Hungarian-born billionaire George Soros lost nearly $1 billion in a matter of weeks following Donald Trump's election victory over Hillary Clinton in November.
Soros, the deep-pocketed liberal mega donor who is estimated to be worth about $25 billion, took the loss following the stock market's rally after the presidential election, the Wall Street Journal reported Thursday.
"Mr. Soros was cautious about the market going into November and became more bearish immediately after Mr. Trump's election, according to people close to the matter," the Journal wrote. "The stance proved a mistake–the stock market has rallied on expectations that Mr. Trump's policies will boost corporate earnings and the overall economy."
After losing the near $1 billion in funds, Soros then exited a number of his bets in the later portion of 2016 to avoid taking a further hit.
"The broader portfolio held by Mr. Soros' firm performed better, posting profits before and after the election from long-held investments in sectors including financials and industrials, according to people familiar with the firm," the Journal noted. "Those gains helped Soros Fund Management gain about 5 percent on the year."
Soros also lost millions aiding failed Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton.
Soros poured nearly $20 million into outside pro-Clinton groups throughout the 2016 election cycle, according to data from the Center for Responsive Politics.