George Soros has again hit headlines in India as the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has accused Congress MP Rahul Gandhi and senior Congress leader Sonia Gandhi of having ties with the billionaire. BJP has also claimed that the Gandhis were linked to efforts aimed at destabilising India. The ruling dispensation’s allegations have come just as Congress and opposition parties were alleging that there was link between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and industrialist Gautam Adani, who is in crosshairs in the US for allegedly raising money there to bribe officials in India.
Who Is George Soros?
George Soros (94), a Hungarian-American hedge fund manager is credited with shaping hedge fund industry in the US. He was born on August 12, 1930 in Budapest, Hungary. The Jewish family survived Nazi rule in Hungary.
Soros’ parents moved to UK in 1947. He completed his bachelors and masters in Philosophy at London School of Economics (LSE)
After his education, Soros worked for American and British merchant banks.
In 1969, he formed his first hedge fund by the name Double Eagle.
He established his second hedge fund in 1970 using profits obtained from his first fund.
Double Eagle was later named Quantum Fund. At the time of its inception, Quantum Fund had a value of USD 12 million. By 2011, the value had grown to USD 25 billion.
Soros is often called ‘The man who broke the Bank of England’. In 1992, his short sell of USD 10 billion worth of pounds during the currency crisis made him a profit of USD 1 billion.
George Soros Political Views And Philanthropy
Soros has across decades, supported liberal and progressive causes. He established Open Society Foundations in April 1993.
From 1979 to 2011, Soros donated more than USD 11 billion for philanthropic causes.
His support to political causes and political activities have globally attracted criticism of far-right theorists who accuse him of being somewhat like a ‘puppet master’.
What Is BJP alleging?
The BJP is alleging that Sonia Gandhi has links with a George Soros funded organisation which supported Kashmir becoming an independent nation.
This, said BJP, was a plan to destabilise India.
