Trump and May doomed to failure, Soros at Davos

Billionaire investor George Soros has told the World Economic Forum in Davos that he believes incoming US president Donald Trump will be a failure and British prime minister Theresa May will not last in the position.

Soros gained notoriety in 1992 after he predicted the crash in the value of the pound, and was one of the major names attending the Forum being held in the Swiss resort this week.

Trump will take the presidential oath on Friday in Washington, while May is struggling to deal with the aftermath of the Brexit vote and the upcoming negotiations with European leaders on what the new Britain will look like.

Soros delivered a highly critical assessment of Trump and his policies, referring to him as a "con-man" and a "would-be-dictator".

"I personally have confidence that he’s going to fail, because his ideas that guide him are inherently self-contradictory," Soros said, predicting that financial markets would suffer in the long-term despite reaching record highs since his victory over Hillary Clinton.

On May, Soros was convinced that Brexit would lead to an upheaval of the current economic situation of Britain and eventually force May out.

"In my opinion, it is unlikely that prime minister May is actually going to remain in power. Already she has a very divided cabinet, a very small majority in parliament. And I think she will not last," he said.

"At the moment the people in the UK are in denial. The current economic situation is not as bad as was predicted and they live in hope," Soros added. "But as the currency depreciates, and inflation will be the driving force, this will lead to declining living standards."

Earlier this week, May delivered a speech that provided more clarity as to what the government's plans were ahead of its invoking of Article 50, admitting for the first time that the UK would not be part of the single market following its departure.