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N T H E S P O T L I G H T
George Soros: Maverick
By Terry Culligan, InvestmentLife.com
 Those
who have never heard of George Soros probably don't focus on the
global investment markets. He is a billionaire, a financier-philosopher,
a philanthropist and a bestselling author. Mr Soros is the sole
proprietor of Soros Fund Management, a private investment management
firm that serves as principle investment advisor to the Quantum
Group. The Quantum Fund N.V., the oldest and largest fund within
the Quantum Group, is recognized as having the best performance
record of any investment fund in the world in its 26 year history.
If someone invested $10,000 (U.S.) in 1969 when Soros established
the Quantum Fund, and reinvested all dividends, that investor
would have watched his investment swell to more than $13 million
by the Spring of 1994. Soros is also a major
philanthropist. He has donated $500million in
1992 and 1993 to many charitable foundations in Eastern Europe and
the former Soviet Union.
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Born
in Budapest, Hungary, 1930
Childhood
suffered from Nazis
Emigrated
in 1947 to England
Graduated
from the London School of Economics
Moved
to United States in 1956
Founded
the Open Society Fund in
1979
Founded
the Soros Foundation-Hungary in 1984
Soros Foundation-Soviet Union founded in 1987
Foundations
Network operating in 25 countries throughout the world
Spent
more than $300 million a year for development of Open Society
Founder
of Central European University
in Budapest and Warsaw, established in 1990
Author
of The
Alchemy of Finance 1987 (John Wiley & Sons), Opening the
Soviet System July 1990 (Weidenfeld & Nicholson), underwriting
Democracy 1991 (The Free Press), and most recently Soros
on Soros
Received
doctoral degrees from New School for Social Research (N.Y),
the University of Oxford in 1980. In 1995, the University
of Bologna awarded Mr. Soros it's highest honor, the Laurea
Honoris Causa
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For For all of his exploits, Mr. Soros is also a
maverick of the global financial scene. In his latest book, The
Crisis of Global Capitalism: Open Society Endangered, Soros
argues that in the last twenty years, the emergence of "market fundamentalism"
-- that is, the idea that markets need only be regulated by the
forces of profit and competition--has distorted the role of capital
to the extent that it "is today a greater threat to open society
than any totalitarian ideology." Not that Soros advocates the demise
of the capitalist system. On the contrary, Soros himself has made
billions on Wall Street, and it's his aim to save capitalism from
itself.
While his theory of reflexivity reads a bit thick,
his analysis of our present financial system is lucid and convincing.
Other books by George Soros include:
The
Alchemy of Finance: Reading The Mind of the Market
Soros
On Soros: Staying Ahead of the Curve
Opening the Soviet System (Out Of Print)
Once you have looked into the thinking of this market
maverick, it may be hard to view Wall Street the same way again.
Terry Culligan is an expert on the hedge fund industry
and writes for a variety of financial publications. He may be reached
at tculligan@investmentlife.com.
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