Tom Steyer. Influential manager with international ambitions
In this article you will get acquainted with the biography of one of the most successful managers, who during his lifetime began to make the world a better place.
Tom Steyer was born on June 27, 1957 in Manhattan. Since childhood, he showed a love for sports, and especially football.
It is worth noting that the future billionaire grew up in a quite wealthy family. Tom's mother worked as a teacher, and his father worked as a lawyer and was a partner in the law firm Sullivan & Cromwell.
Thanks to his father's diligence, Tom Steyer began his education at the Buckley School, which is considered one of the most prestigious schools for boys in the United States. It is worth noting that among the graduates of this school were the children of the Rockefellers, Roosevelts and even Trump Jr.
Showing excellent athletic abilities as well as academic skills, Tom's parents were well aware of the future career opportunities for their son.
Therefore, after finishing the ninth grade, it was decided to transfer his son to Phillips Exeter Academy, the end of which opened the way to admission to Yale University.
Manager career
After graduating from university, Tom got a job at Morgan Stanley. After working at the company for only two years, he decided to improve his qualifications, so he entered Harvard Business School.
However, over time, he changed his plans and chose Stanford Business School instead of Harvard, where he actually received an MBA degree.
After receiving his MBA, Tom Steyer received a tempting offer from Goldman Sachs that he simply could not refuse. He began his career at the company in the arbitration and risk management department, but over time began to head the mergers and acquisitions department.
Beginning in 1995, Tom became a member of Hellman & Friedman's executive committee as well as a general partner.
At that time, the company had about $8 billion under management. However, after working only one year in the company, he decides to leave in order to create his own business.
In January 1986, Tom Steyer founded his asset management company Farallon Capital. It is worth noting that at the time of the creation of the investment company, Steyer was a fairly successful and well-known manager, so investors’ money flowed like a river.
Tom's huge fortune was earned through investments in distressed assets during periods of instability, namely, he bought debt obligations during crises, company shares, and so on.
At the time of his departure as president of the company, Farallon Capital had more than $20 billion under management.
Political activity
After retiring as president of Farallon Capital in 2012, Tom became active in environmental protection and promoting alternative energy.
The first serious step in this direction was the sale of shares and assets of companies involved in the extraction and processing of minerals. Tom then created OneRoof, which helped bring technology to the Indian market.
Tom Steyer is a member of the US Democratic Party and was the largest investor during the Obama campaign.
It's also worth noting that Steyer is an active fundraiser for various PR campaigns on the climate agreement. In one of his interviews, Tom said that he was ready to sacrifice any means to prevent President Trump from breaking the climate agreement.
Today, Tom Steyer's personal fortune is estimated at more than $1.6 billion.
Steyer and his wife signed the famous agreement between Buffett and Bill Gates, “The Giving Pledge,” according to which they pledged to spend at least half of their fortune on charity during their lifetime.