Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban is already taking aim at Alex Soros, the heir to the financial and political empire of his father, George.
The 92-year-old billionaire announced earlier in June that he would be turning over control of his vast empire to his son, Alex, aged 37. The Soros son describes himself as “more political” than his father, and now controls a $25 billion empire.
Soros 2.0https://t.co/RcysjQ92xw pic.twitter.com/CYBMFrKjiy
— Orbán Viktor (@PM_ViktorOrban) June 12, 2023
The elder Soros, who was born in Hungary, has been a longtime target of scorn for Orban and his allies in government and media. The prime minister, who has become a kind of model of leadership for American nationalists, is shifting his ire towards the younger Soros in light of the weekend’s news.
“Soros handed over the leadership of his empire to his son, who dictates an even tougher pace than he does,” Orban told a state radio show Friday. He alleged the Soros family is “preparing to incite the migrants” and blamed Alex for a European Union refugee resettlement deal reached earlier in June, according to France24.
Orban’s allies have began applying pressure, too. Tamas Fritz of the Alapjogokert Kozpont institute told a pro-government media outlet the younger Soros will be “more radical” than his father and push “a world government, mandatory vaccination, or abortion.”
Another pro-Orban media figure, Daniel Deak, argued Soros wants to “break our homeland.” Other conservative figures circulated rumors Alex Soros might be gay, and that he wants to promote a radical LGBTQ agenda. (RELATED: ‘He Must Be Stopped’: Jewish Conservatives Launch ‘Jews Against Soros’ Coalition)
The younger Soros is seemingly embracing the persona painted by his opponents, telling the Wall Street Journal on Sunday that he wants to further advance abortion access, voting rights and gender equity. He donated $700,000 to the Biden Victory Fund ahead of the 2020 election, and has visited the White House at least six times since. By comparison, his father spent roughly $178 million on Democratic candidates during the 2022 midterm elections.