George Soros passes $25bn empire to son Alex, who is "more political"

Billionaire philanthropist George Soros has handed over the running of his $25bn financial and charitable empire to his son Alex. The family's wealth has been directed to support democracy-building in dozens of countries. Alex, a 37-year-old history graduate, is the second-youngest of his five children. He took over at the Open Society Foundations (OSF) as chairman in December and is also in charge of his father's "super PAC" a US mechanism to direct funds to political parties. The OSF now spends about $1.5bn a year backing liberal causes, educational organisations and human rights in more than 120 countries.