Billionaire Soros fined for insider trading

Billionaire investor George Soros was fined €2.1m by a Paris court today for insider trading.

The fine is the same amount the Hungarian-born magnate was accused of having made from buying stocks at French bank Societe Generale with insider knowledge 14 years ago.

Soros has amassed a fortune currently worth €11bn by speculating in financial markets.

The 72-year-old, earned both admiration and scorn through his Quantum Fund, which earned 31% a year over its 32 years.

He achieved the stunning gains mostly through speculating in foreign currencies – a risky game that can wreak economic havoc.

In 1992, he earned €937m in a single day by betting – correctly – that the pound would fall in value.

The fine was in line with the request by prosecutors.

Soros, the president of Soros Fund Management, denies having privileged information. He was not in court today.

In court testimony in November, Soros said: “I have been in business all my life, and I think I know what is insider trading and what isn’t.”

Societe Generale was privatised in 1987. A year later, its share price went up during an unsuccessful takeover bid.

Soros was accused of having obtained insider information before the abortive corporate raid pushed up the stock price.