George Soros’ Open Society Foundations will lay off at least 40% of its staff one month after the 92-year-old announced he handed the reins of the multi-billion-dollar foundation to his son, Alexander Soros.
The job cuts were announced in a statement signed by Alexander Soros and the foundation’s president, Mark Malloch-Brown. It said the foundation would undergo “significant changes” to its operating model.
“Through this new model, the Board aims to transform operations across the global network, with the goal of generating a nimbler organization better able to build on past achievements and confront urgent and emerging challenges,” the statement said.
Soros Organization Timeline:
Spring 1944 – The Soros family goes into hiding to avoid deportation to a concentration camp by the Nazis.
1947 – Leaves Hungary for Great Britain.
1956 – Immigrates to the United States.
1973 – Soros sets up his own hedge fund, which eventually becomes the Quantum Fund.
1977 – Is charged with stock manipulation. Soros eventually signs a consent decree that neither admits nor denies guilt. He also settles a $1 million lawsuit with the plaintiff, the Fletcher Jones Foundation.
1979 – Establishes the Open Society Foundations, a network aimed at shaping public policy by promoting democracy, government accountability and human rights through programs in education, public health and independent media.
September 16, 1992 – Soros bets $10 billion against the value of the British pound. After the currency collapse, known as “Black Wednesday,” Soros makes up to $1 billion and becomes known as the man who “broke the Bank of England” by the London press.
1996 – Donates $1 million to promote ballot initiatives in California and Arizona that eventually lead to the legalization of medicinal marijuana use.
December 2002 – Soros is convicted of insider trading by a French court and fined $2.25 million for a 1988 deal with French bank Société Générale.
2009 – The PSzAF, the Hungarian financial market regulator, fines Soros Fund Management, LLC, $2.2 million, for attempting to manipulate the stock of Hungary’s largest bank.
October 2013 – In addition to supporting numerous Democratic candidates and causes, Soros signs on to co-chair the national finance council for Ready for Hillary, the super PAC laying groundwork for a potential Hillary Clinton presidential bid in 2016.
September 20, 2016 – Says he will invest $500 million into companies and startups founded by migrants and refugees, as well as businesses and initiatives that address the needs of refugees and their host communities.
July 2017 – Hungary and Israel condemn Soros for using foreign money to influence politics and immigration policies in Europe through his Open Society Foundations. Hungary has posted billboards and posters vilifying Soros for his support of refugees and immigrants. Peter Szijjarto, Hungary’s foreign affairs minister, defends the billboard campaign, labeling Soros as a “national security risk,” in a statement.
October 17, 2017 – The Open Society Foundations confirms Soros has moved $18 billion to his foundation – the majority of his estimated $24.6 billion fortune. A foundation official tells CNNMoney the move “reflects an ongoing process of asset transfer that has been underway for several years.”
May 15, 2018 – Following targeted attacks on Soros by the Hungarian government and a crackdown on civil-society organizations, the Open Society Foundations releases a statement that it is moving its Budapest, Hungary, offices to Germany.
October 22, 2018 – Authorities are sent to Soros’ Bedford, New York, home after a suspicious package is found in the mailbox. A law enforcement source describes it as a PVC pipe with an “energetic” material and a powdery substance. Soros is not home at the time. The same month, similar packages are received by prominent critics of President Donald Trump, top political figures, the CNN offices and others. Suspect Cesar Sayoc is arrested October 26.
March 21, 2019 – Sayoc pleads guilty in Manhattan federal court to sending mail bombs to Soros and others.
July 13, 2020 – Soros’ foundation announces that it will invest $220 million in racial justice organizations.
April 1, 2021 – New York’s Bard College announces that Soros has pledged $500 million to the college’s endowment.
July 19, 2021 – In a statement, a consortium including Soros and Bill Gates launch Global Access Health (GAH) with the goal of providing medical technology to the global south. The group announces the acquisition of Mologic, a UK based company that makes diagnostic tests for COVID-19.
