George Soros, the Hungarian-born American investor, has announced that he is transferring control of his $25 billion empire to his 37-year-old son, Alexander Soros. In an interview with the Wall Street Journal, George Soros revealed that while he was initially hesitant to hand over leadership of the Open Society Foundations (OSF) to any of his five children, Alexander had proven himself deserving of the role.
Alexander Soros assumed the position of chairman at the Open Society Foundations in December and also oversees his father’s “super PAC,” a mechanism in the US for directing funds to political parties.
Recently, Alexander has engaged in meetings with officials from the Biden administration and world leaders such as Brazil’s President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and Canada’s Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, addressing matters related to the family foundation.
He affirmed that the Open Society Foundations would continue pursuing its established objectives, including promoting free speech, criminal justice reform, safeguarding minority and refugee rights, and supporting liberal politicians. Additionally, Alexander aims to incorporate initiatives focused on voting rights, abortion rights, gender equity, and a more domestically oriented agenda within the United States.
Acknowledging the influence of money in politics, Alexander Soros stated, “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,” during his conversation with WSJ.
Notably, George Soros bypassed his elder son and presumed heir, Jonathan Soros (52), in appointing the head of the Open Society Foundations, following a falling-out and change of plans.
In 2018, due to explicit opposition from Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban’s government towards Soros personally and the foundation’s activities, the OSF relocated its international operations office from Budapest to Berlin.
