SOROS: The Unauthorized Biography, the Life, Times and Trading Secrets of the World’s Greatest Investor

In Soros: The Unauthorized Biography, renowned biographer and former Time reporter Robert Slater has looked behind closed doors to reveal the unique philosophy and investment strategies that have given this Hungarian-born billionaire enormous influence over world financial markets. This intimate and insightful biography examines SorosÕ extraordinary life, his outspoken opinions, and the hundreds of millions of dollars in philanthropy that have made George Soros an influential business, social, and political figure throughout Eastern Europe and the world.

Introduction:

Settled back in his high, leather chair behind an oval desk, George Soros gazed out the large windows to the left, taking in the breathtaking view of Central Park and the rush-hour activity some thirty-three floors below. He was thrilled to be once again part of The Game. Lately, when he entered the Soros Fund Management office in midtown Manhattan, Soros had begun to feel more like a visitor than the boss. But today he belonged. Today he could climb a mountain. Or break the bank. He was confident that he could still play The Game… and play it better than most. Maybe better than everyone.

So what if he spent most of his time in recent years traveling in faraway places? His operation had run smoothly since 1988, when he entrusted it to a much younger man with a glittering financial record, Stanley Druckenmiller. When Soros did show up at the office, he and Druckenmiller ran the place in tandem, even though they sometimes clashed over how to read the financial markets.

Ordinarily these days, though, Soros was more likely to be off in Eastern Europe or the former Soviet Union, helping to shape and nurture the philanthropic foundations he had established in the 1980s to turn those countries into models of democracy. Devoting all his energies for years to probing the financial markets, he had made all the money he would ever need. Now, in the autumn of his life, he sought to escape the office routine as much as possible. Now he preferred to huddle with his foundation staffs in Hungary or Romania, to slog through the muddy streets of Bosnia, to take part in adventure.

But today was no ordinary day. George Soros was about to lay down the biggest bet in financial history. His heart should have been pounding, he should have been pacing the floor, shouting nervously to terrified staff. But that was never his style. Only his mind was racing. He sat, a portrait of calm, asking himself the question he had always asked whenever he was about to jump in and make a splash. Is this the right thing to do? Am I going to drown? As he stared at the first flickering white lights of the city, Soros’s mind drifted a few thousand miles away. Would he be better off in London? He wasn’t entirely sure. Maybe today it didn’t matter.

Contents:

• The World’s Greatest Investor
• I Am God
• The Cellars of Budapest
• Like Freud or Einstein
• The Blind Leading the Blind
• Invest First and Investigate Later
• Putting My Money Where My Mouth Was Chapter 9 A Quantum Leap
• The Identity Crisis
• The Imperial Circle
• Killing of a Lifetime
• Philosophical Speculator
• A Cheap Price for Freedom
• An Urge to Reveal Oneself
• The Big Crash
• It Takes Courage To Be a Pig
• Taming the Snake
• “The One-Way Bet”
• Black Wednesday
• King of the Hedge Funds
• The Guru
• A Common Virus Known as Hubris
• I’m a Hungarian Jew
• The St. Valentine’s Day Massacre
• Mr. Soros Goes to Washington
• Richer Than 42 Countries

SOROS: The Unauthorized Biography, the Life, Times and Trading Secrets of the World's Greatest Investor By Robert Slater pdf