In a significant political maneuver, billionaire, former hedge fund manager and prominent environmental activist Tom Steyer has officially announced his campaign for Governor of California in the 2028 election. Steyer, who previously filed the Democratic presidential nomination in 2020, enters what is expected to be a crowded and contentious race to succeed the termed-out Governor Gavin Newsom.
Steyer’s campaign focuses heavily on corporate accountability, affordability, and climate action, echoing the progressive causes he has funded for years.
Steyer’s Central Campaign Pillars
Steyer’s campaign video, released earlier today, establishes a clear challenge to the status quo in Sacramento, with a focus on battling powerful corporate interests.
Corporate Accountability and Taxation: The central theme is to make corporations “pay their fair share” to combat California’s rising cost of living. Steyer proposes closing corporate tax loopholes and using the resulting revenue to fund social programs, including making preschool and community college free for all Californians.
Affordability and Monopolies: Steyer argues that corporate monopolies are largely responsible for high living costs. He specifically targets utility companies, vowing to “break up the monopolistic power of utilities” to lower electricity prices and unleash a wave of innovation.
Housing Crisis: A key promise involves tackling the state’s massive housing inequality by building one million affordable homes, arguing that the affordability crisis is the state’s most pressing issue.
Steyer’s long-standing background as a major Democratic donor and environmental champion makes him a formidable contender, despite his past political controversies, such as his hedge fund’s controversial investments in coal and detention facilities.
The Governor Newsom Connection and 2028 Outlook
While Steyer’s current focus is on the race to replace him, his political relationship with the current California Governor, Gavin Newsom, has been notably cooperative in the past.
COVID-19 Economic Task Force: During the initial days of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, Governor Newsom appointed Steyer as his Chief Advisor on Business and Jobs Recovery and tasked him with co-chairing an important task force aimed at guiding the state’s economic reopening strategy. This partnership demonstrated a capacity for collaboration between the two wealthy, politically ambitious Democrats.
The Open Field: With Governor Newsom termed out in 2028, the race is wide open. Steyer joins a growing list of Democrats, including former L.A. Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, former Controller Betty Yee, and others, as well as a few prominent Republicans. Steyer’s personal fortune gives him the ability to self-fund his campaign heavily, a factor that historically reshapes the dynamics of a crowded California primary.
Steyer previously considered a run for Governor in 2018 but ultimately declined. His decision to launch a bid now signals a full return to state-level politics with a platform squarely aimed at the economic anxieties of California voters.
The former presidential candidate has a long history of political activism, including his involvement in the successful Prop 39 ballot measure that closed corporate tax loopholes in 2012. You can learn more about his political background in California and beyond in this video on Tom Steyer’s Political Journey. This video discusses Tom Steyer’s political trajectory and past decisions regarding the California gubernatorial race.
Thomas Fahr Steyer: A Brief Biography
Thomas Fahr Steyer, born on June 27, 1957, in New York City, is an American billionaire, hedge fund manager turned prominent environmental activist, philanthropist, and Democratic political donor. His journey from an elite financial career to a self-funded political force provides critical context for his 2028 gubernatorial campaign.
Education and Financial Career
Steyer’s background is rooted in elite institutions and finance:
Education: He attended Phillips Exeter Academy before graduating summa cum laude from Yale University in 1979 with a degree in economics and political science. He later earned an MBA from Stanford Graduate School of Business in 1983.
Hedge Fund Success: After working at Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs, Steyer founded Farallon Capital Management in 1986. Under his leadership, Farallon grew into one of the world’s largest and most successful hedge funds, establishing his personal fortune (estimated at approximately $1.6 billion). He retired from the firm in 2012 to focus entirely on activism.
Shift to Social Activism and Political Engagement
Steyer’s second act has been defined by his commitment to progressive causes, primarily climate action:
NextGen America: In 2013, he founded NextGen Climate (later rebranded as NextGen America), a nonprofit and political action committee dedicated to mobilizing young voters and advocating for progressive policies on climate change, immigration, and education.
Self-Funded Donor: Steyer became one of the largest individual political donors in the U.S., spending hundreds of millions of his own dollars to back Democratic candidates and progressive ballot initiatives, often focused on raising taxes on corporations. His significant financial support was instrumental in the passage of Proposition 39 in California in 2012, which closed corporate tax loopholes.
Need to Impeach: He gained national notoriety in 2017 for launching the “Need to Impeach” campaign against then, President Donald Trump, spending vast sums on televised advertisements and digital organizing.
US Presidential and Gubernatorial Campaigns:
Steyer’s political ambition culminated in his 2020 run for the Democratic presidential nomination. Despite spending nearly $342 million of his personal wealth on the campaign, he suspended his bid after the South Carolina primary. His appointment by Governor Newsom in 2020 as a Chief Advisor on Business and Jobs Recovery marked a temporary return to advisory roles before the current announcement for the 2028 California Governor’s race.
His immense personal wealth and proven willingness to spend it make him a unique and unpredictable candidate in California’s political landscape, where he is now pivoting from national issues to the state’s pressing problems of affordability and corporate power.
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