George Soros’s support for radical-leftist Barack Obama came early. In 2004, his family donated $60,000 to help Obama win a seat in the United States Senate. Mark Malloch-Brown wrote that “Soros’ contribution signaled that Obama could attract serious money, so it served as a tipping point.”
In 2008, Soros gave Obama $5 million to help him win the presidency. Soros reportedly felt snubbed after Obama took office, but he still had many dealings with the Obama administration. In 2012, Soros sponsored the super pac American Bridge, a group that researches opposition candidates for Democrats, he donated $1 million to Obama’s reelection bid and another $500,000 to other Democrats.
The links between Soros and Obama’s State Department are especially visible. In 2016, the State Department gave $8.8 million to East West Management Institute, a Soros organization. Soros reportedly used the money to fund judicial projects in Albania, which critics say helped Albania’s government reduce the independence of its judiciary. A 2017 report said that the State Department frequently consulted with Soros’s Open Society Foundations regarding Albania.
Soros installed Patrick Gaspard as president of the Open Society Foundations (2017–2020). Gaspard has been close to Obama for years and was executive director of the Democratic National Committee (2011–2013) before being appointed U.S. ambassador to South Africa (2013–2016). Some suspected Gaspard resigned last year because Joe Biden was considering him for a cabinet position.
Soros-Obama links may also be found in the Department of Justice. Alan Dershowitz, formerly an attorney for President Donald Trump, said last year that he had evidence that President Obama told the Federal Bureau of Investigation to investigate someone on Soros’s behalf. Soros gave large financial contributions to sponsor several district attorney elections in 2016.
Soros made major financial contributions to the presidential campaigns of Hillary Clinton in 2016 and Joe Biden in 2020, both of whom were Obama cabinet officials and promised to continue his legacy. Soros was co-chair for the Ready for Hillary super pac and, according to OpenSecrets.org, gave Clinton $10,556,793. Soros gave at least $500,000 for Joe Biden’s campaign.