by Harold Hutchison
Billionaire George Soros has handed control of his $25 billion financial empire to his son Alexander, The Wall Street Journal reported.
The board of Open Society Foundations elected the younger Soros, who describes himself as “more political” than his father, as chairman in December, a position that George Soros said his younger son “earned,” according to the WSJ. Alexander is the only member of the family that serves on the committee overseeing Soros Fund Management, the chief engine of the $25 billion Soros financial empire.
Most of the Soros fortune will be directed to Open Society Foundations, with at least $125 million being earmarked for the Democracy PAC, the WSJ reported.
The younger Soros has met with Democratic Sen. Chuck Schumer of New York, Brazilian President Lula da Silva and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on issues that the foundation is involved in, and also backs abortion rights and voting legislation backed by Democrats, the WSJ reported.
George Soros’ philanthropic endeavors have donated substantial amounts of money to Democratic causes over the years, with one group, the Open Society Policy Center, giving out $140 million in donations to left-wing groups in 2021. Soros also made donations of about $50 million to Democratic campaign committees in the 2022 midterm election cycle.
The move bypasses Jonathan Soros, the 52-year-old half-brother of Alexander, who had been expected to take over the financial empire until he ended his business relationships with his father and left the foundation in 2011, the Wall Street Journal reported.
Soros, who has become a bête noire among conservatives since he made defeating George W. Bush the “central focus” of his life in 2004, has long donated and supported left-wing causes, most recently through backing the campaigns of very liberal prosecutors. Crime spiked in six major cities where prosecutors backed by the left-wing billionaire were elected.
The younger Soros breaks with the left on some issues, though, the WSJ reported.
“I have some differences with my generation in regard to free speech and other things—I grew up watching Bill Maher before bed, after all,” Alexander Soros said according to the Wall Street Journal, referring to the HBO host who has criticized the left over sex change operations for children, cancel culture and free speech.
The younger Soros has also called on liberals to be less dismissive of Trump supporters.
“Our side has to be better about being more patriotic and inclusive,” he told the WSJ. “Just because someone votes Trump doesn’t mean they’re lost or racist.”
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Harold Hutchison is a reporter at Daily Caller News Foundation.
Photo “George and Alex Soros” by Alex Soros.
