Who is George Soros?
He’s one of America’s leading philanthropists and political donors. At age 88, the Hungarian-born investor has given away at least $32 billion to charities, which puts him a bit behind Bill Gates and Warren Buffett, but as a percentage of his net worth, Soros has donated the most of any living billionaire. Since the 1980s, most of that money has gone to groups that build democracy and civic institutions overseas, particularly in his native Eastern Europe. Early on, he was seen as a conservative anti-communist and promoter of capitalism. But starting in the 2000s, his foundations also began giving heavily to progressive causes in the U.S., such as the ACLU and gay rights groups. He is now a major donor to the Democratic Party, and financially supported the campaigns of John Kerry, Barack Obama, and Hillary Clinton. His Open Society Foundations operate in about 100 countries.