Posted on 09/29/2004 5:49:50 AM PDT by OESY
WASHINGTON, Sept. 28 - George Soros, the billionaire philanthropist who has given $18 million to Democratic advocacy groups to defeat President Bush, is preparing to spend millions more because he fears that Senator John Kerry might lose.
Mr. Soros announced on Tuesday that he was sending himself on a $3 million 12-city tour to argue that keeping Mr. Bush in the White House would endanger the nation's security, economy and values and continue "the vicious circle of escalating violence in Iraq."
By mid-August, Mr. Soros had given more than $15 million to advocacy groups like America Coming Together. At that time, he said in an interview on Monday, he fully expected Mr. Kerry to win the election. But recently, Mr. Soros saw what he called the outrageous and slanderous Swift boat commercials against Mr. Kerry and how they had damaged his standing in the polls.
Since then, the Hungarian-born Mr. Soros said, he has become so worried that Mr. Bush will win the election that he increased his giving, to $18.2 million, and has scrapped a trip in October to Russia to work against the president's re-election.
"America has gone off the rails," he lamented in the interview over a lunch of Dover sole at his home in suburban New York. "I've been accused of messianic fantasies, and I will own up to them. To the extent that I can contribute to improving the world in which we live, I want to do it, and I'm in a better position than a lot of other people."
In the last 25 years, Mr. Soros, 74, has given hundreds of millions of dollars to philanthropies overseas like helping blacks go to college in South Africa, building a system to filter water in war-torn Sarajevo and shipping hundreds of photocopying machines to Hungary to advance an independent press. He also spent more than $500 million in Russia on health and educational programs.
Mr. Soros has now set his sights on the United States. "If I could contribute to repudiating the Bush policies, I think it would be the greatest good deed I could do for the world," he said as he announced his tour at the National Press Club here.
Such ambitions have given Mr. Soros the status of whipping boy for Republicans. They find that mention of his name helps them raise money.
Even before Mr. Soros spoke Tuesday, the Republican National Committee issued a statement saying, "The only explanation for the Daddy Warbucks of the Democratic Party, George Soros, to step out from behind the curtain 35 days before the election is his obvious concern for his investment in John Kerry."
Mr. Soros, whose $7.2 billion fortune makes him the 24th richest person in the United States, has become the biggest donor to the 527 advocacy groups, a category named for the section of the tax code that covers them. He pledged $10 million to America Coming Together for a registration and get-out-the-vote drive, but gave a total of $14.5 million.
His other contributions to Democratic 527's are $2.5 million to Move On.org Voter Fund; $325,000 to Young Voter Alliance; $325,000 to 21st Century Democrats; $300,000 to the Real Economy Group; and $250,000 to Democracy for America.
He has also pledged $3 million to the Center for American Progress, a research group led by John Podesta, President Bill Clinton's chief of staff. Mr. Soros has given $1.5 million to the center.
He said that in this election year he had had minimal contact with Mr. Kerry, largely because campaign finance laws bar coordination between candidates and 527's, and he is such a large donor to the 527's that such contact would be not be correct.
The two men are neighbors in Sun Valley, Idaho.
"We used to have dinners as a foursome,'' Mr. Soros said, "and I got to know him quite well. We spent a whole afternoon over Christmas in 2001 talking about foreign policy."
Although he said he did not necessarily share all of Mr. Kerry's views, he added, "I'm very confident he would make a very good president."
Asked what kind of bang he was getting for his buck in the campaign, Mr. Soros did not criticize the Democrats but said, "I'm anxious that reality is being sufficiently distorted by the Bush campaign that he may actually be re-elected, otherwise I wouldn't go on this campaign."
Mr. Soros stopped short of saying the Democrats had run an ineffective campaign, saying he knew nothing of political strategy.
Despite his contributions, Mr. Soros said he thought money in politics should be reduced. He gave $18 million last year to overhauling the finance system, but said he saw no contradiction between that and the millions he is giving this year.
"I play by the rules that prevail," he said. "I've got a bevy of lawyers making sure that I do. At the same time, I'm in favor of improving the rules."
Don't you just love watching these billionaires (Soros and Terry Heinz) throw their money away?
A perfect illustration of liberalism. He has spent millions trying to defeat Bush yet Bush still leads. His solution? Just spend more money. Maybe he needs a job with the department of education.
Hey! Soros is a great guy! Just read about some of the swell things he's done for society.
Soros found guilty of insider trading
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/2594273.stmFriday, 20 December, 2002, 20:01 GMT
Billionaire financier and philanthropist George Soros has been fined 2.2m euros (£1.4m; $2.3m) for insider trading.
A Paris court found Mr Soros guilty of profiting from inside knowledge of a 1988 takeover bid for Societe Generale, a French bank.
The man who broke the Bank of England
Sunday, 6 December, 1998, 20:38 GMT
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/the_economy/229012.stm
This week sees the arrival in Britain of George Soros - the international speculator who now aims to reform global capitalism. He will be addressing the House of Commons Treasury Select Committee, and giving a number of press interviews, on the dangers of unregulated free markets.
Maybe he is guilty of pushing oil up to $50.00 per barrel.
Among some of the ways Soros made his billions is through currency speculation. In other words, he is one of those evil currency traders that the Democrats love to hate.
Soros made billions of dollars speculating against the British Pound and Britain's central bank the exchequer. He cost the Brits billions of pounds and disrupted the British economy for years through it.
He now has taken a huge short position on the US dollar.!!!!! He is helping the Democrats to win as an investment strategy, he wants the US dollar to fail. He is scum not a philanthropist.
With any luck, he'll be sent back with a "Postage Due" stamp on his forehead. Soros oughta be good for a couple of polling points for W, if he's able do draw a crowd of more than a bunch of kool-aid drinkers.
You gotta lurve these guys. They don't know when to shut up.
Beware of the one world socialist and who they support. They never act in the sole interest of the USA.
??
Now, who will come to hear him, other than extremists or freeloaders looking for some cash? Who does Soros think he is, Billy Graham?
You forgot the BARF warning.
Nothing written about Soros destroying the pound sterling or toppling governments elsewhere with his cash to install governments favorable to him.
The media still does not understand that they are not the prime outlet for news. Balance it or cease to exist NYT.
I'M CERTAINLY GLAD WE PASSED **CAMPAIGN FINANCE REFORM** SO RICH PEOPLE CAN'T INFLUENCE ELECTIONS!!! < /sarcasm >
How do we know this is true? Sources and all that. If so, Drudge, Hannity and Rush should know this now that Soros is going public on a campaign tour.
"Maybe he is guilty of pushing oil up to $50.00 per barrel."
He has already said (and I can't find it!!) that he would do everything to affect the markets before the election if it looks like Bush will win! After seeing the stuff he pulled in Britain, I suppose it's possible he could affect things just a little. Not sure how that all works...where the stock brokers on FR when you need them?
I wonder how much money Soros has donated to, say, relieving famine in Africa? Taking care of the homeless? His local church? (har har)
Well, I for one am glad that he is at least pumping that money into the economy, creating jobs etc. A strong economy will contribute to a Bush victory. ;)
He needs a better travel agent.
Sore-a$$ needs a thorough b!tch-slapping.
I think Soros and TeRAYza should join forces on a speaking tour. I can think of nothing the average American would rather hear than these two foriegn accents droning on about who they should vote for. They sound like Cononel Klink and Nurse Diesel.
Bingo...
The Chi-coms are also threatening to withdraw from the US dollar and go Euro and hard assets If oil follows Soros should be very happy shorting the USD...I believe he is also a big silver trader?
No. He's guilty of pushing the dollar down to 1/50th of a barrel of oil.
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