Billionaire climate activist Tom Steyer came in third in the California gubernatorial primary despite pouring hundreds of millions of his own dollars into his campaign.
Steyer, a Democrat, self-funded his failed campaign for governor $213 million, according to CalMatters. One week after polls closed, outlets called that former Fox News host Steve Hilton, a Republican backed by President Donald Trump, had edged out Steyer for the second spot in the November general election.
Former Biden-era Secretary of Health and Human Services Xavier Becerra, clinched a runoff spot days earlier with a first-place finish in the all-party primary. Like Steyer, Becerra is a Democrat.
Steyer has spent the most a candidate has ever spent of their own money on a California gubernatorial campaign since digital campaign finance records were first recorded back in 1999, CalMatters reported. Former eBay CEO Meg Whitman set a record for personal wealth spent on a California gubernatorial campaign when she spent $140 million of her own money on her failed 2010 run.
During the 2026 midterms, candidates have spent more of their own personal wealth on campaigns across state and congressional legislative offices and statewide offices than ever before, the outlet reported.
Steyer has a net worth of $2.4 billion, according to Forbes. He founded and ran Farallon Capital Management, a hedge fund in California, for 26 years, before he sold his stake in 2012 and got involved in politics.
Steyer’s campaign emphasized around affordability, planning to lower the cost of housing and electricity in California. The climate activist planned to lower electricity costs by breaking utility company monopolies. He cofounded an investing firm, Galvanize Climate Solutions, which promotes “energy transition.”
The billionaire’s campaign manager called him a “progressive changemaker” in a May press release. He had plans to “build 1 million homes over four years and fundamentally transform affordability” in California, according to his website.
Steyer was an unsuccessfully candidate for the Democratic presidential nomination in 2020.
In May, Steyer encouraged a biological male track and field athlete who took two girls’ state titles in 2025.
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