Commonwealth Club Of California Podcast

Billionaire investor and climate activist Tom Steyer says he’s running for governor “to make California affordable again.” And that, he says, requires someone willing to take on big corporations and other powerful interests. Steyer made his name founding the San Francisco hedge fund Farallon Capital, which currently manages more than $40 billion in assets. After stepping away from finance in 2012, he launched NextGen America, a youth civic engagement organization focused on causes such as climate action, immigration reform, and economic justice. He later raised his national profile when he ran for president in 2020. If elected, Steyer has promised to launch the most ambitious affordable housing push in state history, take on utility monopolies he blames for runaway energy bills, and ensure that corporations pay what he calls their fair share. The candidate points to his record as a political outsider who has spent millions of his own dollars winning ballot fights on climate, health care, and redistricting. St