20 years of "Black Wednesday" How George Soros toppled the Bank of England

The Bank then raised interest rates from 10 to 12 percent, in an attempt to lure investors into buying pounds and stabilizing the currency. A few hours later, the Bank had to announce interest rates of 15 percent.

Deutsche Welle, 15 september 2012
 

Some celebrate George Soros as the prophet of the financial markets, others see him as a ruthless stock market juggler. He himself prefers to paint a picture of a philanthropist who helps states identify their weak spots so they can eradicate flaws, and who uses these weak spots to accumulate more wealth for himself. Today, Forbes magazine estimates his fortune at more than 14 billion US dollars.
 

Born in 1936 in Hungary, where he studied economics, he had emigrated to the US with 5,000 dollars (3,800 euros) in his pocket
 

The Bank of England had to react and bought large amounts of pounds sterling to support its currency. But to no avail.
 

The Bank then raised interest rates from 10 to 12 percent, in an attempt to lure investors into buying pounds and stabilizing the currency. A few hours later, the Bank had to announce interest rates of 15 percent.

But Soros and his investors still didn’t take the bait. They just waited. At 7 p.m. the same day, the British Treasury announced that Britain was leaving the European Monetary System.

This day has since become known as ‘Black Wednesday’ in Great Britain’s history of finances. 

The intense devaluation of the British pound earned Soros a billion dollars. A legend was born.
 

Full text

George Soros' Plan to Save the Euro

 


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