-conservatives and cabalists, quick to attack with anti -Semitic tones.
At the age of 92, the billionaire will hand over the reins of his organization to Alexander (37), one of his sons, he told the Wall Street Journal. Alex, short for him, will succeed a character hated by the extreme right, protesters and conspirators, who accused him, among other things, of having financed violent demonstrations, worked to overthrow governments or created a migration crisis in Europe.
Just last month, Elon Musk took aim at him in a tweet, saying offhandedly: “He wants to erode the very fabric of civilization. Soros hates humanity.”
Recently, the billionaire tweeted that Soros reminded him of Magneto (the enemy of the X-Men in the Marvel comics).
In question: the billions he has paid through his organization Open Society Foundations (OSF) in favor of economic and justice reforms, the rights of minorities and refugees, freedom of expression.
His big stock market crash of 1992
It was after becoming an eminence in finance that he devoted his money to defending his ideas.
His biggest stock trick will continue to be his bet on the fall of the pound sterling in 1992, when England was sinking into the economic crisis. After this foray, which allowed him to pocket a billion dollars in profits, he became a benchmark in financial circles, adored by many investors and feared by the finance ministers of the greatest powers.
It is therefore one of his younger sons, Alejandro (37) who will succeed him. A decision revealed by the Wall Street Journal and that surprised the world of finance. Soros senior used to say that he would not give the keys to his estimated $25 billion empire to one of his sons. A first experience with Jonathan, her third child from a first marriage, ended badly in 2011.
But now 92 years old, George Soros knows his days are numbered and he prefers to keep control of his successor.
Models, football and jet-setting
A priori, the so-called Alex was not the best placed to carry out the task. Even if he claims to share the same political ideas as his father, he became known at a younger age as a member of high society than as a philanthropist or champion of leading progressive causes.
“Gorgeous models, NBA friends and hiding in his mansion: welcome to the lavish life of investor George Soros’s playboy son,” read the headline on the website. daily mail in a portrait that the tabloid dedicated to him in 2016.
A big fan of hip-hop and a stalwart of the New York Jets, the football team he supports, Alex was not interested in finances in his youth. The Wall Street Journal describes him as an introverted, fearful and overweight teenager traumatized by a warning from a friend who slipped him one day that he was going to be kidnapped under his name.
It was when his parents divorced in 2004 that Alexander grew closer to his father. Diplomé de philosophie, il fait cette année-là des débuts timides à l’Open Society Foundations (OSF), le réseau d’association du milliardaire doté d’un budget annual de 1.5 billion dollars pour défendre et promouvoir la démocratie dans the world. He then did not make a strong impression, remaining silent during board meetings.
However, he returned there in 2015 after having traveled extensively, particularly in South America on behalf of the NGO Global Witness, which defends the rights of local populations against mining companies. He then forges a culture and a political conscience. He will therefore follow in the footsteps of his father, a great supporter of the American left.
Objective: Defeat Donald Trump
While the latter declared in 2004 that defeating George W. Bush was “the goal of his life”, Alex wants him to do everything possible to prevent Donald Trump from returning to power in 2024 and will invest financially in the campaign.
Advocate for a more open society, the son Soros does not feel in tune with the intersectional ideology that prevails on American campuses and that he considers detrimental to freedom of expression.
George Soros was born on August 12, 1930 into a Jewish family in Budapest. Thanks to false papers, he and his family escaped from the Nazis during the occupation of the city in 1944-1945.
After the establishment of communism in Hungary, he moved to London in 1947 where he studied at the prestigious London School of Economics, before emigrating to New York in 1956.
He thrived in the world of finance and in 1970 created his own hedge fund, the source of his fortune. The latter is valued by Forbes at $6.7 billion, but does not include the $18 billion transferred to his foundations in 2017.
Source: BFM TV
