Hungarian-born American investor George Soros is handing over control of his $25 billion empire to his 37-year-old son Alexander Soros. The elder Soros confirmed the news in an interview with the Wall Street Journal. He also admitted that he was unwilling to hand over the reins of the Open Society Foundations (OSF) to any of his five children, but added that ‘Alex’ had earned it.
According to the Wall Street Journal, Alexander Soros is the eldest of two sons from George Soros’ marriage to Susan Weber, his second wife. He was appointed chairman of the Open Society Foundations in December last year and will also direct the organisation’s political activities as president of Soros’ super PAC.
Alexander Soros has been a target of hatred from right-wing groups because of his support for causes such as reducing bias in the justice system. The 37-year-old noted that while he and George Soros “think alike”, he is even ‘more political’ than his father.
Alex has recently met with many officials in the Biden administration and other world leaders, such as Brazil’s President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and Canada’s Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, on issues related to the family foundation.
“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,” Alexander Soros told WSJ
Interestingly, George Soros bypassed his elder and heir apparent Jonathan Soros (52) as the head of the Open Society Foundations after a ‘falling-out and change of heart’.
George Soros had gained popularity in India after he said in February this year that the Adani-Hindenburg crisis would lead to a ‘democratic revival in India’. The statement by Soros earned him criticism from all quarters of Indian society including the opposition and government.
(With inputs from agencies)
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Updated: 12 Jun 2023, 09:14 AM IST
