George Soros
Born 1930 · Age 95
Hungarian‑American investor, hedge‑fund manager and philanthropist; founder of Soros Fund Management/Quantum Fund and the Open Society Foundations; known for 1992 short of the pound and extensive political/philanthropic giving.
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Life & Career Timeline
Born György Schwartz in Budapest
Born to a non-observant Jewish family in Budapest (later changed family name to Soros).
Family changes surname from Schwartz to Soros
Family adopted name 'Soros' (palindrome) as protective camouflage amid rising antisemitism.
Nazi occupation of Hungary — forced interaction with Judenrat
At age 13 was made to report to the Judenrat and at one point handed out deportation slips before ceasing that role; family obtained false papers to pose as Christians.
Survived the Siege of Budapest
Survived house‑to‑house fighting in Budapest and hid with families during late stages of WWII.
Emigrated to the United Kingdom
Left Budapest for London; began studies and worked part‑time jobs to support himself.
Worked as railway porter and waiter while at LSE
Supported studies with part‑time work (railway porter, night‑club waiter); also lectured at Speakers' Corner in Esperanto.
BSc in Philosophy, London School of Economics
Received Bachelor of Science in philosophy after studying under Karl Popper.
Started financial career at Singer & Friedlander (London)
Worked as a clerk and later in the arbitrage department at the London merchant bank.
MSc in Philosophy, London School of Economics
Awarded Master of Science in philosophy (1954); planned academic career but moved into finance.
Moved to New York — F. M. Mayer (arbitrage trader)
Emigrated to the U.S.; worked as arbitrage trader specializing in European stocks (1956–1959).
Joined Wertheim & Co.
Worked as analyst of European securities; planned to save to return to England for further study.
Vice President at Arnhold & S. Bleichroeder
Became VP and continued developing trading strategies and his theory of reflexivity (1963–1973).
Started experimental fund with $100,000
Used $100,000 of firm money to experiment with his trading strategies while at Arnhold & S. Bleichroeder.
Founded Double Eagle hedge fund
Set up Double Eagle (offshore, Curaçao) with $4,000,000 of investors' capital including $250,000 of his own money.
Founded Soros Fund Management
Established Soros Fund Management and became its chairman; this became the vehicle for his investment activities.
Formulated and applied the theory of reflexivity
Based on philosophical studies, Soros developed the general theory of reflexivity to explain market bubbles and value discrepancies; central to his trading approach.
Double Eagle / First Eagle evolved into Quantum Fund (basis of Soros Fund)
By 1973 Double Eagle/First Eagle structure had $12,000,000 AUM and formed the basis of the Soros/Quantum operations.
Reorganized funds and gave investors option to transfer
Resigned from Double Eagle management (perceived conflicts) and established the Soros Fund / gave Double Eagle investors option to transfer to his new fund.
Begins philanthropic giving (scholarships to Black South Africans)
Started major philanthropic efforts in 1979, initially awarding scholarships under apartheid in South Africa.
Quantum Fund peaks at ~$400M then suffers 22% loss
Quantum Fund grew to about $400 million AUM by 1981 but a 22% loss and redemptions reduced it to approximately $200 million.
Founded the first Open Society Institute in Hungary
Established the Open Society Institute (first OSF entity) in Hungary with an initial budget of about $3 million to promote open society ideals.
Published The Alchemy of Finance
Published his influential book explaining his investment philosophy and reflexivity in markets.
Accumulated shares in Société Générale (privatization era)
Accumulated large stakes in several French companies during privatizations; this later triggered regulatory scrutiny.
COB investigation into Société Générale trades
French regulator (COB) investigated whether his Société Générale transactions constituted insider trading; initial investigations found him innocent.
Central European University opens
Central European University (CEU) in Budapest opened with Soros support and later became a major higher‑education endowment in Europe.
Black Wednesday — short sale of the pound sterling
Soros's fund sold more than $10 billion of pounds sterling, profiting an estimated $1 billion when the UK left the ERM; gained the nickname 'the man who broke the Bank of England.'
Public endorsement of Death with Dignity and funding
In 1994 speech said he offered to help his mother and endorsed the Oregon Death with Dignity Act; helped fund related advertising campaigns.
Traded Finnish markka (large position)
Believed to have traded billions of Finnish markkas in anticipation of currency moves (Feb 5, 1996).
Positions around Asian financial crisis and public criticism
Soros's funds had positions in Thai baht and Malaysian ringgit; Malaysian PM Mahathir accused him of causing the crisis (accusation later retracted in 2006).
Published The Crisis of Global Capitalism
Published a book analyzing global financial crises and his views on market behavior and regulation.
Major U.S. political donations (2003–2004 cycle)
Donated $23,581,000 during the 2003–2004 election cycle to various 527 groups aiming to defeat President George W. Bush.
French conviction for Société Générale trades reduced to €940,000
France's Supreme Court affirmed a conviction related to the 1988 Société Générale case on 14 June 2006, reducing the penalty to €940,000.
Mahathir meets Soros and publicly retracts accusation
In 2006 Malaysian PM Mahathir Mohamad met Soros and afterward stated he accepted that Soros had not been responsible for the 1997 crisis.
Published The Age of Fallibility
Published The Age of Fallibility, focusing on political/philosophical issues and critiques of market fundamentalism.
Funding drug policy ballot initiatives
Donated $400,000 to Massachusetts marijuana decriminalization ballot measure (2008) and funded other drug policy reform efforts.
Published The New Paradigm for Financial Markets
Argued that a 'superbubble' had developed and predicted consequences for the global financial system (May 2008).
Donated $100M to Central & Eastern Europe relief
In June 2009 donated $100 million to support the poor, NGOs and voluntary groups in Central and Eastern Europe during the Great Recession.
Founded the Institute for New Economic Thinking
Launched the think tank (Oct 2009) to investigate new approaches to international economic and financial systems after the Great Recession.
Donated $1M to California Proposition 19 campaign
Donated $1,000,000 in October 2010 to support Prop 19 to legalize marijuana (campaign failed).
Spoke at World Economic Forum session
Participated in a session on redesigning the international monetary system at the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting (2011).
Quantum Fund AUM reported at $25B (as of 2011)
Quantum Fund reported as having about $25 billion AUM in 2011, representing the bulk of Soros's assets.
ECHR hears appeal on French insider‑trading conviction
Soros appealed to the European Court of Human Rights citing delays and legal grounds; the court agreed to hear the appeal.
Returned outside investors' funds; used family fortune
Announced returning about $1 billion of outside investors' money and instead managing his $24.5 billion family fortune inside the fund due to SEC disclosure rules.
ECHR rejected Soros's appeal (4–3 decision)
In Oct 2011 (reported) the ECHR rejected his appeal that he had been unfairly punished in the Société Générale case.
Quantum Fund generated $5.5B in profits (2013)
The Quantum Fund reportedly made $5.5 billion in 2013 and had generated about $40 billion since inception.
Quantum Fund lifetime gains since inception
By 2013 the Quantum Fund had reportedly generated approximately $40 billion in profits since inception.
Forbes net worth estimate (~Sept 2015)
Forbes listed Soros among the world's richest with an estimated net worth of about $26 billion (Sep 18, 2015).
Quantum injected $300M into Fen Hotels expansion
Announced the fund would invest $300 million to finance an expansion of Argentina‑based Fen Hotels (development of 5,000 rooms across Latin America).
Transferred $18B to Open Society Foundations
Open Society announced Soros had transferred $18 billion toward funding the Foundation's future work, bringing total giving since 1984 to over $32 billion.
Reported cumulative giving numbers differ (OSF vs other sources)
Open Society reported more than $32B given overall since early 1980s; other reports (Wikipedia/Britannica) note donation totals of $11B (1979–2011) and $12B by 2017 — reflecting differing accounting and transfers.
Hungarian government anti‑Soros campaign (post‑2015)
Fidesz government publicly campaigned against Soros (posters, legislation such as 'Stop Soros') and labeled him an enemy of the state.
Open Society Foundations moved HQ from Budapest to Berlin
OSF announced relocation of its office from Budapest to Berlin citing 'increasingly repressive' environment in Hungary.
Pipe bomb discovered at Soros's home (mail bombing attempts)
A pipe bomb was placed in the mailbox at his Katonah, NY home on Oct 22, 2018; it was discovered and detonated safely by the FBI; part of a wider series of mail bombing attempts.
Documentary 'Soros' released
He was the subject of a documentary film (2019) examining his life and influence.
Major political donations (2015–2020 series)
Multiple large donations to U.S. political causes: e.g., $1M to Priorities USA (2012), Ready for Hillary (2013), and multiple millions to Priorities USA in 2015–2016; continued major donations to Democratic causes through 2020.
Forbes: 'most generous giver' (percent of net worth)
Forbes called Soros the 'most generous giver' in 2020 in terms of percentage of net worth donated.
Largest donor in 2022 U.S. election cycle
Reportedly donated $128.5 million to support Democratic Party candidates in the 2022 U.S. elections (midterms).
Handed control of Open Society Foundations and enterprises to son Alex
In June 2023 Soros stepped back from day‑to‑day running of OSF and related ventures and transferred control to his son, Alexander (Alex) Soros.
Estimated net worth reported (~June 2024)
Reports (e.g., EBSCO/Biographical sources) indicated Soros's net worth had decreased to about $6.7 billion by June 2024, largely due to philanthropic transfers.
Awarded Presidential Medal of Freedom
President Biden awarded Soros the U.S. Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2025 for his lifetime work advancing open society and human rights.
Net worth reported at US$7.2B (May 2025)
Reported net worth as of May 2025 was US$7.2 billion; had donated more than $32 billion to the Open Society Foundations (OSF), of which $15 billion had been distributed.
Key Achievement Ages
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