The news agency\’s website carried a pre-drafted obituary of the wealthy investor, beginning: \”George Soros, who died XXX at age XXX, was a predatory and hugely successful financier and investor, who argued paradoxically for years against the same sort of free-wheeling capitalism that made him billions\”.
It goes on to describe Mr Soros, 82, as “an enigma, wrapped in intellect, contradiction and money\”. The obituary also focuses on his role as a philanthropist , pointing to the \”roughly $8bn he has given away through various charitable entities he controls\”.
Reuters\’ article also highlights Mr Soros\’ donations to liberal causes, stating “in a bid to stop Bush’s re-election, Soros donated $23.5m to more than 500 liberal and progressive groups during the 2003-2004 US election cycle”.
Reuters later wrote an clarification, which read: \”Reuters erroneously published an advance obituary of financier and philanthropist George Soros. A spokesman for Soros said that the New York-based financier is alive and well. Reuters regrets the error.\”
Still, Soros did get to read his own obituary which is a pleasure denied to most.
I think the net happiness of the world might be greater were he unable to read his obituary today.
Or is that a little mean?
He is indeed blessed. Very few people get to do that, though Jeffrey Bernard had the double pleasure of being invited to write part of his own for the Telegraph: “I was a sickly child etc.” I should think someone at Reuters will have to get their coat this morning. Seems a little harsh.
Of course Alfred Nobel famously read his own obituary, didn’t like the realisation that he would be remembered for his invention of weapons of great destruction, and so instituted the Nobel Prize.
I wonder if being called “predatory” will have a similar effect on Mr Soros.
(tho he already donates generously to charities I believe).
It’s not true that he has argued for years against the freewheeling capitalism that made him billions, is it? He has argued for years in favor of the massive state interventions that have made him billions when they inevitably fail.
Bernard Manning wrote his own obituary as well. It was dead funny.
Was not Sam Clemens an early pleasuree?
The tinfoil hatter lurking within me will never stop wondering about the timing of the great crash in the run up to the US presidential election. I’d love to know what Soros’s money was doing in the market at that time.
“tho he already donates generously to charities I believe”
While I’m a firm believer in his right to donate to causes he believes in, I would just like to mention that many of these charities aren’t quite the Cats Protection League sort of charity.
George Soros: Godfather of the Left”