For those concerned about the influence of Big Tech and billionaires on California’s future, Tom Steyer looks like an obvious choice. A billionaire who amassed his fortune after founding Farallon Capital Management, one of the world’s biggest hedge funds, Steyer quit the firm in 2012 and turned to philanthropy, political advocacy, and climate activism, among other pursuits. Now, he’s jostling for position among a handful of Democratic and GOP candidates looking to advance from a June primary and then win the California governorship this November.
Ahead of the midterms, I’m talking to candidates relevant to WIRED’s interests: A few weeks ago I spoke with Alex Bores, a candidate for New York’s 12th Congressional District, whose history as a Palantir employee and stance on AI regulation has attracted the ire of Silicon Valley–backed super PACs.
Steyer felt like the next obvious choice for a conversation: He’s running to lead a state where issues like AI, immigration enforcement, and climate change, among other core WIRED subjects, are paramount. Steyer’s posture in the race is also unique. He’s been described as a “class traitor” for ostensibly eschewing his fellow elites, voiced support for California’s controversial Billionaire Tax Act—which has everyone from Sergey Brin to Peter Thiel either making moves to or threatening to flee the state—and campaigned hard on affordability, climate policy, and the promise that he’s immune to corporate influence. (As a billionaire spending more than $130 million on his own gubernatorial campaign, I certainly hope he would be.)
As I said, for some Democratic voters, Tom Steyer seems to check a lot of boxes. Then he starts talking.
Steyer is adept, as politicians usually are, at toeing the line. But the line, in politics generally and California specifically, seems to be the problem: Steyer, or whomever is elected to the governorship this November, will be walking an exceedingly thin one. Taxing California’s billionaires without alienating them. Getting a grip on the state’s AI development without throttling it (or, again, alienating the billionaires building it).
I could feel Steyer’s reluctance to come down too firmly or dig in too deeply on issues, maybe to avoid alienating any potential voting block. Which made me wonder: Can Tom Steyer be a pro-billionaire governor who also taxes the hell out of them? Can he rave about the “mind-blowingly amazing” advances in AI while bringing the industry to heel? Can he learn the name of WIRED’s global editorial director (me) before she interviews him?
The third question is answered in the interview. The former two will be formidable challenges for anyone elected to California’s governorship—and I didn’t leave our conversation convinced that Steyer’s posture is a particularly coherent one. The minimum requirement for a California governor might be the ability to use Google.
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
KATIE DRUMMOND: Welcome, Tom, thank you for joining us on The Big Interview.
TOM STEYER: Kate [sic], thank you for having me.
So, you’re a billionaire. You made your money in the hedge fund world. But now, in the last decade-plus, you’ve become a climate activist. Tell us about that transformation.
When I was growing up, when I got free time, either from school or work, I tried to go to wild places and get outdoor jobs. I worked as a ranch hand, I worked picking fruit. Before I went to business school, I spent the summer in Alaska, and I went to Alaska because I wanted to see what North America looked like before Europeans showed up.
I wanted to see the animals, I wanted to see the birds, I wanted to see the fish, I wanted to look at Denali. I wanted to see what it looked like, vast untracked North America, rich and fertile.
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