Edited by:  TJVNews.com

George Soros, the billionaire far-left wing investor, who has generated an inordinate amount of controversy over his political views and his radical philanthropic endeavors, has made a surprising move by passing the reins of his $25 billion empire to his younger son, Alexander Soros. The 37-year-old, known as Alex, describes himself as a center-left thinker who is broadening his father’s liberal agenda while also championing his own causes. These causes include voting and abortion rights, gender equity, and supporting left-leaning U.S. politicians, as was reported by the Wall Street Journal.

In his first interview since being chosen as his father’s successor, Alex revealed to the WSJ that he has been actively engaging with political figures and advocating for issues related to the family foundation. He has met with Biden administration officials, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, and heads of state like Brazil’s President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and Canada’s Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to further the foundation’s goals.

The Open Society Foundations (OSF), headed by the Soros family, allocate approximately $1.5 billion each year to various groups that are dedicated to fostering human rights, democracy-building, and educational initiatives. The Soros super PAC, Democracy PAC, has backed the election campaigns of district attorneys and law-enforcement officials seeking to reduce incarceration rates and alleged racial bias in the justice system. One of the district attorneys whose campaign was bankrolled by the Soros family is Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg, who has been at the center of criticism for his soft on violent crime policies in terms of prosecutorial measures.

Expressing concern over the potential return of Donald Trump to the White House in 2024, Alex hinted at a significant financial role for the Soros organization in the upcoming presidential race. The WSJ reported that he acknowledged the need to engage in political financing as long as the opposing side continues to do so.

While Alex aligns with his father on many issues, he also differs from him in certain aspects. For instance, he believes that free speech has become overly restricted on college campuses and elsewhere, expressing a dissenting view from some on the left, according to the WSJ report.  “I have some differences with my generation in regard to free speech and other things—I grew up watching Bill Maher before bed, after all,” he said, referring to the TV personality and First Amendment advocate.

Despite these differences, Alex has earned his father’s trust over time and has assumed responsibilities during visits to the organization’s offices worldwide.

Alex, who grew up in a wealthy environment, felt distant from his father during his childhood but grew closer after his parents’ divorce. The WSJ reported that they spent hours discussing ideas, global politics, and football—Alex’s top three interests. Alex’s upbringing made him self-conscious of his family’s wealth, and he sought to lead a more “normal” life by embracing sports and music, according to the WSJ.

Having initially played a less prominent role in the foundation, Alex gradually immersed himself in its work and emerged as his father’s deputy. The WSJ reported that he expanded the foundation’s efforts in Latin America and collaborated with Democrats to improve voter turnout and broaden the party’s appeal. In contrast to his father, Alex has shown a deeper connection to his Jewish heritage, regularly celebrating religious holidays and visiting Israel.

The WSJ also reported that he recently met with Biden administration officials, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D., N.Y.) and heads of state, including Brazil’s President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and Canada’s Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to advocate for issues related to the family foundation.

“As much as I would love to get money out of politics, as long as the other side is doing it, we will have to do it, too,” he said in an interview at the fund manager’s New York offices.

George himself stated in an interview that he had no desire for one of his children to take over the foundation, as a matter of principle. Instead, he believed that the foundation should be managed by the person best suited for the role. The WSJ reported that for years, those close to George had considered his elder half-brother, Jonathan Soros, a 52-year-old lawyer with a finance background, as the obvious successor. Jonathan, who played tennis with his father, worked at the foundation for a period of time and stabilized the Soros hedge fund during turbulent times. However, a falling out occurred, resulting in a change of plans.

Alex, who wears large-frame glasses and sports a neatly trimmed beard, gradually earned his father’s trust by representing him during visits to the organization’s offices worldwide. The WSJ reported that in December, he was elected chairman of OSF’s board, replacing his father. Alex also currently oversees political activities as the president of Soros’s super PAC. He is the only family member serving on the investment committee responsible for managing Soros Fund Management, the firm that oversees the foundation and family’s wealth. According to a spokesperson for Soros, the majority of the $25 billion will be directed to OSF in the coming years, with $125 million allocated to the super PAC, the WSJ reported.

Colleagues have noted that Alex’s management style within the family organization differs from his father’s. He pays attention to details that George might typically overlook, carrying a small notebook to meetings to jot down notes and share them with staff members. Anthony Romero, executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union, which receives funding from OSF, described Alex as being very hands-on, knowledgeable, and engaged in every aspect of the work, according to the WSJ report.

As the successor to his father, Alex faces the challenge of navigating the scrutiny and opposition that have long surrounded his father. Right-wing politicians and media outlets have often depicted George Soros as a shadowy figure pulling the strings behind progressive causes, often employing anti-Semitic tropes and conspiracy theories. Alex acknowledges that being the son of such a polarizing figure comes with its share of burdens, but he believes that he can leverage his position to further advance causes he is passionate about. The WSJ reported that he expressed his commitment to the principles of the Open Society and pledged to continue his father’s legacy of supporting marginalized communities, promoting democracy, and fighting for human rights.

Alex, a self-described center-left thinker, aims to build upon his father’s liberal objectives while also championing causes like voting and abortion rights, gender equity, and freedom of speech. He plans to continue utilizing the family’s considerable resources to support left-leaning politicians and organizations in the United States and worldwide, as was reported by the WSJ. Although facing scrutiny and opposition, Alex remains committed to advancing the principles of the Open Society and fighting for marginalized communities, democracy, and human rights.

In response to the announcement that the elder Soros, 92, will be ceding control of his vast wealth and political influence to his son Alex, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán posted a GIF depicting a scene from the movie “The Godfather” in which family patriarch and mafia head Vito Corleone is seen kissing the cheek of son, Michael Corleone in a tweet on Monday. He labeled it, “Soros 2.0.”

In the film, Michael takes over the crime family following Vito’s death, and continues his father’s work growing the organization and battling the family’s enemies, as was reported by Fox News.

A fierce and constant critic of George Soros,  Orban has referred to him as “the condensed symbol of everything the Hungarian right hates.”

In an August 2022 op-ed piece that appeared on the Jewish News Syndicate by editor-in-chief, Jonathan Tobin, he wrote, “Soros’s quest to “reform” the justice system has arguably done more damage to the country than anyone in living memory; it’s that he is proud of what he’s been doing.  The Wall Street Journal published an op-ed from Soros in which he wrote: “This is why I have supported the election (and more recently the re-election) of prosecutors who support reform. I have done it transparently, and I have no intention of stopping. The funds I provide enable sensible reform-minded candidates to receive a hearing from the public.” Not only is it not a smear to refer to “Soros prosecutors,” it’s something that the billionaire is willing to boast about.”

Tobin added that the elder Soros “remains the archetype of the traditional trope about Jews and money, and supposedly dark forces manipulating the global economy. But it is equally true that Soros’s past record as a hedge-fund operator and currency speculator has resulted in actions that had devastating consequences. His 1992 gamble against the pound sterling virtually broke the Bank of England and cost British taxpayers more than 3 billion pounds. He did the same thing to Malaysia and Thailand in 1997, causing a regional financial crisis. That didn’t excuse the anti-Semitic responses from those who suffered losses but resentment of the way he profits from the misery of others is hardly unreasonable. That left-wingers who are otherwise appalled by the excesses of capitalism yet like the way he spends his money on politics reflexively defend him is hypocrisy on an epic scale.”

In an October 2020 article that appeared on the Begin-Sadat Center for Strategic Studies web site, Manfred Gerstenfeld wrote: “Soros spreads lies about anti-Semitism. At a rare meeting in a Jewish environment, Soros spoke before the Jewish Funders Network Conference in New York in 2003. He was asked about anti-Semitism in Europe and said, “There is a resurgence of anti-Semitism in Europe. The policies of the Bush administration and the Sharon administration contribute to that… It’s not specifically anti-Semitism, but it does manifest itself in anti-Semitism as well. I’m critical of those policies…” He blamed the “resurgence of anti-Semitism in Europe” on Israel and insisted that “If we change that direction, then anti-Semitism will also diminish.”

Nobody present at the meeting took him to task for his extreme and false blaming of the victim. Soros was ignoring the basics of Europe’s extreme anti-Semitism conditions, which have existed for more than 1500 years, Gerstenfeld wrote.

He added that “Soros, a typical Jewish masochist, added that he himself bears some responsibility for the new antisemitism. To bolster this point, he quoted Malaysian PM Mahathir bin Muhammad, who said, “Jews rule the world by proxy.” Soros said, “As an unintended consequence of my actions, I also contribute to that image.”

Several weeks ago, internationally renowned columnist Caroline Glick penned a highly informative article on George Soros and his political leanings.  She wrote: “Soros’s Open Society Foundations have given tens of millions of dollars to non-governmental organizations involved in waging political warfare and lawfare against Israel. Soros’s groups reject the Jewish state’s right to exist and its right to defend itself. They have sought to undermine its relations with foreign governments and subvert its legal system in order to prevent it from enforcing its laws against Palestinian terrorists and Arab Israelis who break the laws of their country.

Two Soros-funded organizations, Al-Haq and Al-Mezan, have been identified as fronts for the PFLP terrorist organization. The U.S., the E.U., Canada and Israel all designate the PFLP as a terror group. Israel’s Defense Ministry outed Al-Haq and Al-Mezan as PFLP fronts in Oct. 2021. Rather than abandon their support for the terrorist groups, 20 other Soros-funded organizations signed a declaration attacking the government’s move.”

Ms. Glick also wrote that “Soros-funded international, U.S., Israeli and Palestinian groups defame Israel and its supporters by, among other things, falsely accusing the Jewish state of “apartheid.” They wage economic and cultural warfare against Israel and its Jewish supporters around the world through boycott, divestment and sanctions campaigns. Directed against Israel’s Jewish supporters abroad, particularly on college campuses, BDS campaigns aim to deny Jews their civil right to stand with the Jewish state or express support for its existence. These campaigns employ social ostracism, humiliation and harassment. Soros-funded groups were the primary engine behind the E.U.’s anti-Semitic labelling law, which requires Israeli exporters to place warning labels on goods produced by Jews beyond the 1949 armistice lines.

Soros has spearheaded and funds organizations whose job is to drive a wedge through the American Jewish community. In 2007, he published an article in The New York Review of Books demonizing AIPAC, which he attacked with language redolent of anti-Semitism. The next year, Soros founded J Street by providing a three-year grant of $750,000. The pro-Palestinian progressive Jewish group supports placing restrictions on U.S. military assistance to Israel. It backs some of the most anti-Israel members of Congress. It advocates on behalf of U.S. appeasement of the Iranian regime, including by facilitating its nuclear weapons program.”

She concluded by saying, “In short, Soros funds groups that demonize the Jewish state and Jewish people worldwide who support it. He has split the American Jewish community and supports organizations that oppose the right of Jewish people in the United States to defend and support the Jewish state and its right to exist.

J Street U, J Street’s student group, is anti-Israel. IfNotNow is a BDS group and a spin-off of J Street U. J Street and its aligned groups routinely demonize pro-Israel groups, including AIPAC and the Jewish Federations for their support for Israel. They also seek to subvert Jewish institutions, including day schools and summer camps, by compelling their leaders to accept the dissemination of anti-Zionist curricula and propaganda to their students and campers. Soros-funded Palestinian media routinely broadcast anti-Semitic propaganda.”