Tom Steyer Is Sick of Talking About His Wealth
The billionaire talked to GEN about why he’s running for president — and what he thinks money is for
Tom Steyer is going to appear on Tuesday’s debate stage after all.
The billionaire hedge fund manager and liberal activist is running a long-shot bid for the Democratic presidential nomination, and he’s not afraid to spend his own money in the process. To date, Steyer has dropped $106 million — most of it his own money — on advertising. To at least a small extent, those efforts appear to be paying off: Recent polls show him gaining steam in Nevada and South Carolina. And, most importantly, he’s continued to meet the polling threshold to stay on the debate stage even as more experienced political hands drop out of the contest, one after the next.
That Steyer has been able to stay in the race has frustrated some members of his party, who argue that his money would be better spent elsewhere. The Center for Responsive Politics, for one, has calculated he could have funded five Senate races with it. Steyer rejects his critics as clueless and argues that his campaign is focused on saving humanity by attacking corporations that are causing global temperatures to spike.
