DAVOS, Switzerland — George Soros says he’s injecting $1 billion into a new university network that the 89-year-old billionaire investor calls the “most important and most enduring project of my life.”
“And I would like to see it realized while I am still around,” he told journalists on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.
Soros, a vociferous critic of U.S. President Trump, announced the plans at the end of a speech to reporters during which he criticized Trump as a “con man,” the “ultimate narcissist” and a “climate denier.”
The philanthropist who made his billions in the markets, also reiterated his criticisms of other alleged autocrats. He branded as dictators both Chinese President Xi Jinping and Prime Minister Viktor Orban of Hungary – Soros’ native country.
Aside from the invective, Soros presented his plans for the Open Society University Network. His office said OSUN would pull together higher-education networks worldwide with “in-person and online discussions” – and will look for partners.
The network will be built around Soros’ Central European University and Bard College, north of New York City.
“To demonstrate our commitment to OSUN, we are contributing $1 billion to it,” he said. “But we can’t build a global network on our own; we will need partner institutions and supporters from all around the world to join us in this enterprise.”
“I consider OSUN the most important and enduring project of my life and I should like to see it implemented while I am still around,” Soros said.
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