The latest target of the Trump administration is one of the world’s most influential foundations, funded by one of the right wing’s foremost boogeymen: George Soros.
Mr. Soros, a hedge fund billionaire who was born in Hungary, has, over the last four decades, built a sprawling political and philanthropic empire that seeks to advance a liberal, democratic agenda around the globe. On Thursday, The New York Times reported that the Justice Department was pushing for a federal investigation of the central entity founded by Mr. Soros, the Open Society Foundations, on the purported grounds that Mr. Soros had been fomenting political violence.
Mr. Soros’s group said on Thursday that the accusations were “without evidence” and “politically motivated attacks on civil society.”
What is the Open Society Foundations?
The Open Society Foundations is effectively a network of several philanthropic entities, including political groups, with offices in more than a dozen countries. Total assets under management of Mr. Soros’s entities are about $23 billion.
Mr. Soros’s groups say they have spent more than $24 billion to date, including $1.2 billion in 2024. The largest share of giving last year, $242 million, went to causes in the United States.
Mr. Soros, a Jewish Holocaust survivor who lived through Communist Hungary, made a name for himself in finance with a bet against the Bank of England. His first foray into major giving was to fund scholarships in South Africa during apartheid, but he established himself in philanthropy by funding democratization efforts in post-Soviet Europe.
Mr. Soros’s work in the United States began in the mid-1990s, with a focus on causes like drug decriminalization and criminal justice issues.
Why is Trump targeting the foundation?
Since his November election, Mr. Trump has sought to attack the left’s infrastructure, targeting entities including ActBlue, the Democratic Party’s online fund-raising powerhouse, and law firms that have done work for Democrats.
There are few more reliable pillars in Democratic fund-raising like Mr. Soros. In addition to his nonpartisan philanthropy, Mr. Soros and his related organizations are together among the country’s largest Democratic donors. Mr. Soros was extraordinarily active in big-money politics before the Citizens United decision by the Supreme Court allowed companies to spend unlimited money on elections, but that 2010 ruling turbocharged his giving.
Mr. Soros’s defenders have long believed that antisemitic tropes are also a part of what has made him such a target on the right.
He has been blamed for actions that include athletes kneeling during the national anthem, protests of Supreme Court nominations and riots over the killing of George Floyd. In 2018, Mr. Soros was falsely accused of financing caravans of migrants traveling northward from Central America, a flashpoint in that year’s midterm congressional elections.
Mr. Trump and other conservatives have frequently drawn attention to Mr. Soros’s work on criminal justice matters and his support for progressive prosecutors specifically. For example, when the Manhattan district attorney, Alvin L. Bragg, indicted him in 2023, Mr. Trump said he was “handpicked and funded by George Soros,” a reference to a donation from Mr. Soros to a group that had backed Mr. Bragg.
Mr. Soros’s aides have been steeling for weeks for the possibility that Mr. Trump would target their foundation as part of the president’s retribution campaign against his enemies, especially after the assassination of the right-wing activist Charlie Kirk.
Who are the key players at Open Society?
Mr. Soros turned 95 last month, and he has largely ceded control to one of his sons, Alex.
Alex Soros, who has a doctorate in history from the University of California, Berkeley, was in 2023 named the chair of the board at the Open Society Foundations. He has by and large continued his father’s work aiding liberal causes. He regularly posts photos with Democratic politicians on social media and this summer married Huma Abedin, the longtime Hillary Clinton aide.
Conservative critics point to past leaders at the foundation with deep ties to the Democratic Party. Patrick Gaspard, a former president of the Open Society Foundations, had previously served as executive director of the Democratic National Committee and director of the White House Office of Political Affairs under President Barack Obama.
Yet the current president of the foundation, Binaifer Nowrojee, is a human rights lawyer who worked for Human Rights Watch researching sexual violence during the genocide in Rwanda before joining O.S.F. more than 20 years ago.
Her predecessor, Mark Malloch Brown, was an administrator of the United Nations Development Program and served as a deputy secretary-general of the United Nations.
Theodore Schleifer is a Times reporter covering billionaires and their impact on the world.
Nicholas Kulish is an enterprise correspondent for The Times writing about philanthropy, wealth and nonprofits. Before that, he served as the Berlin bureau chief and an East Africa correspondent based in Nairobi, Kenya. He joined The Times as a member of the editorial board in 2005.
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