Spain's king will have hip surgery for a third time

Spain's King Juan Carlos addresses the media next to Spanish Development Minister Ana Pastor (R) and Queen Sofia (L) after visiting the victims of a train crash at Clinico Universitario Hospital in Santiago de Compostela, northwestern Spain, July 25, 2013.

Credit: Reuters/Eloy Alonso

By Elisabeth O'Leary

MADRID | Fri Sep 20, 2013 1:23pm EDT

MADRID (Reuters) - Spain's King Juan Carlos will have hip surgery for a third time, the royal palace said on Friday, reviving speculation the ailing monarch may be close to abdicating.

The 75-year-old monarch, who walks with a cane and has appeared visibly more frail in recent months, has had five surgeries in the last two years. Both of his hips have been replaced and in March he had an operation on a spinal disc hernia.

"His Majesty will have to be operated on to replace his hip prosthesis which appears to be infected," royal place chief of staff Rafael Spottorno told a news conference. "The operation will take place in Madrid in the coming days."

Spottorno said that abdication was a personal decision for the king, but stressed that he had "at no moment" contemplated it.

The King, who helped guide Spain to democracy at the end of the Francisco Franco dictatorship in 1975, was long one of Europe's most popular monarchs, but a series of scandals have eroded public support for the royal family.

The king's son-in-law Inaki Urdangarin has been charged with tax fraud and embezzling 6 million euros ($8 million) in public funds, through his charitable foundation.

Last year, at the height of Spain's financial crisis when the country teetered on the verge of an international bailout, the king fell and broke his hip during a secret safari in Botswana.

Spaniards were outraged that the king - once loved for his common touch - was on an expensive trip at a time when one out of four of his subjects is unemployed.

The king's health, and speculation he would abdicate were top Twitter topics in Spain on Friday afternoon.

Doctors who have examined the king and are advising him on his operation said the monarch was in good shape despite his hip problems, which appeared to derive from an infection in the tissue around the left prosthesis.

There was a 1 to 2 percent chance of such infections developing, the doctors said.

"His general state is better than that of the average patients of his age that I operate on," Miguel Cabanela, a surgeon and hip specialist from the Mayo Clinic in the United States, told the news conference. "He is a vigorous man who is in good shape for his age."

Cabanela said the hip replacement could be carried out in one or two operations, and the recovery time could stretch from eight weeks to 6 months, depending on how many procedures were needed.

Earlier this year a poll showed that half of Spaniards thought the king should step down in favor of his son, Prince Felipe, 45, who has not been touched by scandal and still enjoys strong public favor.

(Additional writing by Sarah White; Editing by Fiona Ortiz and Toby Chopra)

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Billionaire Soros weds consultant in third marriage

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Soros weds consultant at his New York estate for his third marriage

1 of 3. George Soros and Tamiko Bolton are shown as they prepare to attend the reception at Museum of Modern Art (MOMA) in this handout photo released on September 20, 2013. Soros, the 83-year-old billionaire investor, philanthropist and active supporter of liberal political causes, is set to marry health care and education consultant Bolton on Saturday at his estate near New York City.

Credit: Reuters/Julie Skarratt Photography/Handout via Reuters

By Jennifer Ablan

NEW YORK | Sat Sep 21, 2013 3:39pm EDT

NEW YORK (Reuters) - George Soros, the 83-year-old billionaire investor, philanthropist and active supporter of liberal political causes, married health care and education consultant Tamiko Bolton on Saturday afternoon.

Soros and Bolton, 42, exchanged vows in a small ceremony at his Bedford, New York, estate, which Soros bought in 2003 from "Jurassic Park" author Michael Crichton. Federal judge Kimba Wood officiated at the non-denominational wedding, which was attended by members of the couple's families, including the groom's five children, a source familiar with the wedding told Reuters on Saturday.

For Soros, whose net worth is $20 billion according to Forbes, this will be his third marriage. It is Bolton's second.

Soros put a Graff wedding band on Bolton's finger during the half-hour ceremony, according to the source.

The exchange of vows will be followed by a reception, which begins at 4:30 p.m, with more than 500 guests at the Caramoor Center for Music and the Arts, the Westchester County complex known for its Italian Renaissance-inspired buildings and lush gardens.

Among the guests at the various events are World Bank President Jim Yong Kim and some foreign leaders, including Hendrik Toomas Ilves, president of Estonia; Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, president of Liberia; and Edi Rama, prime minister of Albania.

Also expected to attend are fellow titans of the hedge fund world, Paul Tudor Jones and Julian Robertson. From the U.S. political realm those invited include Minority Leader of the U.S. House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi of California and Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom of California, both Democrats.

On Friday night, the couple held a reception for 300 guests at the Museum of Modern Art in Manhattan for a preview of the new exhibition of works by Belgian painter Rene Magritte - "Magritte: The Mystery of the Ordinary, 1926-1938."

The honeymoon plans were not immediately disclosed.

Soros, who established one of the first hedge funds in 1969 and is probably best known for famously betting against the British pound in 1992, met Bolton at a dinner party in 2008. Their engagement was announced in August 2012.

Bolton, who was raised in California, is the daughter of a nurse and a retired naval officer. She graduated from the University of Utah and holds an MBA from the University of Miami.

Bolton has been a consultant and entrepreneur working in the fields of health and education. She started an Internet-based dietary supplement and vitamin sales company, and her most recent project was advising on development of a web-based yoga education platform.

The bride's dress was designed by U.S.-based, Lebanon-born Reem Acra, whose gowns have been worn on the red carpet by many stars, including Angelina Jolie and Jennifer Lopez.

The reception on Saturday night will feature Hungarian composer and conductor Iván Fischer, a family friend, who created a new arrangement for the occasion. It will be presented with the Budapest Festival Orchestra. Also, Cape Verdean Mayra Andrade will sing with the Harris Lane Orchestra. Andrade and Roma ensemble Via Romen will perform at a Sunday brunch.

In lieu of gifts, the couple has asked that donations be made to charities including Global Witness, Harlem Children's Zone, National Dance Institute, Planned Parenthood and the Roma Education Fund.

(Editing by Martin Howell and Gunna Dickson)

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Soros to marry for third time with three-day New York celebration

George Soros and Tamiko Bolton are shown as they prepare to attend the reception at Museum of Modern Art (MOMA) in this handout photo released on September 20, 2013. Soros, the 83-year-old billionaire investor, philanthropist and active supporter of liberal political causes, is set to marry health care and education consultant Bolton on Saturday at his estate near New York City.

Credit: Reuters/Julie Skarratt Photography/Handout via Reuters

By Jennifer Ablan

NEW YORK | Fri Sep 20, 2013 5:19pm EDT

NEW YORK (Reuters) - George Soros, the 83-year-old billionaire investor, philanthropist and active supporter of liberal political causes, is set to marry health care and education consultant Tamiko Bolton on Saturday at his estate near New York City.

Three days of festivities will begin Friday with a dinner followed by a reception at the Museum of Modern Art in Manhattan for a preview of the new exhibition, "Magritte: The Mystery of the Ordinary, 1926-1938" of works by Belgian painter Rene Magritte.

Soros and Bolton, 42, plan to exchange vows in a small ceremony on Saturday morning at the Bedford, New York estate, which Soros bought in 2003 from "Jurassic Park" author Michael Crichton. Kimba Wood, a federal judge, will perform the non-denominational ceremony, which will be attended by members of the couple's families, including his five children, a source familiar with the arrangements told Reuters.

The wedding ceremony will be followed by a reception on Saturday evening with more than 500 guests at an arts center in nearby Katonah. Guests at the various events include World Bank President Jim Yong Kim and some foreign leaders, including Hendrik Toomas Ilves, president of Estonia; Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, president of Liberia; and Edi Rama, prime minister of Albania.

Also expected to attend are fellow titans of the hedge fund world, Paul Tudor Jones and Julian Robertson. From the political realm those invited include Minority Leader of the U.S. House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi of California and Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom of California, both Democrats.

Soros, who established one of the first hedge funds in 1969 and is probably best known for his big bet against the British pound in 1992, met Bolton at a dinner party in 2008. Their engagement was announced in August 2012.

Bolton, who was raised in California, is the daughter of a nurse and a retired naval officer. She graduated from the University of Utah and holds an MBA from the University of Miami.

Bolton has been a consultant and entrepreneur working in the fields of health and education. She started an Internet-based dietary supplement and vitamin sales company, and her most recent project was advising on development of a web-based yoga education platform.

The bride's dress has been designed by U.S.-based, Lebanon-born designer Reem Acra, whose gowns have shown up on the red carpet on many stars, including Angelina Jolie and Jennifer Lopez.

For Soros, who has a net worth of $20 billion according to Forbes, this will be his third marriage. It will be the second for Bolton.

When asked if there is a prenuptial agreement, the source familiar with the wedding arrangements said that Soros's lawyer, William D. Zabel, reiterated his comments from last year that "Soros will leave the bulk of his estate to charity but he intends to provide generously for his wife."

In 2011, Soros, who is an active contributor to politically liberal causes and frequently speaks on world economic events, converted his hedge fund into a family office and stopped managing money for outside investors.

In the past three decades, the Hungarian-born Soros has given away more than $7 billion to promote democracy, foster free speech, improve education and fight poverty around the world, according to his foundation's website on www.opensocietyfoundations.org.

Soros was divorced from Annaliese Witschak in 1983 and Susan Weber Soros in 2005.

Chef Bo Bech of the Geist Restaurant in Copenhagen will prepare the food. Soros and Bolton first dined at Geist when visiting Copenhagen in 2009.

The reception on Saturday night will feature Hungarian composer and conductor Iván Fischer, a family friend, who created a new arrangement for the occasion, which will be presented with the Budapest Festival Orchestra. Cape Verdean singer Mayra Andrade will perform with the Harris Lane Orchestra. Andrade and Roma ensemble Via Romen will perform at a Sunday brunch.

In lieu of gifts, the couple asked that donations be made to charities including Global Witness, Harlem's Children Zone, National Dance Institute, Planned Parenthood and the Roma Education Fund.

(Reporting By Jennifer Ablan; Editing by Martin Howell and Grant McCool)

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