Billionaire investor, philanthropist and Democratic Party activist Tom Steyer has announced plans to run for governor of California.
Announcing his candidacy on YouTube, the Billionaire said “I’m Tom Steyer. I wanted to build a business here. Now, it’s worth billions of dollars. And I walked away from it because I wanted to give back to California.
“I’m running for governor because Californians deserve a life they can afford.
“Sacramento politicians are afraid to change this system. I’m not.” Steyer said in a post on social media
Steyer, who also made an unsuccessful bid for the Democratic presidential nomination in 2020, joins a crowded field of candidates in heavily Democratic California to succeed Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom, who is finishing his second and final term and has been positioning himself for a presidential run in 2028.
Massive Venture Capital Empire
Tom Steyer is best known for founding Farallon Capital Management in 1986, a San Francisco–based hedge fund that grew into a major global player with around $20 billion under management at its peak, using multi-strategy investing across distressed debt, merger arbitrage, and public and private equities.
Steyer stepped down from Farallon in 2012 and sold his stake, saying he wanted to focus on public-interest and climate issues, though his tenure drew criticism over the fund’s historic investments in coal and private prisons.
Outside traditional hedge-fund work, he co-founded OneCalifornia Bank, which later became Beneficial State Bank, a community development bank whose economic rights are held by a nonprofit so that profits are reinvested in underserved communities in the U.S. West Coast.
After leaving Farallon, he moved heavily into climate-focused business and investing, most notably co-founding Galvanize Climate Solutions in 2021, an investment platform backing companies and technologies working on decarbonisation and the energy transition.
Forbes lists the net worth of Steyer who also founded NextGen America , a progressive political action committee at $2 billion.
