George Soros, the billionaire financier, has unveiled his plan to set up a $1billion fund to build a global network of higher educational institution by targetting students through various awareness and outreach initiate to fight the resurgent nationalism around the world.

Delivering a speech at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Soros identified the rising populism internationally as a huge threat and specifically mounted an attack on US president Donald Trump as well as China’s Xi Jinping, Indian prime minister Narendra Modi — and Brexit.

"Nationalism, far from being reversed, made further headway." Soros thundered.

“I believe that as a long-term strategy our best hope lies in access to quality education, specifically an education that reinforces the autonomy of the individual by cultivating critical thinking and emphasising academic freedom,” he said.

Soros warned about a growing threat from populism and climate change and pledged $1bn towards a new global university network to tackle intolerance. The fund is likely to be operated through the controversial organisation he founded -Open Society Foundations. The organisation is et to nurture partnerships between leading universities, think tanks and cultural institutions across the world.