George Soros
George Soros speaking in Malaysia
Born	August 12, 1930 (1930-08-12) (age 77) Budapest, Hungary
Occupation	speculator, investor, philanthropist, political activist
Net worth	$8. For the biogeographical region see Malesia Malaysia (məˈleɪʒə or /məˈleɪziə/ is a country that consists of thirteen states and Events 1099 - First Crusade: Battle of Ascalon - Crusaders under the command of Godfrey of Bouillon defeat Fatimid Year 1930 ( MCMXXX) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (link will display 1930 calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Budapest ( also /ˈbʊ-/) is the capital city of Hungary. As the largest city of Hungary it serves as the country's principal Political, Hungary (Magyarország 'mɔɟɔrorsaːg) officially in English the Republic of Hungary ( Magyar Köztársaság, literally Magyar (Hungarian Republic Speculation, in a financial context is making an investment that increases the overall risk in a portfolio See Investor AB for the Swedish investment company An investor is any party that makes an Investment. Philanthropy is the act of donating money goods services time and/or effort to support a socially beneficial cause with a defined objective and with no financial or material Activism, in a general sense can be described as intentional action to bring about social or political change 5 billion (Forbes)[1]
Spouse	Twice divorced (Annaliese Witschak and Susan Weber Soros)
Children	Robert, Andrea, Jonathan, Alexander, Gregory
Website www.georgesoros.com

George Soros (pronounced /ˈsɔroʊs/ or /ˈsɔrəs/,^[2] Hungarian IPA: [ˈʃoroʃ]) (born August 12, 1930, in Budapest, Hungary, as György Schwartz) is a Hungarian-born American financial speculator, stock investor, philanthropist, and political activist. Forbes is an American Publishing and media company Its flagship publication Forbes magazine is published bi-weekly Events 1099 - First Crusade: Battle of Ascalon - Crusaders under the command of Godfrey of Bouillon defeat Fatimid Year 1930 ( MCMXXX) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (link will display 1930 calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Budapest ( also /ˈbʊ-/) is the capital city of Hungary. As the largest city of Hungary it serves as the country's principal Political, Hungary (Magyarország 'mɔɟɔrorsaːg) officially in English the Republic of Hungary ( Magyar Köztársaság, literally Magyar (Hungarian Republic Hungary (Magyarország 'mɔɟɔrorsaːg) officially in English the Republic of Hungary ( Magyar Köztársaság, literally Magyar (Hungarian Republic The United States of America —commonly referred to as the Speculation, in a financial context is making an investment that increases the overall risk in a portfolio A stock trader or a stock investor is an Individual or firm who buys and sells Stocks or bonds (and possibly other Philanthropy is the act of donating money goods services time and/or effort to support a socially beneficial cause with a defined objective and with no financial or material Activism, in a general sense can be described as intentional action to bring about social or political change ^[3]

Currently, he is the chairman of Soros Fund Management and the Open Society Institute and is also a former member of the Board of Directors of the Council on Foreign Relations. Soros Fund Management LLC, founded by George Soros, is a privately held Corporation providing financial services and investment strategies for various funds including The Open Society Institute (OSI a private operating and grantmaking foundation aims to shape public policy to promote democratic Governance, The Council on Foreign Relations ( CFR) is an American Nonpartisan foreign policy membership organization founded in 1921 and based at 58 East 68th Street (at According to his own website, Soros claims his support for the Solidarity labour movement in Poland, as well as the Czechoslovak human rights organization Charter 77, contributed to ending Soviet Union political dominance in those countries. Poland (Polska officially the Republic of Poland Czechoslovakia may also refer to what is now the Czech Republic and Slovakia. Human rights refers to the "basic Rights and freedoms to which all humans are entitled Charter 77 ( Charta 77 in Czech and in Slovak) was an informal civic initiative in Czechoslovakia from 1977 to 1992 named after the document The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR was a constitutionally Socialist state that existed in Eurasia from 1922 to 1991 ^[4] His funding and organization of Georgia's Rose Revolution was considered by Russian and Western observers to have been crucial to its success, although Soros said his role has been "greatly exaggerated. Georgia ( საქართველო, Sakartvelo) is a Transcontinental country in the Caucasus region situated at the dividing line between The "Revolution of Roses quot (often translated into English as the Rose Revolution) (ვარდების რევოლუცია - vardebis The term Western world, the West or the Occident ( Latin: occidens -sunset -west as distinct from the Orient) can have multiple meanings " In the United States, he is known for having donated large sums of money in a failed effort to defeat President George W. Bush's bid for re-election in 2004. George Walker Bush ( born July 6 1946 is the forty-third and current President of the United States. On BookTV, November 12, 2007, he said that he supports Barack Obama for the Democratic candidate in the 2008 election, but says that John Edwards, Hillary Clinton, or Joe Biden are all fine candidates, as well. For the Canadian specialty channel see BookTelevision Book TV is the collective name for weekend programming about upcoming and Events 764 - Tibetan troops occupy Chang'an, the capital of the Chinese Tang Dynasty, for fifteen days Year 2007 ( MMVII) was a Common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. Johnny Reid "John" Edwards (born June 10 1953 Hillary Diane Rodham Clinton (born October 26 1947 is the junior United States Senator from

Soros is famously known for "breaking the Bank of England" on Black Wednesday in 1992. The Bank of England (formally the Governor and Company of the Bank of England) is a state-owned institution and the Central bank of the United Kingdom In British Politics and Economics, Black Wednesday refers to the events of 16 September 1992 when the Conservative With an estimated current net worth of around $8. Year 2007 ( MMVII) was a Common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. 5 billion, he is ranked by Forbes as the 80th-richest person in the world. Forbes is an American Publishing and media company Its flagship publication Forbes magazine is published bi-weekly This list of billionaires is based on an annual ranking of the world's wealthiest people compiled and published by Forbes magazine on 8 March ^[1]

Former Federal Reserve Chairman Paul Volcker wrote in 2003 in the foreword of Soros' book The Alchemy of Finance:

"George Soros has made his mark as an enormously successful speculator, wise enough to largely withdraw when still way ahead of the game. Paul Adolph Volcker (born September 5, 1927 in Cape May New Jersey) is an American Economist The bulk of his enormous winnings is now devoted to encouraging transitional and emerging nations to become 'open societies,' open not only in the sense of freedom of commerce but - more important - tolerant of new ideas and different modes of thinking and behavior. Emerging nation is the term given to a large number of newly independent African Middle Eastern and Asian nations in the 1960s "

Biography

Family

George Soros is the son of the Esperanto writer Teodoro Schwartz. is by far the most widely spoken constructed International auxiliary language in the world Teodoro Ŝvarc (or Schwartz or Soros Tivadar; 1894-1968 was a Hungarian Jewish doctor lawyer author and editor Teodoro (also known as Tivadar) was a Hungarian Jew, who was a prisoner of war during and after World War I and eventually escaped from Russia to rejoin his family in Budapest. World War I (abbreviated WWI; also known as the First World War, the Great War, and the War to End All Budapest ( also /ˈbʊ-/) is the capital city of Hungary. As the largest city of Hungary it serves as the country's principal Political, ^[5]

The family changed its name in 1936 from Schwartz to Soros, in response to growing anti-semitism with the rise of Fascism. Fascism is a totalitarian nationalist and corporatist ideology Tivadar liked the new name because it is a palindrome and because it has a meaning. A palindrome is a word phrase number or other sequence of units that can be read the same way in either direction (the adjustment of punctuation and spaces between words Though the specific meaning is left unstated in Kaufmann's biography, in Hungarian "soros" means "next in line, or designated successor", and in Esperanto it means "will soar". Hungarian ( magyar nyelv) is a Uralic language (more specifically a Ugric language) unrelated to most other languages in Europe. is by far the most widely spoken constructed International auxiliary language in the world ^[6] His son George was taught to speak Esperanto from birth and thus is one of the rare native Esperanto speakers. Native Esperanto speakers (in Esperanto denaskuloj) are born into families in which Esperanto (and usually other languages is spoken George Soros later said that he "grew up in a Jewish home," and that his parents were "cautious with their religious roots. "^[7] However, Soros's father was proud of his Jewish roots (which can be seen in his memoir on his experiences during the holocaust, Masquerade).

George Soros has been married and divorced twice, to Annaliese Witschak and to Susan Weber Soros. Susan Weber Soros (born 1954, Brooklyn, New York City) is the founder and director of the Bard Graduate Center (BGC for studies in the Decorative He has five children: Robert, Andrea, Jonathan (with his first wife, Annaliese), Alexander and Steven (with his second wife, Susan). His elder brother Paul Soros is an engineer, and is also a well-known philanthropist, investor, and New York socialite.

Native Hungary, and move to England

Soros was thirteen years old when Nazi Germany took military control over its wavering ally Hungary (March 19, 1944), and started exterminating Hungarian Jews^[8] in the Holocaust. Hungary (Magyarország 'mɔɟɔrorsaːg) officially in English the Republic of Hungary ( Magyar Köztársaság, literally Magyar (Hungarian Republic Events 1279 - A Mongolian victory in the Battle of Yamen ends the Song Dynasty in China. Year 1944 ( MCMXLIV) was a Leap year starting on Saturday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. The Holocaust (from the Greek el ''ὁλόκαυστον'' (el-Latn holókauston holos, "completely" and kaustos, "burnt" also known as Soros worked briefly for the Jewish Council, which had been established by the Nazis, to deliver messages to Jewish lawyers being called for deportation. Soros claims he was not aware of the consequence of the messages. ^[9] To avoid his son being apprehended by the Nazis, his father had Soros spend the summer of 1944 living with a non-Jewish Ministry of Agriculture employee, posing as his godson.

In the following year, Soros survived the battle of Budapest, as Soviet and Nazi forces fought house-to-house through the city. The Siege of Budapest was a siege of the Hungarian Capital city of Budapest, fought towards the end of World War II in Europe The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR was a constitutionally Socialist state that existed in Eurasia from 1922 to 1991 Soros first traded currencies during the Hungarian hyperinflation of 1945-1946. A currency is a unit of exchange, facilitating the transfer of Goods and/or services It is one form of Money, where money is Certain figures in this article use Scientific notation for readability

In 1946, Soros escaped the Soviet occupation by participating in an Esperanto youth congress in the West. The International Youth Congress of Esperanto or Internacia Junulara Kongreso is the biggest annual meeting of young esperantists in the world and participants usually number

Soros emigrated to England in 1947 and graduated from the London School of Economics in 1952. England is a Country which is part of the United Kingdom. Its inhabitants account for more than 83% of the total UK population whilst its mainland The London School of Economics and Political Science, more commonly referred to as The London School of Economics or LSE, is a specialist college of the Year 1952 ( MCMLII) was a Leap year starting on Tuesday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. While a student of the philosopher Karl Popper, Soros funded himself by taking jobs as a railway porter and a waiter at Quaglino's restaurant where he was told that with hard work he might one day become head waiter. Sir Karl Raimund Popper ( July 28 1902  &ndash September 17 1994) was an Austrian and British Philosopher and a professor He also worked in a mannequin factory, but was fired for being too slow at putting on the heads. Mannequin (alternately manikin, mannikin, manakin, dummy or lay figure) He eventually secured an entry-level position with London merchant bank Singer & Friedlander. Kaupthing Singer & Friedlander is a financial services provider offering corporate and investment banking services to small and medium-sized companies as well as wealth management services

Move to the United States

In 1956 he moved to the United States, where he worked as an arbitrage trader with F. In Economics and Finance, arbitrage is the practice of taking advantage of a price differential between two or more Markets striking a combination of matching M. Mayer from 1956 to 1959 and as an analyst with Wertheim and Company from 1959 to 1963. Throughout this time, Soros developed a philosophy of "reflexivity" based on the ideas of Popper. In sociology reflexivity is an act of self-reference where examination or action 'bends back on' refers to and affects the entity instigating the action or examination Reflexivity, as used by Soros, is the belief that the action of beholding the valuation of any market by its participants affects said valuation of the market in a procyclical 'virtuous or vicious' circle.

Soros realized, however, that he would not make any money from the concept of reflexivity until he went into investing on his own. He began to investigate how to deal in investments. From 1963 to 1973 he worked at Arnhold and S. Bleichroeder, where he attained the position of vice-president. Soros finally concluded that he was a better investor than he was a philosopher or an executive. In 1967 he persuaded the company to set up an offshore investment fund, First Eagle, for him to run; in 1969 the company founded a second fund for Soros, the Double Eagle hedge fund. A collective investment scheme is a way of investing money with other people to participate in a wider range of investments than those feasible for most individual investors A hedge fund is a private Investment fund open to a limited range of investors which is permitted by regulators to undertake a wider range of activities than other investment

When investment regulations restricted his ability to run the funds as he wished, he quit his position in 1973 and established a private investment company that eventually evolved into the Quantum Fund. The Quantum Group of Funds are privately owned Hedge funds based on Curaçao (Netherlands Antilles and Cayman Islands. He has stated that his intent was to earn enough money on Wall Street to support himself as an author and philosopher - he calculated that $500,000 after five years would be possible and adequate. Wall Street is a street in lower Manhattan, New York City, United States. After all those years, his net worth reached an estimated $11 billion. For the film entitled Net Worth see Net Worth (film. In business net worth (sometimes called net assets) is the total Assets

He is also a former member of the Carlyle Group. The Carlyle Group is a global Private equity investment firm based in Washington D

Business

Soros is the founder of Soros Fund Management. In 1970 he co-founded the Quantum Fund with Jim Rogers. For other uses see James Rogers (disambiguation. James B Rogers Jr It returned 3,365% during the next ten years (42. 6% per year for 10 years), and created the bulk of the Soros fortune. In 2007, the Quantum Fund returned almost 32%, netting Soros $2. 9 billion. ^[10]

Rogers announced his retirement from the fund in 1980.

Currency speculation

On Black Wednesday (September 16, 1992), Soros became immediately famous when he sold short more than $10 billion worth of pounds, profiting from the Bank of England's reluctance to either raise its interest rates to levels comparable to those of other European Exchange Rate Mechanism countries or to float its currency. In British Politics and Economics, Black Wednesday refers to the events of 16 September 1992 when the Conservative In Finance, short selling or "shorting" is the practice of selling a Financial instrument that the seller borrows first (does not own and then The Bank of England (formally the Governor and Company of the Bank of England) is a state-owned institution and the Central bank of the United Kingdom The European Exchange Rate Mechanism, ERM, was a system introduced by the European Community in March 1979 as part of the European Monetary System (EMS Floating rate may also refer to a Floating interest rate applied to a Loan or other lending product

Finally, the Bank of England was forced to withdraw the currency out of the European Exchange Rate Mechanism and to devalue the pound sterling, and Soros earned an estimated US$ 1. The Pound Sterling ( symbol £; ISO code: GBP) subdivided into 100 pence (singular penny) is the Currency 1 billion in the process. He was dubbed "the man who broke the Bank of England. "

The Times October 26, 1992, Monday quoted Soros as saying: "Our total position by Black Wednesday had to be worth almost $10 billion. We planned to sell more than that. In fact, when Norman Lamont said just before the devaluation that he would borrow nearly $15 billion to defend sterling, we were amused because that was about how much we wanted to sell. Norman Stewart Hughson Lamont Baron Lamont of Lerwick, PC (born 8 May 1942 is a former Conservative MP for Kingston-upon-Thames, England Devaluation is a reduction in the value of a Currency with respect to other monetary units "

According to Steven Drobny,^[11] Stanley Druckenmiller, who traded under Soros, originally saw the weakness in the pound. Stanley Druckenmiller (1946-present formerly managed money for George Soros, and now dedicates himself to work full time at Duquesne Capital which he founded in 1981 "Soros' contribution was pushing him to take a gigantic position," in accord with Druckenmiller's own research and instincts.

In 1997, during the Asian financial crisis, then Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir bin Mohamad accused Soros of using the wealth under his control to punish ASEAN for welcoming Myanmar as a member. The Asian Financial Crisis was a period of Financial crisis that gripped much of Asia beginning in July 1997 and raised fears of a worldwide economic meltdown ( Tun Dr Mahathir bin Mohamad (ma'ħɑðiɽ bin mʊħɑmmæd̚ (recorded as born on 20 December 1925 was the fourth Prime Minister of The Association of Southeast Asian Nations, commonly referred to as ASEAN, ˈɑːsiːɑːn AH-see-ahn in English (the Official language Burma, officially the Union of Myanmar ( pjìdàunzṵ mjàmmà nàinŋàndɔ̀ is the largest country by geographical area in mainland Southeast Asia. Later, he called Soros a moron. ^[12] Thai nationals have called Soros "an economic war criminal" who "sucks the blood from the people". War crimes are "violations of the laws or customs of war" including but not limited to "murder the ill-treatment or deportation of civilian residents of an occupied ^[13]

Partners

George Soros's most successful partners at Quantum fund have been Jim Rogers, Victor Niederhoffer and Stanley Druckenmiller, all of whom are famous traders in their own rights. For other uses see James Rogers (disambiguation. James B Rogers Jr Victor Niederhoffer (born 1943 is a Hedge fund manager champion squash player and statistician. Stanley Druckenmiller (1946-present formerly managed money for George Soros, and now dedicates himself to work full time at Duquesne Capital which he founded in 1981

Insider trading charges

In 1988, he was asked to join a takeover attempt of the French bank Société Générale. In business a takeover is the purchase of one company (the target) by another (the acquirer, or bidder) Société Générale ( is one of the main European financial services companies and also maintains extensive activities in others parts of the world He declined to participate in the bid but did later buy a number of shares in the company. French authorities began an investigation in 1989, and in 2002 a French court ruled that it was insider trading as defined under French securities laws and fined him $2 million, which was the amount that he made using the insider information. Insider trading is the trading of a Corporation 's Stock or other securities (e

Punitive damages were not sought because of the delay in bringing the case to trial. Soros denied any wrongdoing and said news of the takeover was public knowledge. ^[14]

His insider trading conviction was upheld by the highest court in France on June 14, 2006. Events 1276 - While taking exile in Fuzhou in southern China, away from the advancing Mongol invaders, the remnants of the Year 2006 ( MMVI) was a Common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ^[15] In December, 2006 he appealed to the European Court of Human Rights, claiming that the 14 year delay in bringing the case to trial precluded a fair hearing. The European Court of Human Rights ( ECtHR) (Cour européenne des droits de l’homme in Strasbourg was established under the European Convention on Human Rights ^[16]

Baseball

In 2005, Soros joined a group of investors seeking to buy the Washington Nationals of Major League Baseball's National League. Year 2005 ( MMV) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link displays full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. The Washington Nationals is an American professional baseball team based in Washington D The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, or simply the National League ( NL) is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball Although he was only a minority partner, some Republican lawmakers suggested that they might tamper with baseball's antitrust exemption if Soros had any interest at all in any baseball team, including the Nationals. ^[17] Ultimately, real estate magnate Ted Lerner was selected as the new owner, though baseball stressed that political pressure was not a factor.

Football

In April 2008, after months of speculation, Soros was confirmed by Rosella Sensi, CEO of Italian Serie A association football club A.S. Roma, to be bidding for a takeover. 2008 ( MMVIII) is the current year in accordance with the Gregorian calendar, a Leap year that started on Tuesday of the Common Italy (Italia officially the Italian Republic, (Repubblica Italiana is located on the Italian Peninsula in Southern Europe, and on the two largest Serie A (officially known as the Lega Calcio Serie A TIM for Sponsorship reasons is a professional league competition for football clubs located Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a Team sport played between two teams of eleven players and is widely considered Associazione Sportiva Roma, ( commonly referred to as simply Roma, is an Italian professional football club from Rome, and are currently amongst ^[18]

Philanthropy

George Soros (left) and James H. Billington. James Hadley Billington (born June 1, 1929) is the current Librarian of Congress in the United States.

Soros has been active as a philanthropist since the 1970s, when he began providing funds to help black students attend the University of Cape Town in apartheid South Africa, and began funding dissident movements behind the iron curtain. The University of Cape Town ( UCT) is a Public university located on the Rhodes Estate on the slopes of Devil's Peak, in Cape Town The Republic of South Africa (also known by other official names) is a country located at the southern tip of the continent of Africa The " Iron Curtain " was the symbolic ideological and physical boundary dividing Europe into two separate areas from the end of World War II until the end

Soros' philanthropic funding includes efforts to promote non-violent democratization in the post-Soviet states. Democratization ( British English: Democratisation) is the transition to a more democratic Political regime. The post-Soviet states, also commonly known as former Soviet republics, are the 15 independent nations that split off from the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics These efforts, mostly in Central and Eastern Europe, occur primarily through the Open Society Institute (OSI) and national Soros Foundations, which sometimes go under other names (such as the Stefan Batory Foundation in Poland). Central Europe is the Region lying between the variously and vaguely defined areas of Eastern and Eastern Europe is a general term that refers to the Geopolitical region encompassing the easternmost part of the European continent. The Open Society Institute (OSI a private operating and grantmaking foundation aims to shape public policy to promote democratic Governance, A Soros Foundation is one of a network of national foundations mostly in Central and Eastern Europe, which fund volunteer socio-political activity created The Stefan Batory Foundation ( Polish: Fundacja im Stefana Batorego) is the name of the national Soros Foundation in Poland. Poland (Polska officially the Republic of Poland As of 2003, PBS^[19] estimated that he had given away a total of $4 billion. The Public Broadcasting Service ( PBS) is a Non-profit Public broadcasting Television service with 354 member TV stations in the The OSI says it has spent about $400 million annually in recent years.

Time magazine in 2007 cited two specific projects - $100 million toward Internet infrastructure for regional Russian universities; and $50 million for the Millennium Promise to eradicate extreme poverty in Africa - while noting that Soros has given $742 million to projects in the U. Time (trademarked in capitals as TIME) is a weekly American Newsmagazine, similar to Newsweek and The Internet is a global system of interconnected Computer networks The following is a list of universities and other higher educational institutions in Russia: Higher educational institutions Academy of State Millennium Promise is a Non-profit organization dedicated to ending extreme poverty by 2025 S. , and given away a total of more than $6 billion. ^[20]

Other notable projects have included aid to scientists and universities throughout Central and Eastern Europe, help to civilians during the siege of Sarajevo, worldwide efforts to repeal drug prohibition laws, and Transparency International. The Siege of Sarajevo was conducted by the Serb forces of self-proclaimed Republika Srpska and Yugoslav People's Army (later transformed to the The prohibition of drugs through sumptuary Legislation or Religious law is a common means of attempting to control Drug use and the Transparency International ( TI) is a leading international Non-governmental organization addressing corruption Soros also pledged an endowment of €420 million to the Central European University (CEU). Central European University (CEU is a US - and Hungarian -licensed and accredited university based in Budapest, Hungary. The Nobel Peace Prize winner, Muhammad Yunus and his microfinance bank Grameen Bank received support from the OSI. The Nobel Peace Prize ( Swedish, Danish and Nobels fredspris is one of five Nobel Prizes Bequeathed by the Swedish industrialist and inventor Muhammad Yunus (মুহাম্মদ ইউনুস pronounced bn-Latn ''Muhammôd Iunus'' (born 28 June 1940 is a Bangladeshi Banker and Economist Microfinance refers to the provision of financial services to poor or low-income clients including consumers and the self-employed The Grameen Bank (গ্রামীণ ব্যাংক is a Microfinance organization and Community development bank started in Bangladesh that

According to National Review^[21] the Open Society Institute gave $20,000 in September 2002 to the Defense Committee of Lynne Stewart, the lawyer who has defended alleged terrorists in court and was sentenced to 2⅓ years in prison for "providing material support for a terrorist conspiracy" via a press conference for a client. National Review ( NR) is a biweekly Magazine and Web site, founded by the late author William F Lynne F Stewart (born October 8, 1939) is an American radical activist An OSI spokeswoman said "it appeared to us at that time that there was a right-to-counsel issue worthy of our support. "

In September 2006, Soros departed from his characteristic sponsorship of democracy building programs, pledging $50 million to the Jeffrey Sachs-led Millennium Promise to help eradicate extreme poverty in Africa. Jeffrey David Sachs (born November 5, 1954, in Detroit Michigan) is an American Economist and Director of the Earth Institute Millennium Promise is a Non-profit organization dedicated to ending extreme poverty by 2025 Noting the connection between bad governance and poverty, he remarked on the humanitarian value of the project. ^[22]

He received honorary doctoral degrees from the New School for Social Research (New York), the University of Oxford in 1980, the Corvinus University of Budapest, and Yale University in 1991. This is about the university in New York; for other uses see New School (disambiguation. The University of Oxford (informally "Oxford University" or simply "Oxford" located in the city of Oxford, Oxfordshire, England is the The Corvinus University of Budapest is a university located in Budapest, Hungary. Soros also received the Yale International Center for Finance Award from the Yale School of Management in 2000 as well as the Laurea Honoris Causa, the highest honor of the University of Bologna in 1995. About the School The School conducts education and research in Leadership, Economics, Operations management, The University of Bologna (Alma Mater Studiorum Università di Bologna UNIBO) is one of the oldest continually operating degree-granting universities in the world

Philosophy

Education and beliefs

Soros has a keen interest in philosophy, and his philosophical outlook is largely influenced by Karl Popper, under whom he studied at the London School of Economics. Philosophy is the study of general problems concerning matters such as existence knowledge truth beauty justice validity mind and language Sir Karl Raimund Popper ( July 28 1902  &ndash September 17 1994) was an Austrian and British Philosopher and a professor The London School of Economics and Political Science, more commonly referred to as The London School of Economics or LSE, is a specialist college of the His Open Society Institute is named after Popper's two volume work, The Open Society and Its Enemies, and Soros's ongoing philosophical commitment to the principle of 'fallibilism' (that anything he believes may in fact be wrong, and is therefore to be questioned and improved) stems from Popper's philosophy. The Open Society and Its Enemies, is an influential two-volume work by Karl Popper written during World War II. Some critics argue that Soros' static political beliefs appear to conflict with the critical rationalism espoused by Popper, though Soros argues that these beliefs were arrived at through such rationalism. Soros does not consider himself religious, and has stated that he does not believe in God. ^[23]

Reflexivity, financial markets, and economic theory

Soros' writings focus heavily on the concept of reflexivity, where the biases of individuals enter into market transactions, potentially changing the fundamentals of the economy. In sociology reflexivity is an act of self-reference where examination or action 'bends back on' refers to and affects the entity instigating the action or examination Soros argues that such transitions in the fundamentals of the economy are typically marked by disequilibrium rather than equilibrium, and that the conventional economic theory of the market (the 'efficient market hypothesis') does not apply in these situations. Soros has popularized the concepts of dynamic disequilibrium, static disequilibrium, and near-equilibrium conditions.

Reflexivity is based on three main ideas:

1. Reflexivity is best observed under special conditions where investor bias grows and spreads throughout the investment arena. Examples of factors that may give rise to this bias include (a) equity leveraging or (b) the trend-following habits of speculators.
2. Reflexivity appears intermittently since it is most likely to be revealed under certain conditions; i. e. , the equilibrium process's character is best considered in terms of probabilities.
3. Investors' observation of and participation in the capital markets may at times influence valuations AND fundamental conditions or outcomes.

A current example of reflexivity in modern financial markets is that of the debt and equity of housing markets. Lenders began to make more money available to more people in the 1990s to buy houses. More people bought houses with this larger amount of money, thus increasing the prices of these houses. Lenders looked at their balance sheets which not only showed that they had made more loans, but that their equity backing the loans--the value of the houses, had gone up (because more money was chasing the same amount of housing, relatively). Thus they lent out more money because their balance sheets looked good, and prices went up more, and they lent more, etc. Prices increased rapidly, and lending standards were relaxed. The salient issue regarding reflexivity is that it explains why markets gyrate over time, and do not just stick to equilibrium--they tend to overshoot or undershoot.

View of potential problems in the free market system

Despite working as an investor and currency speculator, he argues that the current system of financial speculation undermines healthy economic development in many underdeveloped countries. Soros blames many of the world's problems on the failures inherent in what he characterizes as market fundamentalism. Market fundamentalism (also known as free market fundamentalism) is an expression used by critics of Laissez-faire capitalism, usually by adherents of Interventionist His opposition to many aspects of globalization has made him a controversial figure.

Victor Niederhoffer said of Soros: "Most of all, George believed even then in a mixed economy, one with a strong central international government to correct for the excesses of self-interest. Victor Niederhoffer (born 1943 is a Hedge fund manager champion squash player and statistician. A mixed economy is an Economic system that incorporates aspects of more than one economic system "

Soros claims to draw a distinction between being a participant in the market and working to change the rules that market participants must follow.

Views on antisemitism

At a Jewish forum in New York City, Soros partially attributed a recent resurgence of antisemitism to the policies of Israel and the United States, and to successful Jews such as himself:

There is a resurgence of anti-Semitism in Europe. The City of New York Antisemitism (alternatively spelled anti-semitism or anti-Semitism; also rarely known as judeophobia) is the Prejudice against or hostility The policies of the Bush administration and the Sharon administration contribute to that. (אריאל It's not specifically anti-Semitism, but it does manifest itself in anti-Semitism as well. I'm critical of those policies. . . If we change that direction, then anti-Semitism also will diminish. I can't see how one could confront it directly. . . I'm also very concerned about my own role because the new anti-Semitism holds that the Jews rule the world. . . As an unintended consequence of my actions. Unintended consequences are outcomes that are not (or not limited to what the actor intended in a particular situation . . I also contribute to that image. ^[24]

In a subsequent article for the New York Review of Books, Soros emphasized that

I do not subscribe to the myths propagated by enemies of Israel and I am not blaming Jews for anti-Semitism. The New York Review of Books (or NYREV or NYRB) is a semimonthly Magazine on Literature, Culture, and current Anti-Semitism predates the birth of Israel. Neither Israel's policies nor the critics of those policies should be held responsible for anti-Semitism. At the same time, I do believe that attitudes toward Israel are influenced by Israel's policies, and attitudes toward the Jewish community are influenced by the pro-Israel lobby's success in suppressing divergent views. ^[25]

Political activism

Main article: List of projects supported by George Soros

Opposition to the Soviet Union

According to Neil Clark (writing in the New Statesman):

(t)he conventional view, shared by many on the left, is that socialism collapsed in eastern Europe because of its systemic weaknesses and the political elite's failure to build popular support. George Soros has funded many projects often Political, in recent years The New Statesman is a British Left-wing political Magazine published weekly in London. Socialism refers to a broad set of economic theories of social organization advocating state or collective ownership and administration of the Means of production and distribution

That may be partly true, but Soros's role was crucial. From 1979, he distributed $3m a year to dissidents including Poland's Solidarity movement, Charter 77 in Czechoslovakia and Andrei Sakharov in the Soviet Union. Charter 77 ( Charta 77 in Czech and in Slovak) was an informal civic initiative in Czechoslovakia from 1977 to 1992 named after the document Andrei Dmitrievich Sakharov (Андре́й Дми́триевич Са́харов (May 21 1921 – December 14 1989 was an eminent Soviet nuclear Physicist The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR was a constitutionally Socialist state that existed in Eurasia from 1922 to 1991 In 1984, he founded his first Open Society Institute in Hungary and pumped millions of dollars into opposition movements and independent media

—Clark, Neil. The Open Society Institute (OSI a private operating and grantmaking foundation aims to shape public policy to promote democratic Governance, Soros Profile. the New Statesman. The New Statesman is a British Left-wing political Magazine published weekly in London. Retrieved on 2007-06-06. Year 2007 ( MMVII) was a Common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. Events 1508 - Maximilian I Holy Roman Emperor, is defeated in Friulia by Venetian forces; he is forced to sign a three-year

Since the fall of the Soviet Union, Soros' funding has continued to play an important role in the former Soviet sphere. His funding and organization of Georgia's Rose Revolution was considered crucial to its success by Russian and Western observers, although Soros has said that his role has been "greatly exaggerated. Georgia ( საქართველო, Sakartvelo) is a Transcontinental country in the Caucasus region situated at the dividing line between The "Revolution of Roses quot (often translated into English as the Rose Revolution) (ვარდების რევოლუცია - vardebis "

Criticism of Bush Administration

In an interview with The Washington Post on November 11, 2003,^[26] Soros said that removing President George W. Bush from office was the "central focus of my life" and "a matter of life and death. The Washington Post is the largest and most circulated Newspaper in Washington D George Walker Bush ( born July 6 1946 is the forty-third and current President of the United States. " He said he would sacrifice his entire fortune to defeat President Bush, "if someone guaranteed it", and many continue to state this as Soros's position even after Soros clarified the humorous nature of the statement in a Q&A session at the end of his March 3, 2004 address to California's Commonwealth Club. "MMIV" redirects here For the Modest Mouse album see " Baron von Bullshit Rides Again " The Commonwealth Club may refer to Commonwealth Club of California, located in the San Francisco Bay Area is America's oldest public affairs forum

Soros gave $3 million to the Center for American Progress, committed $5 million to MoveOn, while he and his friend Peter Lewis each gave America Coming Together $10 million. The Center for American Progress is an American liberal political policy research and advocacy organization MoveOn is an American non-profit progressive liberal public policy advocacy group and Political action committee which has raised millions of Peter B Lewis (born 1933 is the Cleveland Ohio -area based chairman of Progressive Insurance Companies. America Coming Together ( ACT) was a liberal, political action 527 group dedicated to get-out-the-vote activities (All were groups that worked to support Democrats in the 2004 election. The United States presidential election of 2004 was held on Tuesday November 2, 2004, to elect the President of the United States. ) On September 28, 2004 he dedicated more money to the campaign and kicked off his own multi-state tour with a speech: Why We Must Not Re-elect President Bush^[27] delivered at the National Press Club in Washington, DC. Events 48 BC - Pompey the Great is assassinated on orders of King Ptolemy of Egypt after landing in Egypt. The National Press Club is one of the world's leading professional organizations for journalists

The online transcript to this speech received many hits after Dick Cheney accidentally referred to FactCheck.org as "factcheck. Richard Bruce "Dick" Cheney (born January 30 1941 is the forty-sixth and current Vice President of the United States. FactCheckorg is a nonprofit Website that describes its own goal as " the level of deception and confusion in U com" in the Vice Presidential debate, causing the owner of that domain to redirect all traffic to Soros's site. ^[28]

Soros was not a large donor to US political causes until the U.S. presidential election, 2004, but according to the Center for Responsive Politics, during the 2003-2004 election cycle, Soros donated $23,581,000 to various 527 Groups dedicated to defeating President Bush. The United States presidential election of 2004 was held on Tuesday November 2, 2004, to elect the President of the United States. A 527 group is a type of American Tax-exempt organization named after a section of the United States tax code,. Despite Soros' efforts, Bush was reelected to a second term as president in U.S. presidential election, 2004. The United States presidential election of 2004 was held on Tuesday November 2, 2004, to elect the President of the United States.

After Bush's reelection in 2004, Soros and other wealthy liberal political donors backed a new political fundraising group called Democracy Alliance which aims to support the goals of the U. The Democracy Alliance is a donors collaborative established by a group of liberal political activists Labor unions and donors S. Democratic Party. ^[29][30]

Soros has been criticized for his large donations, as he also pushed for the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act of 2002 which was intended to ban "soft money" contributions to federal election campaigns. The Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act of 2002 ( BCRA, McCain–Feingold Act,) is United States federal law that amended the Federal Election Campaign Soros has responded that his donations to unaffiliated organizations do not raise the same corruption issues as donations directly to the candidates or political parties.

Harken Energy, a firm partly owned by Soros, did business with George W. Harken Energy Corporation is an American oil and gas company headquartered in Southlake Texas. Bush in 1986 by buying his oil company, Spectrum 7. Spectrum 7 was an oil company started by William DeWitt and Mercer Reynolds.

His book, The Age of Fallibility: Consequences of The War on Terror, was published in June 2006. ^[31]

Gun control

Directly and through his organization Open Society Institute (OSI), he has funded various gun control organizations, such as the Tides Foundation, the HELP Network and SAFE Colorado. He and seven friends founded their own political committee — Campaign for a Progressive Future — and spent $2 million on political activities in 2000, including providing the prime financial backing for the Million Mom March. The Million Mom March was a rally on Mother's Day, Sunday May 14, 2000, designed to promote tighter restrictions on the private ownership of firearms OSI has supported UN efforts to create international gun control regulations and has singled out the United States for failing to go along with other countries on international gun control measures.

Critics

Criticism of financial activities

In an August 2004 appearance on Chris Wallace's FOX News Sunday, then-Speaker of the U. Christopher or Chris Wallace may refer to Christopher Wallace (British Army officer, a retired British Army general and current trustee of the Imperial Fox News Sunday is a public affairs magazine on the FOX network airing on Sunday mornings S. House of Representatives Dennis Hastert (Republican), questioned the source of George Soros' money: "You know, Soros' money, some of that is coming from overseas. See also Illinois's 14th congressional district special election 2008 John Dennis "Denny" Hastert (born January 2, 1942) is an It could be drug money. We don't know where it comes from. " Soros rejected Hastert's criticism as smears using "false charges and mischaracterizations". Hastert was further attacked for "attempt[ing] to stifle critical debate and intimidat[ing] those who believe this administration is leading the country in a ruinous direction. "^[32] Soros filed an official complaint with the House Committee on Standards of Official Conduct.

In 2006, Hastert criticized Soros again, this time in regards to the controversy over whether or not Hastert should have acted on information regarding Rep. Mark Foley: "The people who want to see this thing blow up are ABC News and a lot of Democratic operatives, people funded by George Soros. The Mark Foley scandal, which broke in late September 2006 centers on soliciting E-mails and sexually explicit instant messages sent by Mark This article is about the American news organization See also ABC News (disambiguation ABC News is a division of American "^[33]

Criticism of political activism

In an editorial in September 2007, Investor's Business Daily criticized Soros for funding organizations such as MoveOn.org and has claimed that Soros is not transparent in the way he gives away his money. Investor's Business Daily ( IBD) is a national newspaper in the United States, published Monday through Friday that covers international Business MoveOn is an American non-profit progressive liberal public policy advocacy group and Political action committee which has raised millions of The newspaper said: "The irony here is that Soros claims to be an advocate of an 'open society. ' His OSI does just the legal minimum to disclose its activities. The Open Society Institute (OSI a private operating and grantmaking foundation aims to shape public policy to promote democratic Governance, The public shouldn't have to wait until an annual report is out before the light is flipped on about the Open Society's political action. "^[34]

IBD said that Soros' giving cannot be considered philanthropy to the extent that it is political activism. The editorial compared Soros and Bill Gates, pointing out that the latter gave money to improving medical services, while Soros tends to fund foundations and NGOs which he characterises as promoting civil society and democracy. If you would like to experiment with Wikipedia please copy "^[35]

In April 2008, Soros hosted an event in his apartment that had guests such as David Brock of the self-described progressive watchdog group Media Matters and liberal commentator Paul Begala. David Brock (born November 2, 1962) is an American journalist and author and the founder of Media Matters for America. Paul Begala (born 12 May 1961) is a political consultant, a Commentator, a prominent Brock described that the plan intends to raise $40 million to run political attack advertisements against the presumptive Republican nominee, Senator John McCain, through a group called The Fund for America and Progressive Media, whose key backer, according to politico.com, is Soros. This article is about the newspaper For the description of a person see Politico. ^[36] Commentator Bill O'Reilly, who on numerous occasions has accused Soros of secretly backing what O'Reilly feels are "far-left" political causes, repeated Soros "wants to buy America" after learning about the event. William James O'Reilly Jr (born September 10 1949 is an American television / radio host, Author, Syndicated columnist, and ^[37]

Books

Authored or co-authored

• The New Paradigm for Financial Markets: The Credit Crash of 2008 and What It Means (PublicAffairs, 2008) ISBN 978-1586486839
• The Age of Fallibility: Consequences of the War on Terror (PublicAffairs, 2006) ISBN 1-58648-359-1
• With MoveOn. org, MoveOn's 50 Ways to Love Your Country: How to Find Your Political Voice and Become a Catalyst for Change Inner Ocean Publishing, 2004 ISBN 1-930722-29-X
• The Bubble of American Supremacy: Correcting the Misuse of American Power (PublicAffairs, 2003) ISBN 1-58643-217-3 (paperback; PublicAffairs, 2004; ISBN 1-58648-292-0)
• George Soros on Globalization (PublicAffairs, 2002) ISBN 1-58648-125-8 (paperback; PublicAffairs, 2005; ISBN 1-52648-278-5)
• Open Society: Reforming Global Capitalism (PublicAffairs, 2001) ISBN 1-58648-039-7
• With Mark Amadeus Notturno, Science and the Open Society: The Future of Karl Popper's Philosophy (Central European University Press, 2000) ISBN 963-9116-69-6 (paperback: Central European University Press, 2000; ISBN 943-9116-70-X)
• The Crisis of Global Capitalism: Open Society Endangered (PublicAffairs, 1998) ISBN 1-891220-27-4
• Soros on Soros: Staying Ahead of the Curve (John Wiley, 1995) ISBN 0-471-12014-6 (paperback; Wiley, 1995; ISBN 0-371-11977-6)
• Underwriting Democracy: Encouraging Free Enterprise and Democratic Reform Among the Soviets and in Eastern Europe (Free Press, 1991) ISBN 0-02-930285-4 (paperback; PublicAffairs, 2004; ISBN 1-58948-227-0)
• Opening the Soviet System (Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 1990) ISBN 0-297-82155-9 (paperback: Perseus Books, 1996; ISBN 0-8133-1205-1)
• The Alchemy of Finance (Simon & Schuster, 1988) ISBN 0-671-66338-4 (paperback: Wiley, 2003; ISBN 0-471-44549-5)

Biographies

• Soros: The Life and Times of a Messianic Billionaire by Michael T. Kaufman (Alfred A. Knopf, 2002) ISBN 0-375-40585-2
• Soros: The Unauthorized Biography, the Life, Times and Trading Secrets of the World's Greatest Investor by Robert Slater (McGraw-Hill, 1997) ISBN 0-7863-1247-5

Journalism

Time magazine cover, September 1, 1997 reading "Saint George and his unlikely crusades"

Authored

• George Soros, On Israel, America and AIPAC, New York Review of Books, April 12, 2007.
• George Soros, The Bubble of American Supremacy, The Korea Herald, March 12, 2003. The Korea Herald is one of a handful of English-language newspapers in South Korea.
• George Soros, The Bubble of American Supremacy, Atlantic Monthly, December 2003. The Atlantic (formerly known as The Atlantic Monthly) is an American Magazine founded in Boston in 1857
• George Soros, The Bubble of American Supremacy, audio recording of the Atlantic Monthly article via Assistive Media, read by Grover Gardner, 18 minutes.
• George Soros Soros on Brazil, Financial Times, Aug 13, 2002.
• George Soros, Bitter Thoughts with Faith in Russia, Moskovsky Novosti (Moscow News), translated from the Russian by Olga Kryazheva, February 27, 2000.
• George Soros, The Capitalist Threat, Atlantic Monthly, February 1997

About

• James Dellinger and Matthew Vadum, "George Soros's Democracy Alliance: In Search Of A Permanent Democratic Majority," Foundation Watch, December 2006
• Stephen Adams "Furious George" on Citizen - Family Issues in Policy and Culture
• Laura Blumenfeld, Billionaire Soros Takes On Bush, MSNBC, November 11, 2003
• Neil Clark Analysis of Soros' role in Eastern Europe from "New Statesman"
• Malcolm Gladwell, "Blowing Up," New Yorker Magazine, April 22 & 29, 2002, at gladwell.com. Malcolm Gladwell (born September 3, 1963) is a United Kingdom -born Canadian -raised Journalist and author now based in New York City The New Yorker is an American Magazine that publishes reportage commentary criticism essays fiction satire cartoons and poetry
• John Horvath The Soros Effect on Central and Eastern Europe
• Matt Welch, Open Season on 'Open Society': Why an anti-communist Holocaust survivor is being demonized as a Socialist, Self-hating Jew Reason magazine, December 8, 2003
• Martin Peretz, "Tyran-a-Soros: The Madness of King George," The New Republic, February 12, 2007. Reason is a libertarian monthly magazine from the Reason Foundation. Martin H Peretz, also known as Marty Peretz, (born December 6, 1938) is an American publisher The New Republic ( TNR) is an American Magazine of politics and the arts
• TIME's 25 Most Influential Americans, TIME Magazine April 21, 1997. Time (trademarked in capitals as TIME) is a weekly American Newsmagazine, similar to Newsweek and Accessed May 21, 2007.
• The TIME 100, The Power Givers, George Soros, TIME Magazine May 14, 2007 accessed May 21, 2007. Time (trademarked in capitals as TIME) is a weekly American Newsmagazine, similar to Newsweek and

Scholarly perspectives

• Bryant, C. G. A. (2002). "George Soros's theory of reflexivity: a comparison with the theories of Giddens and Beck and a consideration of its practical value". Economy and Society 31 (1): 112-131.  
• Cross, R. ; Strachan, D. (1997). "On George Soros and economic analysis". Kyklos 50: 561-574.  
• Pettis, Michael (2001). The Volatility Machine: Emerging Economies and the Threat of Financial Collapse. Oxford: Oxford University Press. ISBN 0195143302.  
• Stone, Diane (2007). "Market Principles, Philanthropic Ideals and Public Service Values: The Public Policy Program at the Central European University". PS: Political Science and Politics: 545—551.  

Speeches

• Testimony of George Soros to a congressional sub-committee, Sept. 15, 1998
• The Theory of Reflexivity Delivered April 26, 1994 to the MIT Department of Economics World Economy

Interviews

• The Leonard Lopate Show (WNYC) - Audio Archive: "George Soros on Freedom"
• frontline: the crash: interviews: george soros
• Wall $treet Week with FORTUNE . TV Program | PBS
• Challenge: The international financial crisis - International ...
• NOW with Bill Moyers. Transcript. David Brancaccio interviews ...
• Booknotes with Brian Lamb. Transcript and streaming video.
• Rocketboom: The Age of Fallibility (Video, 2006)
• Google Video: Eric Schmidt, CEO of Google interviews George Soros (Video, 2006)
• Fox News Interview with Neil Cavuto, October 11, 2006 Video and text, accessed May 25, 2007.
• Interview with George Soros, Septermber 5, 2000

References

External links

• George Soros official site and blog
• Open Society Institute and Soros Foundations Network
• George Soros' Project Syndicate op/eds
• Fortune City List of articles and speeches by and about George Soros
• George Soros' Political Campaign Contributions
• Forbes.com: Forbes 400 Richest in America
• George Soros's current stock holdings
• George Soros in SEC Filings
• The Money Man - New Yorker
• George Soros archive from The New York Review of Books