There is an ancient Roman proverb, Cui Bono ? This means, “Who benefits ? The meaning also implies that there may be subterfuge in the situation.
L. Cassius ille quem populus Romanus verissimum et sapientissimum iudicem putabat identidem in causis quaerere solebat ‘cui bono’ fuisset.
The famous Lucius Cassius, whom the Roman people used to regard as a very honest and wise judge, was in the habit of asking, time and again, ‘To whose benefit?’
Who is George Soros ?
To read his foundation web page, he is a benefactor of mankind. His superficial biography is one of a young man who sought freedom in the west.
Soros was born in Budapest, Hungary, in 1930. His father was taken prisoner during World War I and eventually fled from captivity in Russia to reunite with his family in Budapest. Soros was thirteen years old when Hitler’s Wehrmacht seized Hungary and began deporting the country’s Jews to extermination camps. In 1946, as the Soviet Union was taking control of the country, Soros attended a conference in the West and defected. He emigrated in 1947 to England, supported himself by working as a railroad porter and a restaurant waiter, graduated in 1952 from the London School of Economics, and obtained an entry-level position with an investment bank.
How did he make his fortune ? The foundation web site doesn’t say. We know, though.
He attacked the currency of the country which gave him refuge.
George Soros gained international notoriety when, in September of 1992, he risked $10 billion on a single currency speculation when he shorted the British pound. He turned out to be right, and in a single day the trade generated a profit of $1 billion – ultimately, it was reported that his profit on the transaction almost reached $2 billion. As a result, he is famously known as the “the man who broke the Bank of England.”
Soros is also famous for running the Quantum Fund, which generated an average annual return of more than 30% while he was at the helm. Along with the famous pound trade, Soros was also cited by some as the “trigger” behind the Asian financial crisis in 1997, as he had a large bet against the Thai baht.
He seems to do quite well by attacking national financial stability. Why should this concern us ?
His other biographical information tells us he is a “philanthropist.” What does that mean ?
The effort or inclination to increase the well-being of humankind, as by charitable aid or donations.
Where does attacking the national currencies of peaceful countries fall under that definition ? Philos is the Greek root for love and Anthropos is another root for man. Maybe we should call him a Philosoros.
Why does this matter ? Well, he is a major funder of the Democratic party and, especially, the left wing of the Democratic party. Some people are worried.
Why would a plutocrat with a history of currency manipulation be supporting left wing activists ?
One aspect of the Democrats’ policy positions is really puzzling. Why are they so adamantly opposed to domestic oil and gas production ? I know they are devoted to the global warming theory but they have not made any attempt to seek alternatives, like nuclear power. What is George Soros’ position on carbon dioxide and global warming ?
Well, he is on record supporting the Democrats’ position, even offering to donate a billion dollars and “I will also insist that the investments make a real contribution to solving the problem of climate change.” So there he is, on record.
Why then, is he the largest investor in Brazil’s massive offshore oil program ?
Petrobras, which until recently was little known outside oil circles, has launched a five-year, $174 billion project to provide platforms, rigs, support vessels and drilling systems to develop tens of billions of barrels of oil. Energy officials here project that Brazil — still an oil importer five years ago — will in the next decade have one of the world’s biggest oil reserves.
“It’s going to change the role of Brazil in the geopolitics of oil,” Petrobras’s president, José Sergio Gabrielli, said in an interview at the company’s headquarters in Rio de Janeiro. “We are going to become a much bigger producer.”
So, Brazil, unlike the US, is planning a massive drilling operation offshore. In fact, even if we belatedly decided to “drill, baby, drill” in our offshore oil fields, we could not do so as Brazil has long term leases on all the deep sea drill rigs for the next 10 years.
Who is the largest investor in this massive project ?
With a market capitalization of more than $220 billion, Petrobras is one of the world’s 10 biggest companies. Over the past two years, it has been the most frequently traded foreign company on the New York Stock Exchange, trade data show. Among investors bullish on Petrobras is George Soros, who last year made the oil company the largest single holding in his investment fund, according to Bloomberg.
Is this another of George’s ventures where he sells his country short, makes yet another fortune and retires to some small country that is safe and secure ? Are the Democrats that stupid ?
Tags: energy policy, financial, Soros
I read a few topics. I respect your work and added blog to favorites.
I find this troubling. The Left noisily derides the influence of money on all things, then we read about Soros’s machinations, and other stories such as David Gelbaum giving $100 million to the Sierra Club contingent on them staying neutral in the immigration debate.
The Left, willing tools of big money.
Soros has a history of predatory action. That worries me more than donations to radical causes.
I don’t know if it’s stupidity or intentional. A lot of the current crop of Democrats really do seem to want this country to fail. That makes sense especially since, as you’ve detailed so well, many Democrats live in that world of guilt for their wealth, they can only blame the US for it’s exceptionalism and desire to take it down.
Soros is, I think, a greedy old bastard who hates everyone except himself. We were such a rich target, why would he not go after the US?