13 things about San Francisco, California businessman Tom Steyer

Thomas “Tom” Fahr Steyer is a native of Manhattan, New York City, New York, United States. He is a billionaire residing in San Francisco, California, USA.

BIOGRAPHY

Steyer is an American businessman, environmentalist, climate investor, hedge fund manager, philanthropist and liberal activist. He was born in Manhattan to Roy Henry Steyer and Marnie Fahr Steyer.

Roy was a non-practicing Jew. He was a partner in the New York City law firm of Sullivan & Cromwell and a prosecutor at the Nuremberg Trials.

Marnie was Episcopalian. She was a remedial reading teacher at the Brooklyn Hose of Detention in Brooklyn, New York City.

Raised on the Upper East Side of Manhattan, Tom attended Buckley School on the Upper East Side and graduated valedictorian from Phillips Exeter Academy in Exeter, New Hampshire, USA. He graduated summa cum laude from Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut, USA with bachelor’s degrees in economics and political science.

Tom earned his master’s degree in business administration from Stanford University in Stanford, California. Here are 13 more things about him:

1. In 1979, he started his professional career at Morgan Stanley in Manhattan.
2. From 1983 to 1985, he worked at Goldman Sachs in Manhattan as an associate in the risk arbitrage division.
3. In 1986, he married Kathryn Ann “Kat” Taylor and he founded Farallon Capital, a hedge fund firm based in San Francisco.
4. In 2006, he and Taylor founded a social enterprise business called OneRoof, Inc.
5. In 2007, he and Taylor founded Beneficial State Bank, a community development bank based in Oakland, California.
6. From 2007 to 2017, he served on the board of trustees at Stanford University.
7. In August 2010, he and Taylor signed The Giving Pledge to donate half of their fortune to charity during their lifetime. 
8. In 2011, he founded Advanced Energy Economy, a national trade association based in Washington, D.C., USA.
9. In 2012, he sold his stake in Farallon Capital and retired from the firm so he could focus on his alternative energy advocacy.
10. In 2013, he created a progressive advocacy nonprofit and political action committee called NextGen America.
11. In 2020, he sought the Democratic nomination for U.S. president but dropped out of the race after the first four state contests.
12. In 2021, he and Katie Hall co-founded a climate-focused investment firm called Galvanize Climate Solutions.
13. On June 27, 2024, he turned 67.

TIMELINE

In 1983, Tom worked on the campaign of Walter Mondale, who lost to Ronald Reagan in the 1984 U.S. presidential election. Tom raised money for Bill Bradley, who lost to Al Gore in the 2000 Democratic Party presidential primaries, John Kerry, who lost to George W. Bush in the 2004 U.S. presidential election, and Hillary Clinton, who lost to Donald Trump in the 2016 U.S. presidential election.

2018

• On October 6, 2018, Cesar Sayoc tried to send two suspicious packages to him, which was intercepted by a postal worker at a sorting facility in Burlingame, California.

2019

• On July 9, 2019, he launched his campaign for the Democratic presidential nomination.

2020

• On February 29, 2020, he suspended his campaign for the Democratic presidential nomination.

2021

• On September 9, 2021, he and Hall launched Galvanize Climate Solutions.

2022

• On April 22, 2022, he received the 2022 Climate Visionary Award from Earthday.org at the 2022 Annual Climate Leadership Gala at the Mayflower Hoel in Washington, D.C., USA.

2023

• On October 24, 2023, he received the Earth Award from TIME Magazine at the TIME100 Next Gala in New York City.

2024

• On May 28, 2024, Spiegel & Grau published his book “Cheaper, Faster, Better: How We’ll Win the Climate War”.

2025

• On March 25, 2025, he spoke onstage during the Common Sense Summit on Kids and Families 2025 in San Francisco.