NEW YORK CITY: Billionaire investor-turned-philanthropist George Soros is ceding control of his $25-billion empire to a younger son, Alexander Soros, according to an exclusive interview with The Wall Street Journal published online on Sunday.

Soros' business holdings include his nonprofit Open Society Foundations, which is active in more than 120 countries around the world and funnels about $1.5 billion annually to groups such as those that back human rights and promote the growth of democracies around the world, according to its website.