Contributed by: filbert Wednesday, February 27 2008 @ 12:36 PM CST
Soros made his first billion in 1992 by shorting the British pound with leveraged billions in financial bets, and became known as the man who broke the Bank of England. He broke it on the backs of hard-working British citizens who immediately saw their homes severely devalued and their life savings cut drastically in comparative worth almost overnight.
When the Asian Financial Crisis of 1997 threatened to spread globally, George Soros was right in the thick of it. Soros was accused by the Malaysian Prime Minister of causing the collapse with his monetary machinations, and he was branded in Thailand as an “economic war criminal” who “sucks the blood from the people.” Right in the middle of this crisis, Soros dashed off his book, The Crisis of Global Capitalism, which demanded a “third way” toward economic stability.
Coincidentally, or not, during the height of the fears of worldwide recession, then President Clinton told the New York Times that he was proposing a “third way” between capitalism and socialism. Unfortunately for Soros, U.S. markets rebounded quickly, his predicted catastrophe was forestalled, and his brave new global economic plans receded for a bit.
This may have been to Soros’ own good, though, because he was by 1998 up to his neck in the collapse of the Russian ruble, and buying up valuable East European resources at fire-sale prices.
And why not?
He had already been widely proclaiming that it was his own machinations that brought down the Soviet Empire. When asked about his sphere of influence in the Soviets’ demise for a New Republic interview in 1994, Mr. Soros humbly replied that the author ought to report that “the former Soviet Empire is now called the Soros Empire.”
Scratch a socialist and what you find is just another thief. Soros is just better at his thievery than most.