Soros pledges $500 million to help migrants

Billionaire investor George Soros announced in a Wall Street Journal op-ed Tuesday that he will devote $500 million to causes that “address the needs of migrants, refugees and host communities.”

{mosads}Soros lauded recent initiatives by President Obama and private-sector leaders to address the migrant crisis.

“In response, I have decided to earmark $500 million for investments that specifically address the needs of migrants, refugees and host communities,” he wrote. 

“I will invest in startups, established companies, social-impact initiatives and businesses founded by migrants and refugees themselves,” he continued. “Although my main concern is to help migrants and refugees arriving in Europe, I will be looking for good investment ideas that will benefit migrants all over the world.”

Soros said that he will make the investments through his nonprofit, the Open Society Foundations, and use any profits to fund the organization’s programs that support migrants and refugees.

“As longtime champions of civil society, we will be focused on ensuring that our investments lead to products and services that truly benefit migrants and host communities,” he wrote.

“I hope my commitment will inspire other investors to pursue the same mission.”

Soros’s op-ed came the same day the White House announced that U.S. businesses pledged more than $650 million to aid the world’s refugees, ahead of a major summit on the refugee crisis at the United Nations General Assembly in New York City.