George Soros: Net Worth

George Soros had a net worth of $26 billion as of September 2015, making him the 21st wealthiest person in the world, according to Forbes. Because of his humble upbringing in pre-war Hungary, Soros ranks a perfect ten out of ten on Forbes “Self-Made Score,” meaning he earned the entirety of his fortune.

But Soros’ position on the charts of top billionaires list may be in danger from the tax man. Soros Fund Management, which manages the bulk of his fortune, has amassed roughly $13 billion of its assets under management thanks to generous tax deferrals that the United States allowed hedge funds until 2008.

What does George Soros pay in taxes?

Those deferrals allowed Soros to postpone paying taxes on the fees paid by his hedge fund clients and to reinvest them in his fund. That loophole allowed Soros’ earnings to continue to grow tax-free in the markets. The problem is that Congress closed the loophole, and everyone who used it over the years will have to pay their deferred taxes as of 2017.

Given that Soros operates out of New York, and occupies the highest tax bracket, he would have to pay state and city taxes of 12%, plus 3.8% on investment income for Obamacare. All of that is after he pays the Federal government 39.6%.

Some estimates put Soros’ deferred tax bill at roughly $6.7 billion. Soros is an avid supporter of liberal causes and a vocal proponent of higher taxes and increased government spending and regulation. So it will be interesting to see how he handles giving such a large portion of his own wealth to the IRS.

Soros, up to this point, has put his money where his mouth is when it comes to politics. He spent $3,763,400 on Democratic candidates in the 2014 election season. His son pitched in another $1.7 million. Some estimates put the amount of money Soros and his foundations have contributed to lobbying for left-leaning causes between 1998 and 2010 at more than $12 million. While that pales in comparison to the more than $50 million the Koch brothers have contributed to lobbying on behalf of right-leaning causes during the same period, it is nonetheless a massive amount of money.  

One way Soros may attempt to hand over less of his fortune to the federal government is through his charitable endeavors. Over the years, Soros reportedly gave more than $8 billion to his foundations.

Soros' Charitable Work

In 2012, Soros’ Open Society Foundation awarded more than $364 million in grants to 3,300 organizations, plus another $14 million to 850 individuals. In 2009, Soros donated $100 million to help Central and Eastern Europe recover from the impact of the world financial crisis.

His Open Society Foundation is a main recipient of that fortune, and it seems that it will likely to continue its work for a long time. In 2011, the foundation entered into a 30-year lease for the 152,000-square-foot Argonaut building on West 57th Street in Manhattan. The building had previously been home to General Motors Co.'s (GM) New York City headquarters.

In addition to his $9.8 million mansion and compound in Katonah, New York, Soros’ family regularly appear in the New York City real estate transactions. In 2014, his ex-wife put her Upper East Side townhouse on the market for $31 million, and his daughter listed her Greenwich Village townhouse for $25 million. The year before, his son, an artist, put his NoLita townhouse up for sale for just over $10 million.