At first glance, President Donald Trump and investor Tom Steyer have a lot in common. Both grew up in New York City. Both are billionaires. Both are outspoken about politics. And both are obsessed with the same man—Donald Trump. The similarities end there.
Billionaire and Democratic candidate, Tom Steyer(Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)
Steyer, who made a fortune founding hedge fund Farallon Capital, gave $65 million to Democratic candidates and environmental programs in 2016. Since Trump's victory in the 2016 Presidential election, he has gone all out to denounce the Trump administration—deriding Trump on social media, on cable news interviews— even in a constant stream of and in paid commercials calling for Trump's impeachment.
On July 9th Steyer took his Trump criticism to a new level—announcing that he was entering the Democratic field for the 2020 presidential election, pledging that he'd spend $100 million of his own cash on his campaign. That cash gives him more financial ammo than any other candidate in the race (so far) and throws even more uncertainty in an already jam-packed Democratic field.
What is Steyer's campaign strategy? What issues will drive his run? Where does he stand on the wide ideological spectrum of current presidential candidates? What does he want?
It's not entirely clear. However, Steyer sat down with me on the Forbes Interview podcast in 2017 to discuss his political ambitions, his controversial climate change views and his philosophy on business and wealth. The candid interview offers a fascinating insight and firsthand look into the mind and motivations of the most well-funded presidential candidate— have a listen.
