Billionaire George Soros, a leading philanthropist and contributor to liberal political causes, has tapped his 37-year old son Alexander Soros to lead his charitable Open Society Foundations and political action committee, a foundation spokesperson confirmed.
In an interview with the Wall Street Journal Sunday, Alexander Soros revealed that he will chair the Open Society Foundations, Soros' main philanthropic organization. While Alexander Soros had continued to be listed as deputy chair of the foundations in recent months, he was tapped as chair of the board in December.
Alexander Soros, who goes by Alex, told the Journal he is "more political" than his father, and that he expects to be embracing some different causes with the foundation, particularly voting rights and abortion rights.
He has recently met with members of the Biden Administration, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and some heads of state, including Brazil's President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and Canada's Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, to advocate for some of the issues important to the family.
George Soros, 92, is worth an estimated $6.7 billion according to Forbes, but his foundations are worth far more than that. He has given $32 billion to his foundation, according to its website. The organization was founded in 1979 with the stated goals to work for justice, democratic governance, and human rights worldwide. It has given grants of $19 billion since its founding.
His political action committee, Democracy PAC, gave $81 million in political donations during the 2019-2020 election cycle, according to Open Secrets, which tracks political donations and spending.
George Soros made his fortune as a hedge fund manager. He is a frequent target of attacks from conservatives as well as antisemitic conspiracy theories.
-- CNN's Olesya Dmitracova contributed to this report
-- Correction: An earlier version of the story incorrectly stated the value of political donations given by Democracy PAC. The figure is $81 million during the 2019-2020 election cycle.
