George Soros

The Financier

Sebastian Mallaby

GEORGE SOROS BECAME A FINANCIAL SPECULATOR at a time when finance and speculation barely existed. In the 1950s, the currency markets—scene of Soros’s most memorable triumphs—were in a state of suspension: the value of the dollar was pegged to gold, and other currencies were pegged to the dollar. Most other speculative forums were similarly closed. Interest rates were regulated. Capital controls restrained traders from charging across borders. The markets for bonds and derivatives were shadows of their future selves. Even buying plain-vanilla shares in corporations could be a cumbersome business: an investor often had to find a willing counterparty and a mutually acceptable price “by appointment.” And yet, in ...