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Who is Alex Soros, the unexpected heir to George Soros' empire?

2023-07-09 20:18:36Fokus SHKRUAR NGA REDAKSIA VOX
Edi Rama, George Soros and Bill Clinton in Tirana

George Soros, the legendary investor, philanthropist and perennial target of the US right wing, is handing over control of his $25 billion empire to his youngest son, Alexander Soros, a self-described centrist thinker. on the left, who grew up aware of the family's great wealth, but who was not thought to be the likely successor.

In the first interview since his selection, the 37-year-old says he intends to expand the application of his father's liberal principles. "We think the same about many things", says the young Soros, adding that he embraces some different causes than his father. They include voting and abortion rights, as well as gender equality.

He plans to continue using the family fortune to support left-leaning American politicians. "I'm a more political person than my father," says Alex. He recently met with Biden administration officials, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and several heads of state, including Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, to advocate for issues related to the establishment of the family.

Soros' Open Society Foundations, known as OSF for short, fund about $1.5 billion a year to groups that support human rights around the world and help build democracies. But the foundation's money also goes to universities and other educational organizations.

The foundation has also supported the election campaigns of district attorneys and law enforcement officials in the US aimed at reducing incarceration rates and racial bias in the justice system. Alex says he is worried about the possibility of Donald Trump returning to the White House, stating that the foundation will play an important role in the 2024 presidential race.

Some analysts doubted whether George Soros, now 92, would relinquish his role while still alive. Even in an interview given a few years ago, he said: "in principle, I don't want the foundation to be run by any of my children. I think he should be managed by someone who is the most suitable for this post".

For years, people close to George believed that Alex's older half-brother Jonathan Soros, 52, an experienced financial lawyer, was the sure successor to the famous billionaire. Tall and athletic, Jonathan often played tennis with his father, worked for a time at the foundation and stabilized it during turbulent times.

Then there was a clash between the two and a change of approach. Alex managed to earn his father's trust, staying by his side on his trips to the organization's offices around the world. "He has earned my trust," George confirmed. In December of last year, the OSF board elected Alex as its chairman, officially replacing his father.

Alex Soros is the only family member on the investment committee that oversees Soros Foundation Management, the company that oversees the money for the foundation and family. So far Alext's work at the family organization has highlighted a collegial management style that differs from his father's, his colleagues say.

Alex takes care of details that George generally ignored. He carries a small pad during meetings, which he fills with notes, which he then distributes to the staff. "He's a very hands-on leader," says Anthony Romero, executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union, which receives funding from OSF.

The selection of Alex, a fan of mainstream hip-hop and a fan of the New York Jets American football team, once seemed impossible. Because Alex hardly spoke in meetings and was more known for his worldly life. George Soros built his fortune in the 1970s and 1980s as a pioneering manager of financial foundations.

He invested heavily in the global stock, bond and currency markets based on his predictions of economic and political changes. Soros invested only after sifting through a wide web of information, including classified data obtained from a network of close contacts in politics and business.

Just betting that the value of the British pound would plummet in 1992 guaranteed him more than $1 billion in profits. What set George apart was his ability to change the direction of investments, says Stanley Druckenmiller, his company's former chief investment officer.

After the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989, Soros' philanthropic activity focused on supporting democracies in the former Soviet bloc and elsewhere. In 2004, he came under fire in the US when he declared that preventing the re-election of President George W. Bush was the "main focus" of his life.

He supported Barack Obama's 2008 presidential campaign, drawing further criticism for his support of needle exchange programs and the legalization of medical marijuana. George, who was born in Hungary, closed the foundation's branch in the country in 2018 after becoming the target of Prime Minister Victor Orban's attacks.

Since then the critics have increased. Last month, Elon Musk tweeted that George Soros "reminds me of Magneto," a Marvel comic book character who, like George, is a Holocaust survivor. In response to criticism of the comparison, Musk added that George "wants to erode the very fabric of our civilization," a statement that prompted a backlash against the billionaire from the Anti-Defamation League.

"When they want to blame someone, I'm the favorite," was George's retort.

Jonathan is the third child from George's first marriage to Annaliese Soros. He has a brother and a sister. His parents separated when Jonathan was 7 years old and his father moved into an apartment very close to the family home across from Central Park in New York.

He grew up wealthy, but George had not yet become an internationally recognized financial figure. After graduating from Wesleyan University in 1992, Jonathan spent two years working in a new office of the Soros foundation in Budapest. He joined the Soros Foundation in 2002 after graduating from Harvard with a degree in law and public policy.

He became the head of the company after several leaders left or were replaced. Jonathan earned the respect of his peers and was seen as his father's heir apparent. "I expected Jonathan to be George's successor," says Aryeh Neier, president of OSF in the years 1993-2012.

But the differences between them overturned the succession plan. George is an impulsive man. While Jonathan is a calm and very analytical nature. Jonathan had great respect for his father, but withdrew from the company when he disagreed with his father's decisions, according to people who worked with them.

Today Jonathan lives in Manhattan with his wife and three children. According to people around them, he and Alex are friendly to each other when they meet, but they don't have a close relationship. Alex, the older of two sons from Goerge's marriage to his second wife, Susan Weber, longed to be closer to his father while growing up in the upscale village of Katonah in New York.

When he was young, Alex was withdrawn, overweight and embarrassed by his family's wealth, childhood friends say. As a teenager, Alex was sometimes accompanied by bodyguards while traveling abroad, and the family name brought unwanted attention to him.

Alex became closer to his father after his mother filed for divorce in 2004. "After the divorce, my father took parenting more seriously," recalls Alex, who at the time earned a doctorate in history at the University of California. .

They spent hours together discussing global ideas and politics. Alex doesn't drive like his father. He feels very uncomfortable in large public settings, his colleagues say. And he has a relative lack of experience on the world stage as an obstacle. But his appointment could help the organization. "Anyway, Alex is unlikely to be what George Soros was to the right," says Romero./ Bota.al/ Taken with cuts from "Wall Street Journal"


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