Soros believes a British vote to leave the European Union could severely damage living standards and trigger a plunge in the British pound bigger than on Black Wednesday nearly 24 years ago.
Now on the eve of one of the biggest referendum votes in England's history, George Soros has slithered out from the darkness with his predictions.
George Soros
said on Monday he saw Russia emerging as a global power as the European Union collapses, in much the same way as the EU flourished when the Soviet Union started falling.
Soros added that he felt "more than ever" that the EU's destiny hinged on Ukraine's future, speaking in London at an event hosted by the Open Russia, a Russian opposition movement founded by Kremlin critic Mikhail Khodorkovsky.
Soros believes a British vote to leave the European Union could severely damage living standards and trigger a plunge in the British pound bigger than on Black Wednesday nearly 24 years ago.
Writing in an opinion piece for the
Guardian newspaper on Tuesday, Soros said the pound could fall by at least 15% and possibly by more than 20%. When Britain crashed out of the European Exchange Rate Mechanism in September 1992, the currency lost 15% of its value. Britain's referendum on EU membership takes place on Thursday and the results are expected the following day.
Donald Trump protesters were paid $15 per hour by George Soros backed groups:
“I would expect this devaluation to be bigger and more disruptive," said Soros, adding: "To start off, (the pound) is almost certain to fall steeply and quickly if there is a vote to leave."
The European Exchange Rate Mechanism was a financial system used to reduce volatility in exchange rates. At the time, Soros’s Quantum Fund bet that the British currency was overvalued against Germany’s Deutsche mark currency, forcing the British government to pull the pound out of the system. He made a billion-pound profit, or about $1.5 billion. The incident happened on a Wednesday.
Soros said a fall in the pound in the event of "Brexit" — a British exit from the EU — was unlikely to bring a rise in manufacturing exports, which happened after 1992.
“If (the pound) fell to this level, then ironically one pound would be worth about one euro — a method of 'joining the euro' that nobody in Britain would want," he added.
Britain's Justice Secretary Michael Gove, a prominent campaigner for the "leave" campaign, said Soros had been wrong before. “If economic forecasters were as reliable as doctors or airline pilots then we’d all be billionaires,” he told BBC radio on Tuesday.
Speaking on London radio station LBC on Tuesday, Boris Johnson, also of the "leave" campaign, said he would apologize to the British people if the country votes for Brexit and there is a recession.
Prime Minister David Cameron urged Britons to vote to remain in the bloc in a speech outside his headquarters in Downing Street, two days before the referendum.
Saying "Brits don't quit," he appealed to older voters considering voting for Brexit, telling them to “think about the hopes and dreams of your children and grandchildren.”
“If we vote out, that’s it. It’s irreversible,” he said.
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