Dem
51
GOP
49
George Soros is 92 years old, which means it's either time for him to think carefully about passing the torch to the next generation or else to give strong consideration to running for the U.S. Senate. He has chosen the former, and announced he is handing control of his business empire over to his 37-year-old son Alex.
Although the elder Soros' philanthropic outlays are massive—his Open Society Foundations (OSF) gives out $1.5 billion per year—his remaining wealth is considerably more massive. OSF's endowment is more than $25 billion, and Soros' personal wealth is reportedly still in excess of $8 billion. With funds like that, it's not too hard to replenish that $1.5 billion every year, putting OSF and the younger Soros on track to stay on the same financial footing in perpetuity.
This, of course, is exactly how the Jews do it. It's also, of course, how the non-Jews do it, though you would not have any awareness of that if you'd been following all the right-wing dog whistles, as well as outright antisemitism, over the weekend. This was mostly on right-wing talk radio, and in comment sections on right-wing websites, but there were also a few media outlets willing to run pretty overtly antisemitic pieces in response to the news. For example, this item from The Washington Examiner warns that the younger Soros has already established the Bend the Arc Jewish Action PAC as a front for his activities. "If you thought George Soros had a negative influence on politics," the author warns, "just wait until Alex takes charge."
Is this hand-wringing from right wingers justified? Did the U.S. and the world just replace a well-heeled 92-year-old lefty with a well-heeled 37-year-old lefty? It certainly looks that way. In remarks to the press, both Soroses said that while they "think alike," the younger Soros is "further left" and "more political." Alex Soros says he wants to focus on gender equity, voting access, abortion access, and reducing racial bias in the justice system.
You can never know for sure what will happen when a politically active billionaire hands off their fortune to a successor. When Republican megadonor Sheldon Adelson died, it was presumed by nearly everyone (including us) that his wife and beneficiary Miriam would continue to spend in the same way her husband had. After all, she was right alongside him as he lavished money on Republican politicians, and she took many meetings with politicians prior to the 2022 cycle. But, in fact, she has largely kept her checkbook closed since she became a widow.
That said, Alex Soros was much more clear and direct than Miriam Adelson when it comes to his intent to keep spending. If he sticks to that, the Democrats (and other left-leaning organizations) will be very happy to see this particular money spigot keep flowing for additional decades. Of course, that also means additional decades of anti-Soros antisemitism from right-wing politicians. (Z)