Tom Steyer

Tom Steyer
Born
Thomas Fahr Steyer

(1957-06-27) June 27, 1957 (age 69)
New York City, New York U.S.
Alma materYale University (B.A.)
Stanford University (M.B.A)
Political partyDemocratic
Spouse
Kathryn Ann Taylor
​
(m. 1986)​
Children4
WebsiteOfficial website

Thomas Fahr "Tom" Steyer (born June 27, 1957) is an American hedge fund manager, politician, philanthropist, and environmentalist. Steyer is the founder and former Co-Senior Managing Partner of Farallon Capital Management, LLC and the co-founder of Beneficial State Bank. Steyer was on the Board of Trustees at Stanford University from 2012 to 2017.

Steyer unsuccessfully ran for the Democratic nomination for President of the United States in 2020. He also unsuccessfully ran for Governor of California in the 2026 gubernatorial election.

Early life and education

Steyer was born in Manhattan, New York City. His mother, Marnie (née Fahr) was a teacher and his father, Roy Henry Steyer was a law firm partner and was a prosecutor at the Nuremberg Trials.

Steyer grew up on the Upper East Side of Manhattan. He graduated from Yale University summa cum laude in economics and political science. Steyer received his MBA from Stanford Graduate School of Business.

Political activity

In 2017, Steyer spent around $10 million for a television ad campaign advocating the impeachment of President Donald Trump and plans to spend millions more on a digital ad campaign to call for Trump's impeachment. Steyer thought about running for Governor of California in the 2018 gubernatorial election as a stance against President Trump.

2020 presidential campaign

Steyer's 2020 presidential campaign logo

On July 9, 2019, Steyer announced his candidacy for President of the United States in the 2020 election. He stated that he would be running in the Democratic primaries in an online campaign video. He dropped out of the race after losing the South Carolina primary on February 29, 2020. Steyer spent $250 million of his own money on his campaign. This was more than any other candidate in history, except Mike Bloomberg's campaign.

2024 presidential election

In 2023, Steyer held a fundraiser for President Joe Biden's re-election campaign for president in his San Francisco home.

2026 California gubernatorial campaign

In November 2025, Steyer announced his candidacy for Governor of California in the 2026 gubernatorial election.

In March 2026, Steyer's campaign wanted the California Secretary of State to remove U.S. Representative Eric Swalwell from the ballot. He said that Swalwell is not a California resident and that he is a resident of Washington, D.C. The petition was denied. Swalwell later ended his campaign after being accused of sexual harassment. Steyer's campaign quickly became the highest-spending 2026 gubernatorial campaign in California.

On June 2, 2026, Steyer finished in third place in California's nonpartisan primary. He did not advance to the November runoff. He lost to Democrat Xavier Becerra and Republican Steve Hilton.

Personal life

In August 1986, Steyer married Kathryn Ann Taylor. They have four children, Samuel Taylor ("Sam"), Charles Augustus ("Gus"), Evelyn Hoover ("Evi"), and Henry Hume ("Henry"). They live in San Francisco, California.

Steyer has two brothers: Hume Steyer, an attorney in New York City and Jim Steyer, an attorney, author, and Stanford University professor.

Steyer has a net worth of $1.6 billion. Steyer wears tartan neckties every day, because in his words “You gotta dress up for a fight.”

References

  1. ↑ Lashinsky, Adam (September 17, 2008). "California's hedge fund king". Fortune. Archived from the original on 2019-08-11. Retrieved 2010-07-23.
  2. ↑ "University Governance". Stanford University. Archived from the original on January 17, 2012. Retrieved February 12, 2012.
  3. ↑ Hagan, Joe (February 18, 2014). "Tom Steyer: An Inconvenient Billionaire". Men's Journal. Retrieved June 13, 2016.
  4. ↑ "Kathryn Taylor Weds T.F. Steyer" The New York Times, August 17, 1986
  5. ↑ World Who's who in Commerce and Industry. Marquis-Who's Who. 1968. p. 1327.
  6. ↑ "Paid Notice: Deaths STEYER, ROY H." The New York Times. June 26, 1997. Retrieved September 2, 2018.
  7. ↑ "Remarks by Dean Garth Saloner". Stanford Graduate School of Business. 2016. Archived from the original on October 10, 2020. Retrieved October 20, 2016.
  8. ↑ Au-Yeung, Angel. "This Billionaire Is Spending More Than $10 Million Calling For Trump's Impeachment".
  9. ↑ "Tom Steyer still coy about whether he'll run for governor". Los Angeles Times. May 11, 2017. Retrieved 2017-06-01.
  10. ↑ Master, Cyra (2017-05-17). "Tom Steyer testing waters for Calif. gubernatorial bid". The Hill. Retrieved 2017-06-01.
  11. ↑ Garofoli, Joe (July 9, 2019). "San Francisco billionaire Tom Steyer launches presidential campaign". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved July 9, 2019.
  12. ↑ Panetta, Grace. "Tom Steyer drops out of the 2020 presidential race". Business Insider. Retrieved 2020-03-01.
  13. ↑ Fordham, Evie (2020-03-01). "Trump mocks Steyer spending after Democratic billionaire drops out". FOXBusiness. Retrieved 2020-08-13.
  14. 1 2 "Biden raises money at Tom Steyer home in San Francisco". Reuters. 2023-10-02. Archived from the original on October 2, 2023. Retrieved 2024-02-14.
  15. ↑ Rosenhall, Laurel (19 November 2025). "A Politically Restless Billionaire Enters the California Governor's Race". New York Times. Retrieved 19 November 2025.
  16. ↑ Jones, Blake (March 6, 2026). "Steyer questions Swalwell's eligibility to run for California governor". POLITICO.
  17. ↑ AOL (2026-03-23). "Eric Swalwell learns fate of run for California governor — as filmmaker goes ballistic". www.aol.com. Archived from the original on 2026-04-30. Retrieved 2026-04-30.
  18. ↑ "Eric Swalwell drops bid for California governor after sexual misconduct allegations". NBC News. 2026-04-13. Retrieved 2026-04-30.
  19. ↑ Kuang, Jeanne (April 24, 2026). "Billionaire blitz: Steyer's $132 million campaign dwarfs rivals in California governor race". CalMatters. Retrieved May 9, 2026.
  20. ↑ John, Arit; Iyer, Kaanita (9 June 2026). "Republican Steve Hilton will advance to November election in California governor's race, CNN projects". CNN. Retrieved 9 June 2026.
  21. ↑ Jeong, Helen (June 9, 2026). "Steve Hilton advances to CA governor's runoff, set to face Xavier Becerra in November". NBC Los Angeles.
  22. ↑ "Comparative Studies of Race and Ethnicity at Stanford". Stanford University. Archived from the original on April 25, 2012.
  23. ↑ "Forbes profile: Thomas Steyer". Forbes. Retrieved February 13, 2021.
  24. ↑ Eilperin, Juliet (February 17, 2013). "Health & Science Billionaire has unique role in official Washington: Climate change radical". The Washington Post. Retrieved 30 May 2020.
  25. ↑ Vanessa Friedman (October 16, 2019). "Why Tom Steyer Wears a Tartan Tie". New York Times. Retrieved February 29, 2020.

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