SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) 鈥� Billionaire climate activist is selling himself as a class traitor in his bid for California governor.
The Democrat with a personal fortune estimated at $2.4 billion wants wealthy people and corporations to pay higher taxes. He’s endorsed by a progressive advocacy group that believes billionaires shouldn’t exist. He founded one of the world’s largest hedge funds yet he’s the candidate taking the heaviest hits from business groups.
鈥淚’m the billionaire who wants to tax other billionaires,鈥� he’s fond of saying, though he’s given only tenuous backing to a likely to appear before California voters in November.
Steyer has long leaned into the contradictions between his business success and political views. While his hedge fund invested in fossil fuels, Steyer spent millions to protect a California law aimed at curbing planet-warming emissions. As a presidential candidate in 2019 vying to succeed President Donald Trump, another rich man, Steyer championed eliminating corporate money from politics.
鈥淚鈥檓 not one of the people who begrudges people鈥檚 success,鈥� Steyer told The Associated Press, referring to businesspeople who become wealthy in California. 鈥淚f you鈥檙e going to come here and build a company and make a ton of money, great.鈥�
鈥淏ut you鈥檙e part of a system 鈥� you鈥檙e depending on a system built by, basically, poor people,鈥� he continued. 鈥淚f you aren鈥檛 willing to pay your fair share, I feel like you鈥檙e spitting on those people.鈥�
His stances, often unpopular with other billionaires, have earned him staunch support from some and persistent skepticism from others. Despite his vast wealth, progressive supporters perceive him as 鈥渙ne of the good ones鈥� who will stand up to monied interests. But critics in both parties view him as disingenuous and making unrealistic promises to appeal to voters. Democratic rivals accuse him of trying to , noting he’s spending nearly 30 times the amount of his nearest party opponent on ads.
After decades of using his pocketbook to influence politics and policy, Steyer is now a in the race to govern the nation鈥檚 most populous state and one of the world鈥檚 largest economies ahead of the June 2 primary. His former hedge fund’s investments have been a persistent topic of criticism from his Democratic rivals.
鈥淵ou made the billions that you’re using to fund your campaign off fossil fuels,鈥� former U.S. Rep. Katie Porter charged during . Steyer responded by noting business groups are spending to oppose him: 鈥淭hat’s how you know I’m for real.鈥�
From businessman to megadonor
Steyer, 68, founded Farallon Capital Management in 1986 in San Francisco. He earned the respect of business peers for the firm’s rapid success and learned to weather criticism from environmentalists for the company鈥檚 stakes in oil and coal. In 2012, he left and founded NextGen America, a group encouraging young people to vote.
Much of his political giving has focused on climate change, including a $5 million donation in 2010 to oppose a California ballot proposition that would have suspended a law requiring the state to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions. The climate law prevailed. Starting in 2013, he used the political arm of NextGen to back governor and U.S. Senate candidates seen as strong on climate with mixed success.
Steyer has spent more than $62 million on California ballot measures, including an unsuccessful effort in 2020 to keep a law that . He was one of the to a successful 2016 measure to tax tobacco products to raise money for healthcare for low-income Californians.
His contributions have been met with some cynicism. Longtime Sacramento strategist Rob Stutzman, a Republican, pointed to an ad Steyer paid for last year that prominently features him urging voters to support a . It was an initiative championed by Gov. Gavin 草莓传媒om, and Steyer had no involvement other than simply spending on advertising.
Steyer 鈥渉as always been a self-promoter with his dollars,鈥� Stutzman said.
Making friends and enemies
Steyer says he wants to tackle three main crises: climate change, California’s high cost of living and threats from the Trump administration.
Hundreds of people gathered at a ping-pong club and bar in San Francisco recently to drink cocktails and nibble on hors d鈥檕euvres 鈥� on the campaign dime 鈥� as Steyer touted his commitment to fighting climate change. His plan is light on specifics but includes defending the state鈥檚 .
Some major environmental groups have endorsed him. Progressive organizations have also backed him, including Our Revolution, which was founded by Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders and advocates for ridding politics of corporate and billionaire influence. State Assemblyman Alex Lee, chair of the progressive caucus, said he’s backing Steyer in part due to his support for a government-run healthcare system, an idea that’s in Sacramento.
Lee was hesitant to back a billionaire but said Steyer is different.
鈥淗e is someone who became wealthy in his lifetime,鈥� Lee said, 鈥渂ut didn鈥檛 go off and become (Mark) Zuckerberg level.鈥�
Meanwhile, Pacific Gas & Electric, one of the nation’s largest utilities, spent $10 million to oppose him. Steyer has vowed to 鈥渂reak up utility monopolies鈥� to bring down Californians鈥� . One ad funded in part by PG&E says Steyer isn’t a 鈥渄ifferent type of billionaire鈥� as he claims. The California Chamber of Commerce says Steyer will raise costs, not lower them.
鈥淗is policy promises will cost billions, driving investment out of California and worsening the state鈥檚 affordability crisis,鈥� chamber spokesperson John Myers said in a statement.
Steyer’s 2020 presidential bid flopped
It remains to be seen whether money and endorsements will translate into votes. Some political observers say it would be evident by now if Steyer was poised to break away from the pack, given his spending blitz.
Money wasn’t enough in the 2020 Democratic presidential contest. Steyer staked his campaign largely on appealing to voters of color, highlighting inequalities in healthcare access, the environment and criminal justice system. In South Carolina, he spent $24 million on ads 鈥� more than all the other candidates combined 鈥� but after finishing third.
He often garnered attention for his quirks over his policies 鈥� the red tartan tie and colorful belt he made part of his campaign trail uniform, his dance moves to a performance by rapper Juvenile.
Steyer had planned to spend $100 million, and his wealth proved a liability in a race where rivals including Sanders decried the existence of billionaires.
He’s spent more in the California governor’s primary alone, including on an ad attacking a rival. This time, he’s being received differently.
鈥淭om Steyer is running on taxing the wealthy, supporting single-payer healthcare, and taking on corporate power 鈥� positions that are central to our movement,鈥� Our Revolution Executive Director Joseph Geevarghese said in a statement. 鈥淭hat alignment with a pro-worker, anti-corporate agenda 鈥� and the urgency of this race 鈥� is why we are backing him.鈥�
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Associated Press politics reporter Meg Kinnard in Columbia, South Carolina, contributed to this report.
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