All great points about Soros. Let me give another prospective about his name/brand. When studying abroad (mostly Eastern EU), Soros is the only name that stands out vis-a-vis a serious scholarship/grant award. His name is meaningful in the academia because he finances bright minds to study abroad, regardless of financial background or race.

He is Hungarian by origin, and he provides scholarships to kids to fromvarious countries & races based on merit.

I have never read his books, and I do not know much about his life……but his brand recognition is huge.