Before mid-2018 there were 2,208 billionaires in the world, and the 190th man on the list is George Soros, described as The Man Who Broke the Bank of England. Soros is a businessman, political activist, and philanthropist who is one of the largest investors in the world. He has become a champion of democratic ideals and human rights around the world, which has led him to donate to over a hundred countries through the Open Society Foundation.
George Soros Biography
George Soros was born as György Schwartz on August 12, 1930, in Budapest, Hungary. He grew up in a rich Jewish family, with a father, Tivadar, who was a lawyer and an Esperantist writer, and a mother, Elisabeth, who also came from a rich family. Originally the family was called Soros but changed its name to Schwartz for reasons of protection in an anti-Semitic Hungary.
During the Second World War, George Soros’s family survived thanks to documents that prove that they were Christians. His father saved not only his family during this period but also many other Hungarian Jews.
Soros went to England, where he studied at the London School of Economics. While still a student, he worked as a waiter and railroad porter, among other jobs. By 1951 he had already obtained a Bachelor of Science in Philosophy at the London School of Economics. In 1954, he was awarded a Master of Science in Philosophy.
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Although he started out with various jobs, including selling goods on the coast, he soon realized that he wanted to do something completely different with his life. This led him to take a job with a merchant bank. All he wanted to do in the beginning was just earn $100,000 and then retire. He started his career at Singer & Friedlander, then moved on to F.M. Mayer, Wertheim and Co. and then to Arnhold and S. Bleichroeder, where he started to try out his trading skills and soon became a serious investor.
Soros continued the investments that would make him one of the richest men in the world. During the currency crisis on Black Wednesday 1992 in Britain, he was named “The Man Who Broke the Bank of England” after a short sale in which he made a profit of about $1 billion from his $10 billion short sales.
The billionaire is also involved in politics as a strong supporter of the Liberals. He contributed to both Obama’s election and the failed candidacy of Hillary Clinton. More than that, he is also a philanthropist who has donated billions of dollars to various causes.
George Soros Religion
Since the Hungarian-American investor grew up in a Jewish, anti-Semitic home and had to claim Christianity for himself in his youth, George Soros does not believe in the existence of a god.
Wife (Spouse), Sons, Daughter
As for his family life, Soros has his own fair share of relationships and has been married three times in the past. The first time he entered into the bond of marriage was in 1960 when he married Annaliese Witschak. The marriage was to survive until 3 children and 23 years later and ended in 1983.
The next woman who became the wife of the investor was Susan Weber, whom he married in 1983. The American historian Susan Weber remained with George until 2005, when the marriage ended, but not without two children to show for it.
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Tamiko Bolton was the next woman in his life. The two met in 2008, and soon thereafter they began to meet before becoming engaged in 2012. In 2013 Soros, who was 83 years old, married Bolton, who was 42 years old at the time.
From all his marriages, George Soros has five children. His first three children, born to him by his first wife, Annaliese Witschak, are his sons Robert Daniel Soros and Jonathan Tivadar Soros, as well as his daughter Andrea Soros Colombel. His second marriage produced two sons, Alexander Soros and Gregory James Soros.
Is He Dead?
On his way to the 90s, George Soros is not as active as he was in his younger years. But he is still very much alive.
In October 2018 he survived a bomb threat after an explosive device was found in his mailbox. While the motive of the pipe bomb was unknown, Soros is a target of right-wing groups. He was not the only one who sent the bomb to them, because other famous Americans such as Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton, and John Brennan had pipe bombs sent through their mailboxes just one day after he received them.
