Financier George Soros has lost nearly US$1bn as stock markets have rallied since Donald Trump’s shock election as US President.
According to the Wall Street Journal, the veteran fund manager bet heavily against equities rising sharply in the aftermath of Trump’s victory in November.
Stock markets had been depressed before and after the surprise US presidential election result as investors worried about the consequences of a Trump victory.
But after the initial falls, equity benchmarks in New and York and London have pushed up to record highs driven by the President-elect’s promises for a vast infrastructure spending programme and business-friendly policies.
However, the WSJ said the losses of Hungarian-born Soros – who famously made a billion betting against the pound remaining in the European Exchange Rate Mechanism in 1992 – could have been worse if the investor had not exited some of his trades in late 2016.
Soros, has been a vocal critic of Donald Trump. In late November he pledged $10mln from his Open Society Foundation, which promotes liberal values around the world, to help combat the rise in reported hate crimes since the election.
Trump will take up office next week, with his inauguration set for January 20.