Tom Steyer is a successful investor, business leader, philanthropist and activist who is fully committed to fighting the climate crisis.
Tom, a self-made billionaire, and Kat Taylor were among the first to sign the Giving Pledge — a commitment to give away the bulk of their personal fortune during their lifetimes.
In 1986, Tom founded Farallon Capital Management, a San Francisco-based hedge fund that pioneered the multi-strategy approach to investing. Over the decades as he led Farallon, Tom grew the firm’s assets under management to $40 billion and consistently delivered double digit returns.
In 2007, he started Beneficial State Bank, a triple bottom line community development bank focused holistically on justice and sustainability, with his wife, Kat Taylor, to provide lending and financial services to underserved communities and their small and medium-size businesses and nonprofits.
In 2012, Tom stepped down from Farallon and founded NextGen Climate to focus his time, energy, and resources on climate action. NextGen Climate became NextGen America, the largest youth voter engagement organization in American history.
In California, Tom led the successful effort to pass a ballot initiative that closed a corporate tax loophole, generating $1.9 billion that went towards energy upgrades in schools, reducing utility costs and reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
Tom helped make California the largest jurisdiction in the world with a 100% clean energy law and prevented Big Oil’s effort to roll back California’s climate protections. Tom has continually pushed California to make bolder climate commitments and accelerate their implementation.
We are at a critical moment. Our actions today will determine whether we will succeed in securing a livable future.
In 2019, Tom ran for President, making the climate crisis his number one priority. He traveled the country, and deepened his understanding of the challenges facing Americans nationwide. Then Tom led an effort to support the Biden-Harris campaign, bringing in over $17 million through Climate Leaders for Biden. Tom co-chaired the Biden-Harris Campaign’s Climate Engagement Advisory Council, doing dozens of virtual events with climate, labor, and justice leaders to mobilize climate voters for the November election.
Tom grew up in New York City, the youngest of three brothers. Shown: Brothers Hume, Jim, and Tom Steyer
His mother, Marnie, was a journalist and teacher who taught in the city schools and volunteered to tutor prisoners in a large city jail.
His father, Roy, interrupted his law career to join the Navy and serve on the legal team that prosecuted Nazi war criminals at Nuremberg.
Tom and Kat have four grown children.
San Francisco has been their home since 1986.
Now Tom is fighting to make sure future generations have access to a climate-safe future.
