Billionaire Tom Steyer enters California governor’s race

SAN FRANCISCO (KGO) — Billionaire Tom Steyer has officially entered the race for California governor.

“Californians deserve a life they can afford. But the Californians who make this state run are being run over by the cost of living. We need to get back to basics. And that means making corporations pay their fair share again,” Steyer said in a campaign video released Wednesday morning.

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Steyer is a Stanford University graduate. He founded Farallon Capital Management, a major hedge fund managing billions of dollars. He retired from the company in 2012 to focus on political activism.

Steyer ran for president in 2020, spending more than $190 million on that campaign. But he dropped out after the early primaries.

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Steyer joins a crowded field of candidates for governor, including longtime California representative Toni Atkins, former Secretary of Health and Human Services Xavier Becerra, Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco, former congresswoman Katie Porter, California’s State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond, former LA mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, and Former California State Controller Betty Yee.