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Soros foundation to limit EU funding in new strategy - internal email

August 15, 2023 at 04:48 am EDT

PRAGUE (Reuters) - Open Society Foundations, the charity founded by billionaire George Soros, plans to withdraw or terminate large parts of its work within the European Union as it shifts focus to other parts of the world, according to an internal email seen by Reuters.

The decision means the charitable network will move away from work related to internal European affairs and focus on the region in the context of larger global issues, according to the email sent to employees.

"Ultimately, the new approved strategic direction provides for withdrawal and termination of large parts of our current work within the European Union, shifting our focus and allocation of resources to other parts of the world," the email said.

"This shift is not a reflection on past work and the many contributions by staff over the years, but rather a forward-looking decision rooted in future opportunities to make a significant impact."

The foundation announced in June that 93-year-old financier Soros would hand over his $25 billion grant-making foundation to his son Alex and in July unveiled plans to lay off 40% of its global staff in a strategic shift.

The internal email did not detail how the foundation would shift its funding but a spokesperson said the group would continue to back civil society groups across Europe, including those working on EU external affairs while maintaining support for European Roma communities.

"The Open Society Foundations is changing the way we work, but my family and OSF have long supported, and remain steadfastly committed to the European project," Alex Soros, chairman of the Open Society Foundations, said in a statement emailed to Reuters.

George Soros, a Hungarian Jew who emigrated after World War Two, made his fortune in the United States and has long supported groups promoting liberal, democratic and open-border values in Eastern Europe. He famously made more than $1 billion on a 1992 bet against the British pound.

The organization, which directs an estimated $1.5 billon a year globally, will also continue to fund programs in Europe, including Ukraine, Moldova, Kyrgyzstan, and the Western Balkans through national foundations, the Open Society Foundations spokesperson said.

"The new model will see the majority of our grant making organised around specific opportunities for impact, to be determined over the coming months," the spokesperson added.

"Our work in Europe has always been an evolving whole and these new changes are no exception to that long-term trend."

(Reporting by Michael Kahn, Editing by Ed Osmond)

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George Soros

George Soros lived the Hungary’s Nazi occupation. With Jewish origin, he was forced to change his name in 1936 (György Schwartz). He escapes from communist regime in 1947, and he arrives in Great Britain. In London he follows the philosopher anti communist Karl Kopper’s courses at London School of Economics. In 1956 he emigrated to United States with one objective in mind: to win half million dollars. Mission completed, in 2011 his fortune amounted to $14,5 billion and he was the 46th richest man in the world, according to Forbes.

When he had arrived in New York he founded his first investment fund The Soros Fund, which will be the first stone of Soros’ financial empire. In 1973 he founded Quantum Fund with Jim Rogers. For ten years this fund will break all records in terms of gains.

The most of people know him during the great depression of 1992. He speculated on sterling’s fall, and he caused important fluctuations such as the British currency was forced out of the monetary system. This bet allowed him to earn a billion in one night and he was called as “the man who broken the Bank of England”.

He is also a philanthropist. With Open Society Institute which group together twenty foundations with a goal to defend human rights and promote democratic governance. George Soros describes himself as a “stateless head of state”. Since 1984, thanks to his foundations he distributed more than $ 8 billion to various humanitarian causes in 70 countries around the world.

The man, who wanted to be a philosopher, thanks to his foundation he participates in the transformation of society. The speculator has become the destroyer of excessive liberalism.

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Soros Fund Management LLC Soros Fund Management LLC Investment ManagersFinance Soros Fund Management LLC (SFM) is a privately-held investment management firm now structured as a family office, but which was once a hedge fund manager. The firm was founded in 1969 and is headquartered in New York City. SFM serves as principal investment adviser to a group of funds managed for the benefit of Soros family cl fsients.	Founder
Open Society Foundations Open Society Foundations Investment Trusts/Mutual FundsMiscellaneous The Open Society Institute works to build vibrant and tolerant democracies whose governments are accountable to their citizens. To achieve its mission, OSI seeks to shape public policies that assure greater fairness in political, legal, and economic systems and safeguard fundamental rights. On a local level, OSI implements a range of initiatives to advance justice, education, public health, and independent media. At the same time, OSI builds alliances across borders and continents on issues such as corruption and freedom of information. OSI places a high priority on protecting and improving the lives of people in marginalized communities. Investor and philanthropist George Soros in 1993 created OSI as a private operating and grantmaking foundation to support his foundations in Central and Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union. Those foundations were established, starting in 1984, to help countries make the transition from communism. OSI has expanded the activities of the Soros foundations network to encompass the United States and more than 60 countries in Europe, Asia, Africa, and Latin America. Each Soros foundation relies on the expertise of boards composed of eminent citizens who determine individual agendas based on local priorities.	Founder

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