Alex Soros should deploy big bucks against climate change

Starting with agriculture will work well and not be controversial

- AMANDA LITTLE

When George Soros announced his plan to cede control of his philanthropic empire, his 37-year-old son Alex inherited a $25 billion war chest. In the US, Democrats cheered and Republicans sneered when the scion said he would be "more political" than his father in his leadership of family's Open Society Foundation, which for decades has funded causes from abortion rights to voting access and climate change.

There's no question that this young firebrand can wield influence over American politics and other endeavours. His father contributed to the fall of communism in Eastern Europe, 'broke' the Bank of England, committed hundreds of millions to fight racial inequality and is a big donor to Democratic campaigns. But the most effective path forward for the Soros heir would be to achieve his grand goals in a way that is less politically divisive, and he can start by focusing on a forgotten part of his father's portfolio that will play a big role in solving the climate crisis: agriculture.