George Soros

George Soros

Born in Budapest, Hungary, in 1930, George Soros is considered by many to be one of the world's greatest investors. A famous hedge fund manager, Soros managed the Quantum Fund, a fund that achieved an average annual return of 30% from 1970-2000. Besides his investing prowess, Soros is also known for his vast philanthropic activities, donating billions of dollars to various causes through the Soros Foundation.

Notes:

Soros is most famous for his single-day gain of US$1 billion on Sept 6, 1992, which he made by short selling the British pound. At the time, England was part of the European Exchange Rate Mechanism, a fixed exchange-rate system which included other European countries. The other countries were pressuring England to devalue its currency in relation to the other countries in the system or to leave the system. England resisted the devaluation, but with continued pressure from the fixed system and speculators in the currency market, England floated its currency and the value of the pound suffered.

By leveraging the value of his fund, Soros was able to take a $10 billion short position on the pound which made him US$1 billion. This trade is considered one of the greatest trades of all time.

See also: Currency, Fixed Exchange Rate, Floating Exchange Rate, GBP, Hedge Fund, Short Selling, Warren Buffett