Billionaire investor George Soros has warned the global economic system could collapse and riots on the streets of America are on the way.
The 81-year-old said he’d rather survive than stay rich as the world faces an ‘evil’ period and Europe fights a ‘descent into chaos and conflict’.
He has backed the euro, bought $2billion in European bonds and insisted the economic climate is similar to the 1930s Great Depression.
Warnings: George Soros said he'd rather survive than stay rich as the world faces an 'evil' period and Europe fights a 'descent into chaos and conflict'
‘The euro must survive because the alternative - a breakup - would cause a meltdown that Europe, the world, can’t afford,’ he told Newsweek.
‘The situation is about as serious and difficult as I’ve experienced in my career. We are facing now a general retrenchment in the developed world.’
His warnings came as U.S. stocks dipped on Tuesday, with talks to resolve Greece's debt crisis faltering and threatening a five-day winning streak.
Greece moved closer to the possibility of a chaotic default after euro zone officials rejected a final offer from the country's private bondholders.
Mr Soros, known as the ‘the man who broke the Bank of England’ after he made $1billion when Britain's pound crashed in 1992, had more warnings.
‘The best-case scenario is a deflationary environment,’ he told Newsweek. ‘The worst-case scenario is a collapse of the financial system.’
Support: Mr Soros has backed the Euro, bought $2billion in European bonds and insisted the economic climate is similar to the 1930s Great Depression
The veteran financer added that ‘it’s very hard to know how you can be right’ after all the problems associated with the ‘boom years’ before now.
'The euro must survive because the alternative - a breakup - would cause a meltdown'
George Soros
Mr Soros compared the economic crisis to the collapse of the Soviet Union and said people do not fully understand what is happening.
He told Newsweek a euro collapse could ‘revive the political conflicts that have torn Europe apart over the centuries’ and increase racism.
The European bonds he bought were mostly Italian and from ex-Goldman Sachs chief Jon Corzine’s now-collapsed securities firm MF Global.
Investments: Mr Soros bought European bonds from the now-collapsed securities firm MF Global, run by ex-Goldman Sachs chief Jon Corzine (pictured)
Meanwhile on Tuesday, U.S. central bank the Federal Reserve opened a two-day meeting that is expected to end with a signal that interest rates will be held near zero into 2014.
'The situation is about as serious and difficult as I’ve experienced in my career'
George Soros
Mr Soros, based in Manhattan, New York, is known to make his money on long-term solid share choices and avoids investing in gold.
He supports the Occupy Wall Street movement and claims the response to potential unrest could be worse than the riots.
‘It will be an excuse for cracking down and using strong-arm tactics to maintain law and order,’ Mr Soros told Newsweek.
He is also a Democratic supporter and believes President Barack Obama will ‘surprise’ the country by winning the 2012 general election.
Backing: Mr Soros is a Democratic supporter and believes President Barack Obama (pictured) will 'surprise' the country by winning the 2012 general election
But he survived a ‘personally much more threatening situation’ than the current crisis when he escaped the Holocaust in Hungary in the 1940s.
'The worst-case scenario is a collapse of the financial system'
George Soros
His personal life was also challenged last year when his long-time girlfriend Adriana Ferreyr sued him for allegedly causing her distress and assaulting her.
However he slammed her lawsuit as ‘riddled with false charges and obviously an attempt to extract money’, reported Newsweek.
Mr Soros added that the European Union could still ‘regain its lustre’ and the U.S. may go some way to ‘actually strengthening the institution’.
IMF URGES FOCUS ON GROWTH AND REVISES DOWN GROWTH ESTIMATES
Forecast: The International Monetary Fund - headed by Christine Lagarde, pictured, predicts global growth of 3.25 per cent in 2012
In a separate report, world leaders were today urged to focus on growth more than budget cuts this year as fears deepened that recession in Europe will slow the global economy.
Global-lending organisation the International Monetary Fund (IMF) predicts global growth of 3.25 per cent in 2012, slower than the 4 per cent it projected in September.
In turn, the 17 nations that share the euro will shrink 0.5 per cent this year, compared to its forecast for 1.1 per cent growth four months ago.
Europe's recession should only have a modest impact on the U.S., which the IMF believes will grow by 1.8 per cent growth over the same period, unchanged from its September estimate.
But it warned against steep budget cuts, which it says will slow growth further and undermine market confidence, running against the push for budget cuts backed by Germany’s Angela Merkel.
It comes as the single currency fell back from three-week highs and world stocks stumbled as the latest setback in efforts to restructure Greek debt triggered more fears about the region’s outlook.
By Simon Tomlinson
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2091190/George-Soros-predicts-U-S-riots-insists-Euro-saved-global-economy-collapse.html#ixzz1kWUGhQIV
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