< previous page | page_28 | next page > |
Page 28 whatever stocks appealed to them. Analysts were given $50 million to invest in a mini account under the Quantum umbrella.47 On August 10, 1999, a reorganization occurred. Former Bankers Trust treasurer Duncan Hennes became the firm's first-ever chief executive officer. This was largely to free up Druckenmiller's time from administrative detail so he could focus on trading and Quantum performance. Hennes reported directly to Soros and oversaw hiring, firing, compensation, and other aspects of running a business that included 200 employees and affiliated offices in Tokyo, Hong Kong, and London.48 PhilanthropyWhereas many of the other superstar hedge fund managers eventually got into philanthropy after they had made millions, Soros established his first trust the year he started Soros Fund Management. George Soros Charitable Trust was founded in 1969. When the fund reached $100 million in assets under management and his personal wealth was about $25 million in 1979, he determined that he had enough money. He came to the conclusion that what really mattered was an open society. With the aim to open up closed societies, Soros established the Open Society Fund. In the 1980s, Soros began to build his philanthropic empire. Initially he focused on Central and Eastern Europe, spreading money to support democracy in countries struggling to break from the old Soviet orbit. Later, with Russia adrift, he spent $100 million to help Soviet science and scientists survive the transition. The network of foundations covers over 30 countries, employing about 1,300 people. The causes focus on free media, political pluralism, and defending human rights. Soros expanded his philanthropic work in the United States in early 1996. In this country, he is concerned with the antithesis of state control—the abandonment of state responsibility. He feels the drug laws are ludicrous. He gave $15 million over five years to groups that oppose America's "war on drugs" or want to open the debate about drug policy. He says the "unintended consequences of the war, including the criminalization of a vast class of drug users, far outweigh the limited and costly success of interdiction." In 1996, he gave an ex- |
||
< previous page | page_28 | next page > |