Now Soros, a storied financial and political speculator, says another of his bets is about to pay off: more than $15 million against President Bush.
http://www.usatoday.com/news/politicselections/nation/president/2004-06-01-soros-cover_x.htm

The Hungarian-born billionaire, who had vowed to spend more if necessary to deny the president re-election, says he's contributed enough to achieve his goal. "There probably will be some further contributions, but I don't expect any substantial increase," he says in an interview. "Large numbers of people are beginning to see the Bush administration in the same light as I do. Frankly, I don't think I'll need to do a lot more. ... I now take the defeat of Bush more or less for granted."

"I don't have a vendetta," he says. "Bush is a figurehead and was elected as a public face. He fills a role. It's the forces behind him that I consider to be sinister," including Vice President Cheney and Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld.

The president's concern is understandable. Soros has been called the only man with his own foreign policy and the ability to implement it. The joke goes that he merely does what the government would do if it had the money.

Soros may become a campaign issue even if he makes no more contributions. A New York Post editorial termed his Columbia speech "a noxious diatribe" that was "prominently featured on the Al-Jazeera Web site." Fox News talk show host Bill O'Reilly last month described him as "a left-wing extremist" and promised, "We're going to stay on Soros. ... People will know about this guy before the election."