Soros donates $18bn to Open Society Foundations
Billionaire hedge fund manager George Soros has donated $18bn to his Open Society Foundations, which promote democracy and human rights in over 120 countries. The donation, one of the largest ever transfers of wealth from a private individual to a single foundation, turns Open Society into the second-largest philanthropic organisation in the US, after the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. The gift has been made over several years, but was only revealed on Tuesday. Soros, a major donor to the Democrats, has become a target of criticism by the political right.
George Soros, the billionaire hedge fund manager and a major Democratic donor, has given $18 billion to his Open Society Foundations, one of the largest transfers of wealth ever made by a private donor to a single foundation.

The gift, made quietly over the past several years but disclosed only on Tuesday, has transformed Open Society into the second-biggest philanthropic organization in the United States, behind the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. It will also place Mr. Soros, a lightning rod for conservative critics, squarely in the middle of the social and political debates convulsing the country.

Founded by Mr. Soros more than 30 years ago, Open Society promotes democracy and human rights in more than 120 countries. In recent years, the organization has increased its attention on the United States, investing in programs to protect gays and lesbians and reduce abuses by the police.

The organization funded treatment centers during the 2014 Ebola outbreak, a center for Roma art and culture, and efforts to protect people in the United States from what it described as “a national wave of hate incidents” after the 2016 election. After that spike in hate crimes, Mr. Soros, 87, committed $10 million to preventing such violence.