Who is George Soros and why does he have so many opponents? | Now

In Hungary, it counts as the first enemy state: the American billionaire George Soros (88). He is also hated among other right-wing radicals around the world. It came to him on Monday in a homemade bomb in the mailbox of his house in a suburb of New York.

The explosive was found by a Soros employee and defused by the Explosive Destruction Service. Later in the week, bombs were also discovered at the posts of former US presidents Barack Obama and Bill Clinton, Hillary Clinton and other political figures and press organizations Democrats CNN .

It is not yet clear who the bomber is. is and what was the motive for attempted bombings, but the police believes likely that the author should be searched in circles (far) right. The fact that the Clinton and Obama are not popular is not surprising.

But who is really George Soros and why is he also taken seriously?

The wonderful philanthropist Soros, a Hungarian born of Jewish descent, is a vocal opponent of nationalistic and authoritarian governments, a defender of human rights and open, progressive and democratic constitutional states. In addition, he is pro-EU anti-corruption and he thinks that migrants should be welcomed.

This put him in a conflictual situation with the countries of central and eastern Europe where right-wing nationalist parties serve, as in Poland and in his country of birth. Hungary

Also in the United States, the globist Soros is the ultimate left bogey for years. Among others, US President Donald Trump accuses Soros – a major Democratic Party donor – of hiring false protesters to protest his government's policies.

An employee of George Soros discovered on Monday, October 22, a package containing a bomb containing an explosive pack. the billionaire's house in the American Bedford. (photo: AFP)

How did Soros make a fortune?

George (György) Soros was born in 1930 to a Jewish family in Budapest. His father was Theodor Soros – Tivadar Schwartz was born – doctor, lawyer, author and defender of the Esperanto language. Their family survived World War II by pretending to be Christians with fake identity cards. Father Soros used the same method to help a large number of Hungarian Jews escape the persecution of Jews

At age 17, George emigrated to England where he worked as a surgeon and waiter while obtaining his doctorate in philosophy. He studied with the great philosopher of the twentieth century, Karl Popper. This Austro-British thinker was a great opponent of autocratic regimes and a fervent defender of liberal democracy, which he called "open society" and rationalism. Popper would have a major influence on Soros' later ideas and political activism.

After graduating, Soros worked at an investment bank in London. In 1956, he moved to a securities broker in New York and settled in the United States. In 1970, he created his own hedge fund, Quantum, which distinguished itself by aggressive and unscrupulous investment tactics, speculation about world events and high returns for investors.

Soros became one of the richest men in the world and a living legend in the financial markets. 19659003] His most notorious commercial decision was when he was nicknamed "the man who broke the Bank of England". In 1992, Soros earned about 1 billion pounds (1.1 billion euros) betting against the British currency. As a result, the British government had to devalue the pound and lose about 3 billion pounds to the Treasury.

When did Soros become active as a philanthropist and what goals does he support?

In the 80s and 90s, Soros gives up. daily management of his hedge fund and he focused on philanthropy and activism. It began with scholarships for black students in South Africa under apartheid and support for dissidents in the East Bloc. After the fall of the wall, he also supported organizations working for the transition from Soviet regimes to democratic societies.

Soros founded a foundation in 1993 to support his philanthropic work in Central and Eastern Europe, the Open Society Foundation (OSF). The work area of ​​the OSF was then extended to other parts of the world. The foundation now supports NGOs in more than 100 countries and has 37 regional offices

In the Netherlands, the OSF has poured money into politically sensitive targets, such as the yes campaign in the Ukrainian referendum and the foundation for education New Urban Collective. who is active, among other things, as an opponent of Black Pete. Organizations such as Amnesty, Anne Frank's house, the anti-discrimination hotline and the electoral compass have also received donations.

Soros was ranked 29th on the list of the richest people in the world Forbes . Later in the year, it was announced that he had transferred $ 18 billion (15.8 billion euros), or about 80% of his personal fortune, to the US. OSF, making this foundation the second-richest charity in the United States.

Soros's critics about anti-Semitism?

Soros critics from the right, according to organizations fighting discrimination, often contain dog whistles (dog whistles) – disguised coded language that is used as a subtle landmark for a target group with racist and / or anti-Semitic ideas.

It can be difficult to make a balanced report on the billionaire, as the NOS discovered earlier this week. A feature article on Soros' critics was published under the title: George Soros: Influential Interference in Tentacles Far into World Politics. "The Soros Jew supports organizations that openly criticize governments … That should stop, say opponents," was a paragraph of the article, which critics viewed as more than an echo of anti-Semitic prejudices.

NOS Editor-in-chief Marcel Gelauff crossed the dust on Wednesday. He described the use of the word "absurd" in the room and its "very annoying" appearance. According to Gelauff, his editors wanted to show how the opponents to Soros had treated him and did not intend to imply that the billionaire's criticism was endorsed by the NOS .

Why is the Hungarian Prime Minister Orbán such a fierce opponent in Soros?

The most fervent opponent of Soros is Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán. The right-wing nationalist warns against the "Soros plan"; an invasion of Muslim migrants that should replace the Hungarian people. According to Orbán, the EU is complicit in this. Soros would have imposed the law in Brussels.

It should be noted that Orbán studied at the University of Oxford, England, by twenty years for nine months, thanks to a scholarship from one of the Soros foundations.

At the end of June, a law sanctioning the assistance to irregular migrants complicates the work of foundations and other organizations engaged with asylum seekers. The name of this law is "Stop Soros". The OSF decided to close its Budapest office given the hostile political environment

The Hungarian Prime Minister criticized the language of Soros which strongly recalls the Nazi propaganda in which Jews were described as Stateless moneywolves with secret influence and bad intentions. . In a speech in March, Orbán said: "We are fighting an enemy different from us, not open, but obstructive, not simple, but cunning, not fair, but false, not national, but international, do not believe in works, but speculates with money, does not have his own homeland, but thinks he owns the whole world. "