Billionaire George Soros cut his firm\u2019s investments in U.S. stocks by more than a third in the first quarter and bought a $264 million stake in the world\u2019s biggest bullion producer Barrick Gold Corp.<\/p>\n
The value of Soros Fund Management\u2019s publicly disclosed holdings dropped by 37 percent to $3.5 billion as of the end of the last quarter, according to a government filing Monday. Soros acquired 1.7 percent of Barrick, making it the firm\u2019s biggest U.S.-listed holding. Soros also disclosed owning call options on 1.05 million shares in the SPDR Gold Trust, an exchange-traded fund that tracks the price of gold.<\/p>\n
Soros, who built a $24 billion fortune through savvy wagers on markets, has warned of risks stemming from China\u2019s economy, arguing its debt-fueled economy resembles the U.S. in 2007-08, before credit markets seized up and spurred a global recession. In January, the former hedge fund manager turned philanthropist said a hard landing<\/a> in China was \u201cpractically unavoidable,\u201d adding that such a slump would worsen global deflationary pressures, drag down stocks and boost U.S. government bonds.<\/p>\n Soros sold a stake in Level 3 Communications Inc. which was worth $173 million as of Dec. 31 and a holding in Dow Chemical Co. that was worth $161 million. The family office also divested its stakes in Endo International Plc and Delta Air Lines Inc.<\/p>\n