Billionaire philanthropist and investor George Soros, 92, is handing control of his Open Society Foundations to his son Alex, who was named chair in December.
The foundation donates money to humanitarian and democratic causes ranging from criminal justice reform to climate change initiatives and controls the majority of assets managed by Soros’s $25 billion family office. The news was first reported in the Wall Street Journal and confirmed by a spokesperson for the organization.
“I’m more political” than the elder Soros, Alex Soros, 37, told the newspaper. He added that he was concerned about Donald Trump’s potential White House run. “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.”
Alex Soros met recently with Biden administration officials, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, Brazil President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to push for issues related to the family foundation, the Journal reported.
Soros plans to “double down on defending voting rights and personal freedom at home and supporting the cause of democracy abroad,” he told the Financial Times, via a spokesperson. George Soros’ priorities in US politics will be unchanged by Alex’s appointment, the newspaper reported, citing a person close to the family it didn’t identify.
A native of Hungary, George Soros attacked what he called anti-democratic forces there and in Poland — and in turn became a perennial target. In 2018, a long struggle with Hungary’s Prime Minister Viktor Orban ended with Soros moving his Central European University, founded after the fall of the Berlin Wall to promote democracies, out of Budapest.
George Soros is known as a major supporter of liberal causes and Democratic politicians, and has long been a target of the political right. He founded Soros Fund Management and earned a fortune on outsize bets, including an infamous wager against the British pound. He converted the fund to a family office in 2011. His foundation has spent $19.1 billion so far.