Early Life
György Schwartz, later known as George Soros, was born in Budapest, Hungary, on August 12, 1930. His family was Jewish, and they survived the Nazi occupation of Hungary during World War II. In 1947, at the age of 17, Soros left Hungary and moved to London, where he studied at the London School of Economics.
Rise to Success
Soros began his financial career in 1954 at Singer & Friedlander, a merchant bank in London. In 1956, he moved to New York City and worked as an arbitrage trader. He is best known for founding the Quantum Fund in 1970. The fund achieved significant returns and gained fame for its speculative strategies, particularly his short-selling of the British pound in 1992, earning him the title "The Man Who Broke the Bank of England".
Key Business Strategies
Soros is known for his global macro investment style, taking a high-level view of markets around the world. He developed the theory of reflexivity, which suggests that market prices can influence the fundamentals of the economy. Soros's investment decisions are based on understanding trends and economic policies to shape his strategies. He is a speculative investor who takes aggressive, short-term positions.
Philanthropy
Soros is a major philanthropist, and has donated over $32 billion to the Open Society Foundations, which support various causes related to human rights, democracy, and social reform. He began his philanthropy in 1979 by giving scholarships to black South Africans under apartheid.