Billionaire investor and philanthropist George Soros, who over the years has become a conservative target because of his financial backing of Democrat politicians, is turning over control of his $25 billion empire to his 37-year-old son Alexander Soros, who says he's more political than his father and that he will broaden his father's liberal influence and embrace even more causes.
The younger Soros, in his first interview since he was picked as his father's successor, tells The Wall Street Journal that he plans to focus on voting, abortion rights, and gender issues, and will continue using family money to back left-wing politicians.
He's already met with Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y. and Biden officials, as well as heads of state like Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Brazil's President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva to speak about the family's nonprofit Open Society Foundations.
The organization, which Alexander Soros now chairs, sends about $1.5 billion annually to groups that back human rights initiatives around the world. Money is also spent to universities and other educational institutions.
Meanwhile, Democracy PAC, the Soros family super PAC, has drawn fire from Republicans for its backing of left-wing district attorneys and law-enforcement officials in the United States.
Soros told The Wall Street Journal that he's also concerned that former President Donald Trump could be returning to the White House, which suggested a role for the organization in the presidential race.
"As much as I would love to get money out of politics, as long as the other side is doing it, we will have to do it, too," he said while speaking at the fund manager’s New York offices.
However, he said he does believe that speech on college campuses and elsewhere is becoming too restricted, marking a difference with some on the left.
George Soros, 92, had said in the past that he did not want his foundation to be taken over by one of his children, but "thought it should be managed by someone who is best suited."
People thought for a long time that Jonathan Soros, 52, an elder half-brother to Alex, would be the successor. Jonathan is an attorney who has a finance background and worked for a period of time with the foundation while stabilizing its hedge fund.
But the father and son fell out, and Alex gained his father's trust by standing in for him in the Soros organization’s offices worldwide, leading George to say that "he's earned" the succession.
The OSF board elected Alex as its chairman in December, and now, he directs political activity as the president of the super PAC.
He is also the only family member on the investment committee that oversees Soros Fund Management, which oversees the money for the foundation and the family. Most of the $25 billion in the management division will be directed to OSF, but about $125 million is set aside for the super PAC.
Alex is seen as having a different, more hands-on working style than his father. He is a fan of hip-hop and the New York Jets who was seen as a "playboy" and a long shot to head the company.
His father built the family fortune during the 1970s and 1980s as a hedge-fund manager who invested in global markets based on forecasts of economic and political shifts. For example, one bet in 1992 that the British pound would fall brought his fund $1 billion.
Soros started drawing backlash from conservatives after he said in 2004 that the "central focus" of his life was preventing the re-election of then-President George W. Bush. He also backed Barack Obama's presidential campaign in 2008 and sparked further criticism for supporting needle-exchange programs and the legalization of marijuana for medical use.
Sandy Fitzgerald ✉
Sandy Fitzgerald has more than three decades in journalism and serves as a general assignment writer for Newsmax covering news, media, and politics.
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