George Soros Net Worth, Crypto and NFT Investments

The net worth of George Soros is estimated to be $6.7 billion according to Forbes placing him as the 372nd richest person in the world. George Soros is one of the most celebrated hedge fund managers. He established Soros Funds Management (Quantum), the most successful hedge fund in history. At the height of his success, the net worth of George Soros was above $25 billion. He’s famously known as the man who broke the Bank of England. He was given this sobriquet when he shorted the British pound and reportedly made a profit of $1 billion. 

Soros had a humble beginning and didn’t enjoy a launchpad of wealth in the form of any inheritance from his family. He left Hungry at the age of 17 to put himself through the London School of Economics. There, he also worked as a railway porter and waiter. Today, he’s well-known as a philanthropist and a generous political donor. According to our findings, George Soros has reportedly donated 64% of his initial wealth through his Open Society Foundations. At a time, Forbes referred to him as the most generous philanthropist. 

George Soros’ Net Worth

Early Life

Born as George Soros on August 12, 1930, in Budapest to a non-observant Jewish family. His Father, Tivada was a lawyer and a well-known Esperanto author.  He edited the Esperanto literary magazine, Literatura Mondo. George Soros was raised by his father to speak the language. His mother Elizabeth owned a silk store. Meanwhile, his father was a prisoner of war during World War I. He regained his freedom to join his family some years after the war. 

Initially, George Soros had a German-Jewish surname; Schwartz. However, it was changed in 1936 to Soros. His father fell in love with the name owing to the meaning it implies. For instance in Hungarian, Soros means “next in line”, or “designated successor”; in Esperanto, it means “will soar”.

George Soros grew up in a war-ravaged region. In March 1994 while George Soros was 13 years old, Nazi Germany occupied Hungary. Then, the Nazis stopped all Jewish Children from going to school. They instead made them to report to the Judenrat otherwise known as the Jewish Council. The Nazis established the Jewish council during the occupation. His family had to purchase documents stating that they were Christians. The move shielded them against the hostility of the Nazis towards every Jewish family in Hungary. With that, they were able to survive the war. 

At a point during the war, George Soros had to disguise like the Christian godson of a collaborationist Hungarian Government official. In 1945, Soros survived the Siege of Budapest, in which Soviet and German forces fought house-to-house through the city. At one point, George Soros and his mother hid with the family of Elza Brandeisz and even attended their Lutheran church with them. A move to Paris at age 17 ended George Soros’s ordeal of the war. From Paris, he moved to England and enrolled at the London School of Economics.

In England, he was a student of the philosopher Karl Popper. George Soros also worked as a railway porter and as a waiter. He once received £40 from a Quaker charity. During his leisure time, George Soros would stand at Speakers’ Corner lecturing about the virtues of internationalism in Esperanto. He gave these lectures based on what he learnt from his father.

In 1951 and 1954 respectively, George Soros bagged his Bachelor of Science in philosophy and a Master of Science in philosophy from the London School of Economics. Upon his graduation, George Soros intended to stay back at the University and work as a professor. However, his grades were not good enough. This led him to pick up a job at an investment firm in London. Consequently, laying the foundation for his prosperous career as a hedge fund manager. 

Investment Career

He began his journey as a financial expert in 1954 at the merchant bank Singer & Friedlander of London. At first, he worked as a clerk before moving to the arbitrage department. However, a fellow employee Robert Mayer urged George Soros to apply at his father’s brokerage house, F.M. Mayer in New York. The move ended his stay at Singer & Friedlander after two years.

In 1956, George Soros relocated to New York City, where he worked as an arbitrage trader for F. M. Mayer for three years. There, he specialized in European stocks. As of then, European Stocks trading was just gaining relevance among institutional investors in the U.S. The development surfaced following the formation of the Coal and Steel Community, which later became the Common Market.

George Soros left F. M. Mayer after three years in 1959, moving to Wertheim & Co. He intended to stay for five years, to gain enough time to save $500,000 in a bid to relocate to England and study philosophy. While at Wertheim & Co, he worked as an analyst of European securities until 1963. Thereafter, he worked on extending the ideas of his tutor at the London School of Economics, Karl Popper. In extending his ideas, George Soros developed the theory of Reflexivity. 

The theory of Reflexivity asserts that market values are often driven by the fallible ideas of participants, not only by the economic fundamentals of the situation. Ideas and events influence each other in reflexive feedback loops. In 1963, George Soros became the Vice President of Arnhold and S. Bleichroeder for ten (10) years. During this period, he lost interest in the job owing to the introduction of the Interest Equalization Tax, which undermined the viability of Soros’s European trading. 

In his first three years at the firm, he focused mainly on revising his philosophy dissertation. Consequently, he started a fund with $100,000 of the firm’s money to experiment his trading strategies. In 1969, George Soros established the Double Eagle hedge fund with $4 million of investors’ capital including $250,000 of his own money. The firm was based in Curaçao, Dutch Antilles as an offshoot of Arnhold and S. Bleichroeder’s First Eagle fund was established by Soros and its chairman, Henry H. Arnhold in 1967. In 1973, the Double Eagle Fund had $12 million and formed the basis of the Soros Fund. George Soros and Jim Rogers received returns on their share of capital and 20 percent of the profits each year.

Soros Fund Management

In 1970, George Soros set up Soros Fund Management serving as the chairman. During that period, he retained his position as a member of the management of the Double Eagle Fund. However, conflicts surfaced regarding his ability to run the two firms together. He was compelled to resign in 1973. However, he gave investors in the Double Eagle Fund the option of transferring to his new firm or staying with the former. 

Later, the firm was renamed the Quantum Fund, after the physical theory of quantum mechanics. Then, the firm witnessed sizable growth having assets worth $12m under its management. George Soros alongside his partner reinvested their returns from the fund, and also a large part of their 20% performance fees, thereby expanding their stake. By 1981, the fund had grown to $400 million. Though the firm suffered a setback that resulted in investors withdrawing their financial commitment to the firm. A 22% loss in that year and substantial redemptions by some of the investors reduced it to $200 million.

Before the Black Wednesday of September 1992, George Soros had been building a huge short position in pounds sterling for months. He was swift to notice the unfavorable position of the United Kingdom in the European Exchange Rate Mechanism. He noted how the rate at which the United Kingdom was brought into the European Exchange Rate Mechanism was too high. Likewise, he discovered that their inflation was also much too high, and British interest rates were hurting their asset prices. 

Finally, when the day of Black Wednesday arrived, Quantum funds under George Soros’s management had sold short more than $10 billion in pounds. The firm profited from the UK government’s hesitation to either increase its interest rates to levels comparable to those of other European Exchange Rate Mechanism countries or float its currency. In the end, the UK withdrew from the European Exchange Rate Mechanism, devaluing the pound. George Soros, Stanley Druckenmiller, and his firm gained more than $1 billion, earning him the nickname “the man who broke the Bank of England”.

At some point, George Soros was criticized for his business approach. In 1997, during the Asian financial crisis, the prime minister of Malaysia, Mahathir Mohamad criticized Soros. Then, the prime minister accused Soros of using the wealth under his control to punish the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) for welcoming Myanmar as a member. He referred to George Soros Jewish background, claiming he triggered the currency plunge as part of a Jewish conspiracy. Though later in 2006, in a meeting with George Soros, the prime minister admitted that he had no hands in the crisis. 

In July 2011, George Soros announced that he had returned funds from outside investors’ money. Then, the funds were valued at $1 billion. George Soros stated that he invested funds from his $24.5 billion immediate family fortune. He cited the changes in the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission disclosure rules as a reason for the development. In 2013, the Quantum Fund made a profit of $5.5 billion. The landmark achievement made Quantum Fund the most successful hedge fund in history. In total, the firm has generated more than $40 billion since its establishment in 1973. 

Donations

Aside from being a successful hedge fund manager, George Soros is a generous giver. His generosity earned him a title as the most generous giver. He has donated about 64% of his initial wealth to various charitable causes. Through his Open Society Foundations, George Soros has been able to donate more than $15 billion. The Open Society Foundations is an international grantmaking network that supports advancing justice, education, public health, and independent media.

Additionally, his philanthropic deeds can be traced back to the 1970s during the apartheid in South Africa. He provided financial support for black students to attend the University of Cape Town. Also, he began funding dissident movements behind the Iron Curtain. George Soros contributed to courses that were aimed at promoting Non-violent democratization in the post-communist states. These efforts, mostly in Central and Eastern Europe, occur primarily through the Open Society Foundations. Recently, the Open Society Foundation said it spends about $500 million annually. 

The billionaire played an important role in the peaceful transition from communism to democracy in Hungary. George Soros provided a substantial endowment to Central European University in Budapest. In September 2006, Soros pledged $50 million to the Millennium Promise, led by economist Jeffrey Sachs. The funds assisted in providing educational, agricultural, and medical aid to help villages in Africa endure poverty.

 According to Time Magazine, around 2007, George Soros donated to two notable projects. First, he gave $100 million to the development of internet infrastructure for universities in Russia. He also gave $50 million to the Millennium Promise to eradicate extreme poverty in Africa. That year, Soros contributed more than $742 million to charity projects in the U.S. More so, he provided financial assistance to scientists and universities in central and eastern Europe. Then, the funds were aimed at helping civilians during the siege of Sarajevo. At one time, George Soros also pledged an endowment of €420 million to the Central European University. 

On October 17, 2017, Reports revealed that George Soros had transferred $18 billion to the Open Society Foundations. The following year, he donated $2 million to the Wikimedia Foundation through the Wikimedia Endowment program. In 2020, George Soros revealed his intention to donate $220 million in grants for racial justice groups, criminal justice reform, and civic engagement initiatives. According to reports, The Open Society Foundations has active programs in more than 60 countries across the globe. The foundation’s expenditures currently average approximately $600 million a year.

Fighting corruption and fostering human rights are the goals of Magnitsky sanctions, yet some fixes are necessary to make them even more effective. https://t.co/UvRsNbhrgj

— George Soros (@georgesoros) February 10, 2023

Is George Soros Pro Crypto?

It is not in doubt that George Soros is a staunch advocate of cryptocurrency, particularly Bitcoin. Initially, he held a negative view about the largest crypto by market cap. As a matter of fact, Soros once described Bitcoin as a “typical bubble.” In 2018, during the World Economic Forum in Davo, he likened the crypto market to the tulipmania that overwhelmed The Netherlands in the 1600s. Then, his concern about Bitcoin was its extreme volatility. He was quoted saying “Bitcoin is not a currency because a currency is supposed to be a stable store of value, and a currency that can fluctuate 25% in a day can’t be used, for instance, to pay wages. Because the wages could drop by 25% in a day.”

However, as the mainstream adoption of Bitcoin continues to expand, Soros’ stance on the crypto began to change. He suddenly began to support Bitcoin. Meanwhile, before having a change of heart about cryptocurrency, Soros has already built a reputation for himself as a premier currency speculator and commentator across the globe. By virtue of this, people craved to know his perception about Bitcoin and the crypto market at large. It is certain that his decision to pick interest in the crypto must have impacted many of those who look up to him to do the same.

We can confirm that Soros’ admiration for Bitcoin became public knowledge in 2021. In an interview with a publication, he said “I m not sure Bitcoin is only viewed as an inflation hedge here. I think it’s crossed the chasm to mainstream.” In the same year, Soros also participated in a $200 funding round for a Bitcoin financial firm, New York Digital Investment Group (NYDIG). Other participants in the round include MassMutual, FS Investments, and Morgan Stanley (NYSE: MS).

George Soros is now confident in the potential of Bitcoin to dominate other currencies in the financial setting. Amid the growing institutional adoption of Bitcoin, the billionaire investor also influenced his asset management firm, Soros Fund Management to get exposed to the crypto. The firm started to trade Bitcoin since 2021 and has not stopped till date. Also, Soros’ change of stance towards crypto also impacted the businesses of his firm. Suddenly, Soros Fund Management began to invest heavily into the crypto market. Recently, it bought $8,984,659 in convertible notes of crypto miner Marathon Digital Holdings. More so, the firm, according to its December 2022 13F filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has a huge investment in MicroStrategy, a leading institutional holder of Bitcoin and Silvergate, a crypto-based bank.

Crypto and NFT Holdings of George Soros

Since he changed his mindset about cryptocurrencies, George Soros has chosen to personally hold Bitcoin. As of the time of writing, there is no official information confirming the exact value of his Bitcoin portfolio and Soros himself is yet to publicly talk about his holdings. However, we rely on the allegation by one Alex Jones that he once rejected $5 million in BTC from Soros. If this allegation is anything to go by, then we can say the Soros Fund Management founder holds a significant amount of Bitcoin in his portfolio. No wonder he made the list of famous Bitcoin investors across the globe.

George Soros is one of those influential investors seeking to grow their net worth by investing in Bitcoin. Apart from Bitcoin, it is not certain if Soros personally holds other cryptocurrencies. But, the CEO has invested in numerous crypto-oriented companies through his firm, Soros Fund Management. Its overall shares in Microstrategy, a notable holder of Bitcoin, is worth $200 million. The company also invested in Silvergate, a popular crypto-oriented bank. Although amid the adverse market in early 2023, the crypto bank plunged into a financial crisis, leading to its closedown. It is worthy of note that the demise of this bank must have impacted the net worth of Soros Fund Management and its owner, George Soros.

Meanwhile, there are no indications that George Soros personally holds NFTs. However, he might be willing to leverage his hedge fund firm to venture into the digital asset anytime soon. In 2022, he invested in Animoca Brands Corp., a non-fungible token and metaverse company through Soros Fund Management. It is worthy of note that the venture capital firm of the Winklevoss twins also participated in the funding.

Crypto Projects Featuring George Soros

At the moment, there is no notable crypto project featuring George Soros. But, owing to his growing influence in the crypto space, he is likely to become the next crypto enthusiast to feature on Wall Street Memes. The presale of $WSM has gotten off to an explosive start. Few days into the presale, the token has already recorded more than $1.3 million worth of sale, averaging over $350k daily. Aside from enjoying one of the biggest crypto presales, $WSM is on the course of becoming the next cryptocurrency to soar to the moon.

The project is enjoying the backing of a vast community and a team with a proven track record in the crypto industry. The Wall Street Memes community has over 450k followers on Twitter and Instagram. This community has proven not just to be a mere community as its engagement has attracted the attention of prominent crypto enthusiast, Elon Musk. Visit wallstmemes.com to be one of the early investors of the next big thing in crypto.

George Soros’ Net Worth – Our Verdict

We have been able to establish the net worth of George Soros, with a detailed analysis of his early life, career, investment portfolio and philanthropic lifestyle. He had a humble beginning and didn’t enjoy a launchpad of wealth in the form of any inheritance from his family. He defiled all odds to rise to prominence in his chosen field, becoming one of the most celebrated hedge fund managers.

It is worth mentioning that George Soros grew a significant part of his net worth through his successful hedge fund career. In 1970, he established Soros Fund Management and by 2011, the hedge fund reported $27.9 billion in assets under its management. This thus found the basis of his wealth. The Soros Fund Management founder is also one of the famous investors in BTC. Although he held a negative opinion about the crypto before now, he seems to have changed his stance. According to Forbes estimates, the net worth of George Soros is $6.7 billion.

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