Soros Clones: 5 Liberal Mega-Donors Nearly as Dangerous as George Soros

Born: 1957

Net Worth: $1.6 Billion

Foundation: TomKat Charitable Trust, TomKat Foundation

Soros Clone Rating: 4 out of 5

Media Outlets: Center for American Progress, Common Sense Media, Center for Ecoliteracy

Steyer has sought to remake himself from successful businessman into banker for the left. The attempt earned him the title of “environmental hero” from The Washington Post. His $100 million donation will go toward “taking on big oil and special interests” in 2014, according to a lengthy op-ed he wrote in Politico defending his own coal investments. According to another Politico article, the Keystone Pipeline will be one of the main targets of this campaign spending blitz. 

Steyer has been known to stretch the truth to advance his political goals. A Time magazine article from May 22, 2014, admitted that Steyer’s TV and online ads had factual problems. The claim that the Keystone Pipeline would be used to ship American oil to China was “not an argument anchored in reality” but one that “fits Steyer’s larger conviction that the economy needs to be as big a part of the climate message as the environment.” The article then quoted Steyer rationalizing his actions, saying, “[s]ometimes you need to take the fight that’s there.” 

Despite all of this, Steyer hadn’t divested his coal interests from his own portfolio until June 30, 2014. Up until that point, Steyer was still making money off of fossil fuel investments through Farallon Capital management, which he founded. 

A July 4, 2014, New York Times article pointed out that these investments actually “increased their annual production by 70 million tons since they received money from the hedge fund.” The same article noted that Farallon had “pumped hundreds of millions of dollars” into the coal industry. The Times cited “corporate records, government data and interviews with industry experts” to support its case.

Yet, Steyer remained the billionaire poster child of the environmental movement.

Steyer founded NextGen Climate in 2013 to help push his climate change agenda. The group claims to “act politically to avert climate disaster and preserve American prosperity” by taking “bold action” and “exposing those who deny reality and cater to special interests.” 

Buffett, Bloomberg and Steyer were also members of Bill and Melinda Gates’ Giving Pledge. Steyer donated much of his money through his foundations, which include the TomKat Charitable Trust, the Pacific Coast Foundation, the TomKat Foundation and the TomKat Ranch Educational Foundation. 

Pouring $8 million into the race, Steyer was instrumental in Democrat Terry McAuliffe’s 2012 gubernatorial victory in Virginia over GOP candidate Ken Cuccinelli. He also started a fund to bankroll former Florida governor and current gubernatorial candidate Charlie Crist. While Steyer began this fund with $750,000, "some Florida Democrats believe he intends to spend as much as $10 million," to aid the former Republican, according to the Tampa Bay Business Journal. Crist formerly left the governorship, and the Republican Party, to run for U.S. Senate as an Independent. He lost that race won by Republican candidate Marco Rubio.

Through the TomKat Charitable trust, Steyer donated more than $4.7 million to liberal groups since 2009, not including his more than $8.5 million in political donations.

Partial List of Steyer’s Donations Since 2008:

• Center for American Progress: $2,650,000
• Center for Ecoliteracy: $1,292,769
• Environmental Defense Fund: $500,000
• EcoTrust: $471,000
• 350.org: $250,000

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