Billionaire philanthropist and investor George Soros is handing control of his Open Society Foundations to his son Alex, who had been named chair in December.
The multibillion-dollar foundation donates money to humanitarian and democratic causes ranging from criminal justice reform to climate change initiatives and controls the majority of assets managed by Soros’s family office. The news was first reported in the Wall Street Journal and confirmed by a spokesperson for the organization.
“I’m more political” than the elder Soros, Alex Soros told the newspaper. He added that he was concerned about Donald Trump’s potential White House run. “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.”
George Soros, 92, founded Soros Fund Management and earned a fortune on outsize bets, including an infamous wager against the British pound. He converted the fund to a family office in 2011. His foundation has spent $19.1 billion so far.
Soros is known as a major supporter of liberal causes and Democratic politicians, and has long been a target of the political right.
