Liberal contributor and philanthropist, George Soros became one of the world's wealthiest investors through speculating on the market, which brought riches to his clients and himself.
Born in Budapest, Hungary in 1930, Soros managed to survive the Nazi occupation in World War II and communism before fleeing Hungary in 1947 for England. He graduated from the London School of Economics in 1952, and then joined the Singer and Friedlander brokerage firm in London,
according to Bio.
In 1956, Soros moved to New York with the original intention of making money and then moving back to Europe. However, his successes as an investor would keep him situated in the U.S.
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He worked as a financial analyst and investment manager for F.M. Mayer and Wertheim & Co,
according to Investopedia. But it was his work as a portfolio manager with Arnhold & S. Bleichroeder from 1963 to 1973 that brought him tremendous success.
Soros invested some $250,000 of his own money to establish the Double Eagle Fund in 1969 and four years later set up the Soros Fund with partner Jim Rogers. The hedge fund later became known as the Quantum Fund and then changed its name to the Quantum Fund Endowment.
The fund was worth some $381 million by 1980 and by 1985 had a value of more than $1 billion,
according to Discover the Networks.
Soros' skills at speculating and investing in the right funds reportedly earned returns of more than 30 percent a year and even up to 100 percent for two years during his nearly 20 years managing the fund, according to Investopedia. His investment success allowed him to give up daily management of the fund.
By that time he had become one of the richest people in the world and his fortune was estimated to be worth $20 billion by 2012, Bio reported.
Soros had gained some notoriety in 1992 when he shorted the British pound in a currency speculation, risking $10 billion and earning a profit of $1 billion, which later reached close to $2 billion, resulting in a nickname as "the man who broke the Bank of England," according to Investopedia.
Soros then focused his attention on political activism for left-wing causes and philanthropy through donations with his Open Society Foundation.
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