Soros backs push for Hillary Clinton for US presidency
Billionaire adds his influence to unofficial Ready for Hillary campaign to back moves for her to run for the White House in 2016
Billionaire financier George Soros, a major Democratic donor, has signed on as co-chairman of financing for an effort to persuade Hillary Clinton to run for president in 2016, a spokesman said.
"George Soros is delighted to join more than one million Americans in supporting Ready for Hillary," Michael Vachon, Soros' political director, said. "His support for Ready for Hillary is an extension of his long-held belief in the power of grass-roots organising."
The Ready For Hillary political action committee (PAC) is the largest and best-funded independent group backing a potential Clinton candidacy.
The former United States Secretary of State, wife of former president Bill Clinton, would be widely viewed as the favourite for the Democratic presidential nomination if she decided to run.
Soros' pledged an initial US$25,000 which put him on the PAC's national finance council, along with several other major Democratic donors and officials, the group said.
The commitment represents an early engagement in the 2016 presidential race by Soros, a long-time backer of liberal causes.