Associated Press
- The billionaire investor George Soros is known for making a series of predictions across topics as diverse as social-media networks, the Chinese economy, and Iranian politics.
- Markets Insider examined eight of Soros’ predictions, as well as the outcomes.
- Visit MarketsInsider.com for more stories.
The billionaire investor George Soros is not shy about making predictions, in financial markets or otherwise.
Soros is an investor of almost mythical status, having accumulated a fortune of nearly $40 billion from trading across currency, equity, and fixed-income markets. He started the Quantum Fund in 1973 before returning all outside capital in 2011 to focus solely on managing his own money.
Soros also has a great interest in politics, having donated the majority of his fortune to the Open Society Foundations, which he establish to promote democracy and human rights across the world.
"Once we realize that imperfect understanding is the human condition there is no shame in being wrong, only in failing to correct our mistakes," from "Soros on Soros: Staying Ahead of the Curve."
Markets Insider highlights eight of Soros’ predictions — and their outcomes — below:
Democrats will win 2018 in a ‘landslide’
Associated Press
Date: January 2018
Prediction: Soros predicted a major win for the Democrats in the 2018 elections.
"I give President Trump credit for motivating his core supporters brilliantly, but for every core supporter, he has created a greater number of core opponents who are equally strongly motivated," said the investor at the World Economic Forum.
"That is why I expect a Democratic landslide in 2018."
Outcome: Kind of correct.
The Democrats took back control of the House, gaining 41 seats.
Nancy Pelosi reclaimed the title of Speaker of the House, but the Republicans maintained control of the Senate, picking up two seats.
Soros also predicted that Trump would not be re-elected in 2020, which remains to be seen.
Source: georgesoros.com
Bitcoin is a bubble
Reuters
Date: January 2018
Prediction: Soros slammed cryptocurrencies as bubbles and derided bitcoin in particular.
"Cryptocurrency is a misnomer and is a typical bubble, which is always based on some kind of misunderstanding," Soros said.
"Bitcoin is not a currency because a currency is supposed to be a stable store of value and the currency that can fluctuate 25% in a day can’t be used for instance to pay wages because wages drop by 25% in a day. It’s a speculation. Based on a misunderstanding."
Outcome: Correct.
Bitcoin plunged 70% to a low of $3,136 in December 2018. It has since made somewhat of a recovery, more than doubling off its low, and now trades just below $8,000.
Source: Forbes
The ‘days are numbered’ for Google and Facebook
Reuters
Date: January 2018
Prediction: Facebook and Google will face a reckoning.
"Facebook and Google effectively control over half of all Internet advertising revenue," the 87-year-old told diners during a speech.
"They claim that they are merely distributors of information. The fact that they are near-monopoly distributors makes them public utilities and should subject them to more stringent regulations, aimed at preserving competition, innovation, and fair and open universal access."
Outcome: Somewhat correct.
While both Facebook and Google still exist, both companies have come under severe pressure for privacy concerns related to their business models.
Facebook, in particular, has come under attacks from Congress for the way it was used as part of Russia’s interference in the 2016 presidential election.
The company’s stock fell nearly 44% from its July 2018 high before recovering in 2019.
Source: georgesoros.com
See the rest of the story at Business Insider
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Source: Business Insider – areddy@businessinsider.com (Arjun Reddy)