When I had made more money than I needed for myself and my

The words of George Soros—“When I had made more money than I needed for myself and my family, I set up a foundation to promote the values and principles of a free and open society.”—carry the weight of both confession and calling. They reveal the transformation of wealth from private possession into public trust, from the pursuit of personal gain into the duty of service. Soros reminds us that riches alone do not ennoble a man; it is what he does with them that grants his life meaning. To hoard wealth is to bury it in darkness, but to release it into the world for the cause of freedom and openness is to turn it into a seed that multiplies for generations.

The ancients would have said that this is the true purpose of prosperity: not the gilded chamber of one family alone, but the strengthening of the polis, the commonwealth. For the wise understood that no man lives only for himself, and no fortune exists without the soil of society that made it possible. To reinvest in that soil, to defend the principles of liberty and openness, is to secure not only one’s own legacy but the flourishing of countless others. Soros, raised in the shadow of tyranny, understood from experience that without a free society, wealth itself is fragile, and life itself is diminished.

History gives us many echoes of this truth. Consider the example of Andrew Carnegie, the steel magnate of America, who after building one of the greatest fortunes of his age declared that “the man who dies thus rich dies disgraced.” He poured his resources into libraries, universities, and institutions of learning, believing that knowledge was the surest safeguard of freedom. Like Soros, he recognized that the value of wealth lies not in possession, but in its power to uplift humanity. His libraries became sanctuaries of the open society, where men and women of every class could educate themselves and rise.

Soros’s words are also rooted in the memory of oppression. As a boy in Hungary, he lived under the shadow of Nazi occupation and later under Soviet rule. He saw firsthand what happens when societies are not open—when truth is crushed, when freedom is denied, when power dictates without question. From this soil of suffering, his conviction was born: that the greatest gift wealth could give was the defense of societies where liberty, transparency, and pluralism were not luxuries, but rights. His foundation, therefore, was not an ornament of vanity but a bulwark against the return of tyranny.

This teaching carries within it a challenge for all who prosper. Wealth is not evil in itself, but it is a test. The test asks: will you consume all for yourself and your lineage, or will you see beyond, to the larger family of humanity? Soros chose the latter, understanding that the measure of abundance is not what one keeps, but what one gives. The free and open society is fragile and must be nourished by those with means, lest it wither under the weight of indifference or the threat of authoritarianism.

The lesson for us is this: when you have more than you need, you are responsible for more than yourself. Not all can build great foundations, but all can practice generosity in measure with their means. One may give wealth, another time, another wisdom. What matters is that we use what we have not only for our own comfort, but to strengthen the bonds of freedom and justice in the world around us. For the open society is not the gift of governments alone; it is the work of every citizen who invests in it.

Practically, this means examining our own lives. Ask: what resources—small or great—do I possess that could be used to expand freedom, to protect truth, to nurture openness? Support institutions that defend knowledge, encourage honest discourse, and uplift the marginalized. Give to schools, to libraries, to causes that keep the public square alive. And beyond giving, live the values of openness yourself: listen, argue, welcome, and protect the dignity of all voices. In doing so, you mirror the deeper meaning of Soros’s choice.

Thus, his words become not only a reflection of one man’s journey, but a torch handed down through time: “I set up a foundation to promote the values and principles of a free and open society.” Take this torch, and let it light your own path. For though wealth may differ, the duty remains the same: to use what we have not for the narrow circle of self, but for the wide horizon of humanity, where freedom, openness, and justice may endure.