George Soros says markets will falter as a result of Donald Trump presidency
Veteran investor George Soros has predicted that global markets will falter as a result of the uncertainty brought about by incoming US President Donald Trump. Mr Soros, speaking to Bloomberg at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, said that uncertainty in markets is “at the peak” and that he does not expect “markets are going to do very well”. “I personally am convinced that he is going to fail,” Mr
Soros said of the businessman turned politician. “Not because of people like me who would like him to fail. But because his ideas that guide him are inherently self-contradictory.”
A Trump-inspired rally in the wake of November’s election dealt a billion-dollar blow to Mr Soros, The Wall Street Journal reported last week. According to the paper, the veteran hedge fund manager lost nearly $1bn (£820m) as a result of equities rising sharply in the aftermath of Mr Trump’s election victory.
The US election, broadly considered the most divisive in history, sent markets roiling – both before and after the result was announced, and Mr Trump has continued to buffet stocks and the dollar with comments and tweets since. The nation’s primary stock market index, the S&P 500, fell 70 points in the two weeks before election day as the prospect of a Trump victory became more likely and markets worried about what the unpredictable candidate would do in the White House. Since then, however, the Presidentelect’s promises to press ahead with a vast infrastructure spending spree and implement business-friendly policies have helped indexes surge.
This is not the first time that Mr Soros has publicly criticised Mr Trump. In late November, he pledged $10m from his Open Society Foundations, which promotes liberal values around the world, to help combat the rise in reported hate crimes since the election. Due in part to the “incendiary rhetoric” of the President-elect, “dark forces have been awakened” since Mr Trump’s victory, Mr Soros told the New York Times at the time.