In his lifetime, George Soros has gone from surviving Nazi tyranny to mastering the global financial industry. At 83, listed as one of the world’s wealthiest persons and a leading global philanthropist, Soros also is an author and a heavy influence on modern socio-economic policies and practices.
George Soros: The Beginning of a Financier
Not much information has been made public about the early life of George Soros. He was born in Hungary on August 12, 1930. He finally left his home country in 1947, escaping both the ravages of Nazi occupation and the effects of early Communism in Hungary.
Soros settled for awhile in England, where he began studying the concept of an open society at the London School of Economics. These studies, which incorporated the analysis of science as a philosophy and an examination of the benefits of free and open societies over totalitarian regimes.
After George Soros graduated in 1952, he went to work at Singer & Friedlander’s, a London-based merchant bank. Eventually he traveled to New York and took a job at F.M. Mayer, a brokerage firm on Wall Street.
He worked for several more financial firms before establishing his own hedge fund in 1973. Six years later he got involved in philanthropy, founding the Open Society Foundations in 1984.
The foundations touch on an umbrella of causes around the world, including helping areas affected by natural disasters, supporting education, funding the arts, and promoting intellectualism in Eastern Europe.
Controversy Surrounding George Soros
George Soros has become associated with savvy, wealthy, and humanitarian social and political policy around the world. Many people credit Soros with being a leading global figure who stands for positive, progressive cultural and financial change.
However, George Soros also is known as “The Man Who Broke the Bank of England” because of his involvement in the 1992 United Kingdom currency crisis. Soros, in fact, has a documented pattern of investment in global economies facing political change that will effect the currency in those economies.
Some of Soros’ political stands also have stirred controversy, such as his support of changing the United States’ “War on Drugs” policy to reflect a decriminalization element in the policy.
Additional controversy has arisen from Soros’ statements that particular policies from both the United States and Israel are leading to sentiments of anti-Semitism around the world.
George Soros: Financier and Global Influencer
Though he is a billionaire and a vital, important figure in both the financial as well as the socio-political spheres, George Soros is not a household name. Still, Soros is a key figure in financial and cultural movements throughout the country, and around the world.
Throughout his career, Soros has combined his penchant for political activism with a passion for the right use of funds and resources. One of the best-known examples is still his manipulation of the British pound in 1992, forcing the Bank of England to de-value the national currency of the United Kingdom.
Many look at George Soros’ rise–and continued triumphs–as inspiration for successful entrepreneurship.
Overall, George Soros has been called a Renaissance man, as well as a jack-of-all-trades because of his varied social and economic interests and achievements. His career is connected to and associated with matters of progressive financial and economic practices and the right and best use of currencies.