Tom Steyer | |
|---|---|
 Steyer in 2019 | |
| Born | Thomas Fahr Steyer (1957-06-27)June 27, 1957 (age 68) New York City, U.S. |
| Education | Yale University (BA) Stanford University (MBA) |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Spouse | |
| Children | 4 |
| Relatives | Jim Steyer (brother) |
Thomas Fahr Steyer (/ˈstaɪ.ər/; born June 27, 1957) is an American billionaire, entrepreneur,politician[1][2], andenvironmentalist.[3][4]
Steyer is the founder and former co-senior managing partner ofFarallon Capital, and the co-founder of OneCalifornia Bank, which became (through merger)Beneficial State Bank.[3] Steyer served on the board of trustees atStanford University from 2007 to 2017.[5][6] He was formerly a partner and member of the executive committee atHellman & Friedman.
Switching his focus to politics and environmental advocacy, Steyer retired from Farallon Capital in 2012 and launchedNextGen America, a nonprofit organization that supports progressive positions on climate change, immigration, health care, and education.[7][8] In California state politics, Steyer co-chaired or sponsored a series of ballot campaigns: 2010'sNo on Prop. 23 campaign that preserved theAB32 climate change law, 2012'sProposition 39, which closed a tax loophole to fund clean-energy infrastructure, andProposition 56 in 2016, a tobacco-tax increase to fund healthcare and smoking cessation programs.
Steyer sought theDemocratic nomination for president in 2020, but dropped out of the race after the first four state contests,[9][10] having spent more than $191 million on campaign advertising but failing to obtain anypledged delegates.[10]
In 2025, Steyer backedProposition 50, a measure that shifted congressional-district redistricting power to the legislature until 2030.[11] In November 2025, Steyer announced his candidacy in the2026 California gubernatorial election.[12]
Steyer was born inManhattan, New York City.[13] His mother, Marnie (née Fahr), was a teacher ofremedial reading at theBrooklyn House of Detention and his father, Roy Henry Steyer was a partner in the New York law firm ofSullivan & Cromwell,[14][15] and was a prosecutor at theNuremberg Trials.[16] His father wasJewish and his mother wasEpiscopalian.[13]
Steyer grew up on theUpper East Side of Manhattan, and attended theBuckley School andPhillips Exeter Academy as valedictorian of his class.[13] He graduated fromYale Universitysumma cum laude ineconomics andpolitical science, and was elected toPhi Beta Kappa. He was captain of thesoccer team. At Yale, Steyer was a member ofWolf's Head Society[17] Steyer received his MBA fromStanford Graduate School of Business, where he was an Arjay Miller Scholar.[13][18] He has served on theStanford University board of trustees.[5]
After graduation from Yale, Steyer began his professional career atMorgan Stanley in 1979.[3][13] After two years at Morgan Stanley, he attendedStanford Graduate School of Business.[13] Steyer worked atGoldman Sachs from 1983 to 1985 as an associate in the risk arbitrage division, where he was involved in mergers and acquisitions.[13] He later became a partner and member of the Executive Committee at Hellman & Friedman, a San Francisco–based private equity firm.
In January 1986, Steyer foundedFarallon Capital, a hedge fund firm headquartered inSan Francisco.[19][20] Steyer made his fortune running Farallon, which was managing $20 billion by the time he left the company.[21] Steyer was known for taking high risks on distressed assets within volatile markets.[13]
In October 2012, Steyer stepped down from his position at Farallon in order to focus on advocating for alternative energy.[22][23] Steyer decided to dispose of his carbon-polluting investments in 2012, although critics say he did not dispose of them quickly enough and noted that the lifespan of the facilities he funded would extend through 2030.[24] A 2014New York Times article said coal-mining companies that Farallon invested in or lent money to under Steyer had increased their coal production by 70 million tons annually since receiving money from Farallon, and that Steyer remained invested in theMaules Creek coal mine.[24] Prior to Steyer leaving Farallon, a student activist group called UnFarallon criticized the company for investments in companies with anti-environmental policies.[13] In 2016, some critics noted that Farallon had also invested in private prisons while Steyer was leading the hedge fund.[25] According toSEC filings, Steyer was at the helm as the hedge fund purchased nearly $90 million ofCorrections Corporation of America stock (5.5% of the company'soutstanding shares).[25] After leaving Farallon, Steyer hosted a two-day think-tank entitled the 'Big Think Climate Meeting' to discuss how to address climate change.[26]
On April 17, 2020, it was announced thatCalifornia GovernorGavin Newsom had selected Steyer to chair a task force focused on the state's economic recovery after the2019–20 coronavirus pandemic. Steyer's co-chair was political advisorAnn O'Leary.[27][28][29]
In 2021, Steyer co-founded Galvanize Climate Solutions with Katie Hall, his longtime friend and business partner. Galvanize is a climate-focused investment firm.[30]
On May 28, 2024,Spiegel & Grau published Steyer's book,Cheaper, Faster, Better: How We'll Win the Climate War.[31] The book is aNew York Times bestseller.[32]
In 2006, Steyer and his wife, Kat Taylor, founded OneRoof, Inc., aB Corp and social enterprise business designed to bring broadband connectivity, computer literacy, and employment skills viaOneRoof Internet Centers to small rural towns in rural India and Mexico.[33] Neither Steyer nor Taylor remain with the organization.
In 2007, Steyer and Taylor foundedBeneficial State Bank, a community developmentbank, for the purpose of providingcommercial banking services to underservedBay Area businesses, nonprofits, and individuals, with operations now inCalifornia,Oregon, andWashington. Its stock ownership is entirely held by a foundation such that all profits are reinvested in local communities.[34][35]
Steyer and Taylor put up $22.5 million to start the bank and create the One PacificCoast Foundation to engage in charitable and educational activities, provide lending support, investments, and other services for disadvantaged communities and community service organizations inCalifornia.[23][36]
In August 2010, Steyer and his wife signed ontoThe Giving Pledge, an initiative ofBill Gates andWarren Buffett.[37][38] In 2011 Steyer foundedAdvanced Energy Economy, an energy research and lobbying group withHemant Taneja, an Indian-born American venture capitalist.[39][40] Neither Steyer nor Taneja remains with the organization.
Steyer and Taylor created the TomKat Ranch inPescadero, California, near Half Moon Bay.[41] The ranch is meant to research and demonstrate a sustainable way of doing agriculture.[42] The ranch's activities include underwriting healthy food programs and co-producing an independent film,La Mission, starringBenjamin Bratt, aboutSan Francisco'sMission neighborhood.[43] Around 2011, Steyer joined the board of Next Generation, a nonprofit intending to tackle children's issues and the environment. In 2013, Steyer founded NextGen Climate, an environmental advocacy nonprofit andpolitical action committee.[13]
In August 2015, Steyer launched the Fair Shake Commission on Income Inequality and Middle Class Opportunity, which was intended to advocate policies for promoting income equality.[44]
In 1983, Steyer worked onWalter Mondale's presidential campaign.[45] He raised money forBill Bradley in 2000 andJohn Kerry in 2004.[46]
An early supporter ofHillary Clinton in 2008, Steyer became one ofBarack Obama's most prolific fundraisers. Steyer served as a delegate to theDemocratic National Conventions in 2004 and 2008.[47] Steyer has been a member of theHamilton Project[48] and has been involved with theDemocracy Alliance, a network of progressive donors whose membership in the group requires them to donate at least $200,000 a year to recommended organizations.[49][50]
After the Obama victory in 2008, Steyer was considered for appointment asSecretary of Treasury. Jim Steyer, Tom's brother, toldMen's Journal that Obama and his advisors would regret having chosen someone else, due to his expertise.[13] In January 2013, rumors briefly arose that Steyer might be named as a replacement for Energy SecretarySteven Chu.[51] Asked whether he would accept such an appointment, Steyer said he would.[52]
Steyer has been active in California politics, particularly in ballot initiative campaigns.[53] In 2010, Steyer joined the former Secretary of State,San Francisco-basedGeorge Shultz, to co-chair theNo on Prop. 23 campaign. Proposition 23, backed by a coalition including conservative billionaires Charles and David Koch, aimed to overturn California'sGlobal Warming Solutions Act of 2006. Steyer donated $5 million to theNo on Prop. 23 campaign, which succeeded with a margin of 61%.[54][55][56]
In 2012, Steyer was the leading sponsor ofProposition 39 on the ballot in California. Its purpose was to close a loophole that allowed multi-state corporations to pay taxes out of state, mandating that they pay in California. Funds raised by closing the loophole, estimated at $1 billion annually, went to a combination of clean energy projects and the state's general fund. Steyer contributed $29.6 million to the campaign, saying that he could wait no longer for the change.[57][58][59] The initiative passed with 61% of the vote.[60]
While supporters of Steyer's effort said it would "help break the partisan gridlock in Sacramento", critics objected that "the increasing involvement of rich individuals perverts the original intent of the initiatives". Kim Alexander, president of the California Voter Foundation, said that the level of giving was unprecedented for an individual donor.[59] Some critics called the initiative an ineffective jobs stimulus, while Steyer labeled it a success for closing a corporate loophole.[61]
Steyer co-chaired the 2016 campaign in support ofCalifornia's Proposition 56, which raised the state's tobacco tax by $2 per pack to fund a combination of healthcare programs, Medi-Cal, and tobacco-use prevention.[62] He contributed more than $11 million to the effort and appeared in the campaign's television advertising.When Proposition 56 was approved with 64% of the vote, it became the first successful ballot initiative to raise the tobacco tax in over a decade, ultimately directing over $1 billion per year to the Medi-Cal program.[63][64]
In 2025, Steyer donated $12 million to become the largest contributor to the campaign forCalifornia's Proposition 50, which redrew California's congressional districts in response to what supporters described as partisan gerrymandering efforts in other states.The initiative passed with 64% of the vote.[65]
In 2012, Steyer hosted a fundraiser at his home forPresident Obama. At a private meeting, Steyer, along with fifteen other top donors, reportedly pressed the president regarding theKeystone pipeline, which Steyer opposed. Obama was said to be supportive of Steyer's views, but reluctant to put his full weight behind any initiatives without better proof. Steyer was critical of Obama's decision to keep an energy initiative as a low priority.[26]
Steyer gave a speech at the2012 Democratic National Convention,[46] saying that the election was "a choice about whether to go backward or forward. And that choice is especially stark when it comes to energy". Steyer said that Republican presidential nomineeMitt Romney would take no action to reduce U.S. dependence on fossil fuels; rather, he said, Romney would increase it. Steyer went on to support Obama's policies, which he described as investments to "make us energy independent and create thousands of jobs."[66]
In February 2013, Steyer spoke at an anti-Keystone XL Pipeline rally on theWashington Mall organized byBill McKibben and attended by tens of thousands. McKibben asked Steyer to join the protest by tying himself to the White House gate and getting arrested, but Steyer was dissuaded by his brotherJim.[26]
In 2013, Steyer founded NextGen Climate (nowNextGen America), an environmental advocacy nonprofit and political action committee.[13] NextGen Climate provided the environmentalist movement with significant capital and political influence.[24] Steyer spent almost $74 million on the 2014 elections.[47][67]
In October 2017, NextGen America donated grants totaling $2.3-million to eight national immigration law service organizations, including the University of California Immigrant Legal Services Center, the Immigration Law Clinic atU C Davis School of Law,U C Hastings Center for Gender and Refugee Studies,Asian Americans Advancing Justice — Asian Law Caucus,California Rural Legal Assistance Foundation,Center for Community Change,American Immigration Lawyers Association, and theCouncil on American-Islamic Relations.[68]
In 2014, Steyer funded political campaigns to advocate for the election of at least nine candidates and to influence climate change policy through NextGen Climate.[69] Those races included helping electEd Markey of Massachusetts overStephen Lynch to the Senate in a special election in 2013.[47] Reportedly, Steyer spent $1.8 million attacking Lynch, including money for a plane Steyer paid to fly over aBoston Red Sox game with a banner that read, "Steve Lynch for Oil Evil Empire".[26][70]
Steyer supported DemocratTerry McAuliffe's successful2013 campaign for governor of Virginia through his NextGen Climate Action, contributing funds for paid media (such as television advertisements) andget-out-the-vote efforts.[71] Steyer also supported Democrats in Senate races in Iowa, Colorado, New Hampshire, and Michigan and in Gubernatorial races in Pennsylvania, Maine, and Florida.[72] Steyer cited Florida's pivotal role in the 2016 presidential election and its geographic position, which makes it highlyvulnerable to climate change, as reasons for his focus on the state.[73]
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In June 2014, Steyer said he planned to get involved in California legislative races, targeting three to four races in each house of the Legislature in a bid to affect climate change policy.[74] The Guardian reported in 2014 that Steyer had become the single largest donor in American politics and is the leading advocate of environmental issues.[75]
Steyer spent about $67 million of his personal fortune in the 2014 midterm elections and had a 40% success rate. Of the seven Senate and gubernatorial candidates NextGen Climate supported, three won their races.[47][76]
In April 2015, Steyer testified before theCalifornia Legislature in favor of a greenhouse-gas reduction bill.[77] In August 2015, Steyer was the guest of honor at theCalifornia Democratic Party headquarters to discuss bills to cut gasoline use in half by 2030, although Steyer did not commit to spending large sums of money to support the bills.[78]
In July 2015, Steyer called on 2016 candidates to develop strategic plans to provide the United States with at least 50% of its energy from clean sources by 2030.[79] Reportedly, the message was targeted at Hillary Clinton, who had yet to outline an environmental policy. It was suggested that this was a strategic move to secure a political alliance with Clinton.[80]
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Steyer raised money forHillary Clinton,[42] and he hosted a fundraiser on her behalf at hisBurlingame home.[81][82] Steyer contributed $87,057,853 in funds exclusively to Democratic Party candidates during the 2016 election cycle.[83][84]
Beginning in October 2017, Steyer spent approximately $10 million for a television ad campaign advocating theimpeachment of Donald Trump, and more on a digital ad campaign to call for Trump's impeachment.[85][86] In the ad, Steyer identifies himself only as an "American citizen" and alleges that Trump "brought us to the brink of nuclear war, obstructed justice at the FBI, and in direct violation of the Constitution has taken money from foreign governments and threatened to shut down news organizations that report the truth." Trump responded by calling Steyer "wacky and totally unhinged."[87][88]
The Need to Impeach campaign led to speculation that Steyer was planning a run forCalifornia governor orCalifornia senator in 2018, although he did not do so.[89] In March 2018, Steyer launched a 30-city town hall tour[90] and, going into the fall election season, the campaign had amassed close to 6 million petition signatures.[91]
Steyer stepped down from his role as president of Need to Impeach in July 2019 when he announced his presidential campaign. As of 2019, he had reportedly spent over $70 million in the effort. Steyer said Need to Impeach would continue under new leadership and named Nathaly Arriola as the new executive director.[92]
Steyer consideredrunning for governor of California in 2018[93][94][95][96] but in January 2018 announced that he would not.[97]
.svg){kind=logo} | |
| Campaign | 2020 United States presidential election (Democratic Party primaries) |
|---|---|
| Candidate | Tom Steyer |
| Affiliation | Democratic Party |
| Status | Suspended |
| Launched | July 9, 2019 |
| Suspended | February 29, 2020 |
| Headquarters | San Francisco,California |
| Key people | Heather Hargreaves (campaign manager)[98] |
| Receipts | US$206,286,970.59[99] (December 31, 2019) |
| Slogan | Actions Speak Louder Than Words |
| Website | |
| https://www.tomsteyer.com/ | |
After initially indicating that he would not seek the presidency,[100][101] Steyer launched a campaign for theDemocratic presidential nomination on July 9, 2019, in an online campaign video posted to Twitter.[4][102] As a self-funded candidate, Steyer committed himself to spending millions of dollars in campaign advertising.[103][104]
Steyer qualified for, and participated in, six televisedDemocratic primary debates and failed to qualify for one debate.[105][106][107][108]
Steyer came in seventh place in theIowa caucuses and sixth place in theNew Hampshire primaries, out of 11 active candidates, receiving no delegates.[109] He earned no national pledged delegates from Iowa, New Hampshire, or Nevada.[10] Steyer spent a great deal of time and money in South Carolina, far outspending other candidates. However, on February 29, 2020, hefinished third (behindJoe Biden andBernie Sanders) with 11% of the vote and no pledged delegates. Following that result, he suspended his campaign.[10][110]
Steyer spent over $253 million, with all but a little over $3.5 million coming from his personal funds. This amount worked out to be $3,373 for every vote he received in the three primaries where he was on the ballot before dropping out of the race. During Steyer's time as a candidate, his campaign spending surpassed every other Democratic candidate except for fellow billionaireMichael Bloomberg.[111]
After leaving the race, Steyer co-chaired then Vice President Biden’s Climate Engagement Advisory Council to help mobilize climate voters. The Advisory Council also included Dr.Cecilia Martinez, executive director of the Center for Earth, Energy & Democracy, Lonnie R. Stephenson, head of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, future Secretary of the InteriorDeb Haaland, Carol Browner, a top climate official in the Obama years and board chair of the League of Conservation Voters, and Harold Mitchell, Jr., a former South Carolina state representative and founder of the ReGenesis Community Development Corporation.[112]
In 2023, Steyer held a fundraiser for PresidentJoe Biden's re-election bid for the White House in hisSan Francisco home.[113]
In November 2025, Steyer entered the 2026 race to succeedGavin Newsom, who is term-limited, as Governor of California, framing himself as an outsider focused on affordability and unafraid to "change up the system" in anopen race without a clear front-runner.[114][53]
After holding several conversations during the summer of 2012 with environmental writerBill McKibben, Steyer decided to focus much of his attention on theKeystone Pipeline.[115] Steyer officially left Farallon in 2012.[116] He was criticized by some Republicans for attacking the pipeline even though he held some investments in the fossil-fuel industry. The investments included stock inKinder Morgan, which had its own pipeline connecting the Canadian bitumen sands to a port on the Pacific, which could be seen as a rival to the Keystone pipeline. Steyer promised to fully unload his holdings there within a year.[26] In September 2013, Steyer appeared in a series of commercials in opposition to the proposed pipeline.[26]
In a November 2015 interview, Steyer described the Obama administration's decision to reject the Keystone pipeline as "fantastic."[117]
In 2008, Steyer and Taylor gave $41 million to create the TomKat Center for Sustainable Energy atStanford University. Part of thePrecourt Institute of Energy, it is focused on the development of affordable renewable energy technologies, and promotion of public policies to make renewable energy more accessible. Projects included the creation of lighter, less toxic, and more durablebatteries, and an analysis of the then-current power grids capacities to support futurerenewable energy technologies.[118][119]
In October 2013, Steyer launched a bipartisan initiative to combat climate change along with then-New York City mayorMichael Bloomberg and formerTreasury SecretaryHenry Paulson.[26] The initiative, called the Risky Business Project, focuses on quantifying and publicizing theeconomic risks of climate change in the United States. Bloomberg, Paulson, and Steyer serve as co-chairs.[120] The Project has published three reports—a National Report in June 2014, a Midwest Report in January 2015, and a California Report in April 2015.[121][122][123][124]
In 2015, Steyer signed on to the Bill GatesBreakthrough Energy Coalition. The goal of the coalition is to jumpstart the demand and availability of green energy sources.[125]
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During his2020 Democratic presidential primary campaign, Steyer opposedMedicare for All; his campaign ran ads against progressive candidate Sen.Bernie Sanders' proposedSingle-payer healthcare plan.[126][127]
In December 2025, Steyer reversed his position, posting to a video to social media in which he stated he was "wrong" to oppose single-payer healthcare, saying "Bernie Sanders was right" and that after looking at data, he came to believe that single-payer was the best choice.[128]
Regardinggun control, Steyer supports aban on assault weapons and also supportsuniversal background checks for gun purchasers.[129]
Asked in a November 2014 interview why he invests his money into elections rather than philanthropic organizations, Steyer stated that the price of inaction is too high not to take a direct role.[130] He has said that he opposesCitizens United v. FEC, the 2010 Supreme Court decision allowing unlimited corporate donations to super PACs.[130]
In an interview in October 2017, Steyer said that he was in favor of raising personal taxes. He said that upper-income people in the United States had done "disproportionately well" at the expense of working families.[131] Steyer called one version of a 2017 Republican tax reform proposal a "thinly veiled reverse Robin Hood".[132] Steyer supports awealth tax for anyone worth at least $32 million.[133]
In November 2018, in a full-pageUSA Today ad, Steyer outlined five non-partisan issue areas on which he said the Democrats should campaign, and which "represent essential freedoms that should be guaranteed for all Americans": voting rights protections, a clean environment, a complete education, a living wage, and good health.[134][135][136]
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Steyer has received a number of awards and honors for his environmental work, including the Phillip Burton Public Service Award ofConsumer Watchdog (2011),[77][137] the Environmental Leadership Award of theCalifornia League of Conservation Voters (2012),[138] the Environmental Achievement Award of theEnvironmental Law Institute (2013),[139] and the Land Conservation Award of theOpen Space Institute (2015).[140]
Steyer receivedEquality California's 2015 Humanitarian Award "for his work advancing progressive causes that benefit the LGBT community."[141]
In August 1986, Steyer married Kathryn Ann Taylor, a graduate ofHarvard College who earned aMaster of Business Administration and aJuris Doctor fromStanford University. The Reverend Richard Thayer, a Presbyterian minister, and Rabbi Charles Familant performed the ceremony.[14] They have four children, Samuel Taylor ("Sam"), Charles Augustus ("Gus"), Evelyn Hoover ("Evi"), and Henry Hume ("Henry").[20] Kathryn was on the President's Council for theUnited Religions Initiative, aninterfaith group.[142]
Steyer has two brothers: Hume Steyer, an attorney in New York City andJim Steyer, an attorney, author, and Stanford University professor.[143][13]
Steyer has anet worth of $1.6 billion.[144]Men's Journal mentioned the modest aspects of his lifestyle noting that he owns an "outdated hybridHonda Accord" and eschews luxury items such as expensive watches.[13] Steyer wearstartan neckties every day, because in his words "You gotta dress up for a fight."[145][146]
In his late 30s, Steyer had "a revelation" and began an involvement in theEpiscopal Church, the religion of his mother (his father was a non-practicing Jew).[13] He has stated that during this time he became much more interested in religion and theology. The new interest reportedly galvanized his political advocacy.[26]
In 2018, Steyer received two suspicious packages from convicted mail bomberCesar Sayoc.[147]
He resides inBurlingame,California.[148][82]
The minute-long ad features news clippings overlaid with a narrator criticizing Sanders' single-payer, government-run health plan, including saying that "there is a reason people are nervous about Bernie Sanders scrapping Obamacare"… The ad then goes on to tout Steyer's own health plan, a so-called public option, that "doesn't tear down Obamacare." That stance has become standard among Democratic moderates, who have largely coalesced around a dual-use of private and public health options as a means to attain universal coverage.
