Tom Steyer's Glass House

Tom Steyer's Glass House

The anti-Keystone billionaire throws stones at the Kochs, but what about his motives?

April 24, 2014 7:06 p.m. ET

http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052702304518704579521931354340724

The psychiatric world defines "projection" as the act of denying unpleasant qualities in yourself, while attributing them to others. Consider liberal billionaire Tom Steyer's riff this week about the libertarian billionaire Koch brothers.

Mr. Steyer took exception in a C-SPAN interview to comparisons between his big-dollar funding of Democrats with the Koch brothers' big-dollar funding of Republicans. The Kochs' priorities "line up perfectly with their pocketbooks—and that's not true for us," said Mr. Steyer, who is fighting against the Keystone XL pipeline. Moreover, he insisted, his politicking is "completely open," whereas the Kochs have "not been huge embracers of transparency."

Why is Mr. Steyer so touchy about motives and transparency? The media tend to give liberal spending a pass, since they assume its motives and aims are pure. Mr. Steyer's problem—and he knows it—is that his own purity remains hugely suspect, even among his allies.

It's old news that the billionaire reaped his fortune at hedge fund Farallon Capital, via investments in "dirty" oil and coal projects. Mr. Steyer, who retired from the firm in late 2012, has since publicly repented for his prior investment ways. But what many greens remember is that he didn't do so until he was caught.

Mr. Steyer had spent months fighting Keystone, attending anti-coal rallies and urging colleges to divest from "fossil fuels," before the press noted that his money was still parked at Farallon, still profiting from Kinder Morgan pipelines and coal projects. It was only then, last July, that Mr. Steyer issued a press release saying he'd directed his money be moved to a fund that didn't invest in "tar sands" or "coal" and pledged this process would be complete by the end of 2013.

And don't think that environmentalists failed to notice Mr. Steyer's specific divestment instructions. He did not say in that July press release that he was pulling his money from "fossil fuels"—only tar sands and coal. That may be because Mr. Steyer as recently as 2012 wrote an op-ed in this newspaper supporting more natural-gas extraction, and last year (as the Keystone debate raged) he helped fund a University of Texas study that supported fracking. Farallon over the years has held positions in natural-gas companies.

It's no crime to acknowledge that natural gas reduces carbon-dioxide emissions, though Mr. Steyer's green collaborators uniformly oppose fracking. The billionaire, aware of this liability, has of late made some tougher criticisms of gas drilling but has hardly ruled it out—as he has other "dirty" energy.

Is he still invested in natural gas? Have White House attacks on coal and Keystone made those investments more profitable? We don't know because beyond the July divestment promise, Mr. Steyer hasn't specified where his money sits (including whether it sits in renewable projects reaping taxpayer subsidies). Turns out Mr. Steyer isn't very "transparent" about his finances. Attempts to reach him for comment were unsuccessful.

All of this has furthered green suspicions that Mr. Steyer is motivated by more than climate. He basked in the local attention he gained from California ballot-measure fights to keep the state's climate program in place, and to hit out-of-state businesses with new taxes to finance clean-energy projects. He gave up his Farallon job as he was being mooted as a possible Obama energy secretary. He's suggested a run for the California governor's mansion. That might once have been a long shot. But his pipeline campaign, and pledge to spend $100 million in this midterm election, has gained him a national profile. Keystone has provided a pretty good political return on investment.

Then there is Mr. Steyer's pledge. When he announced the $100 million in February, he said the money would be used to pressure officials to enact climate legislation. Greens happily assumed this meant a repeat of the big money Mr. Steyer spent in the 2013 Massachusetts Senate primary race, bashing Democrat Stephen Lynch for his support of Keystone. Indeed, on Mr. Steyer's initial target list for his $100 million was pro-Keystone Democrat Mary Landrieu.

Mr. Steyer then spent some quality time with senior Democrats, who presumably explained that the establishment would not look kindly on a would-be governor who blew their control of the Senate. Ms. Landrieu came off the list, and Mr. Steyer has downgraded his criteria for playing in races to whether "something important" is at stake. Democratic operators are thrilled. But one can imagine that the absolutist environmental community—not exactly famed for its nuance or pragmatism—is wondering what exactly happened to all Mr. Steyer's putative principles.

So, yes, Mr. Steyer is keen to suggest that everyone else—not he—is motivated by ambition or pocketbooks, and isn't open in dealings. To have any hope of maintaining his rep as a green hero, he has to.

Keystone XL pipeline

TransCanada Corporation is the proposed builder for the Keystone XL pipeline.

Note: Susan E. Rice is a stockholder in the TransCanada Corporation, the White House national security adviser for the Barack Obama administration, and was a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution (think tank).

Foundation to Promote Open Society was a funder for the Brookings Institution (think tank), the Center for American Progress, and the New America Foundation.

George Soros was the chairman for the Foundation to Promote Open Society, and a supporter for the Center for American Progress.

Pete Higgins is a trustee at the Brookings Institution (think tank), and an executive adviser at Hellman & Friedman LLC.

F. Warren Hellman was an honorary trustee at the Brookings Institution (think tank), and the chairman for Hellman & Friedman LLC.

Thomas F. Steyer is a managing director at Hellman & Friedman LLC, a director at the Center for American Progress, a trustee at Stanford University, a funder & director at the Next Generation, and was an advisory council member for the Stanford Graduate School of Business.

Steven A. Denning is a director at the Next Generation, honorary trustee at the Brookings Institution (think tank), a trustee at Stanford University, and an advisory council member for Stanford Graduate School of Business.

Laurene Powell Jobs is a director at the Next Generation, a trustee at Stanford University, was an advisory council member for Stanford Graduate School of Business, a director at the New America Foundation, and married to Steve Jobs.

Eric E. Schmidt is the chairman of the New America Foundation (think tank), was a funder for the New America Foundation (think tank), and a 2008 Bilderberg conference participant (think tank).

Jonathan Soros is a director at the New America Foundation (think tank), George Soros’s son, and was the vice chairman for the Foundation to Promote Open Society.

Foundation to Promote Open Society was a funder for the New America Foundation (think tank), the Center for American Progress, the Brookings Institution (think tank), and the Aspen Institute (think tank).

George Soros is Jonathan Soros’s father, was the chairman for the Foundation to Promote Open Society, and a supporter for the Center for American Progress.

Thomas F. Steyer is a director at the Center for American Progress, a managing director at Hellman & Friedman LLC, a trustee at Stanford University, a funder & director at the Next Generation, and was an advisory council member for the Stanford Graduate School of Business.

Pete Higgins is an executive adviser at Hellman & Friedman LLC, and a trustee at the Brookings Institution (think tank)

F. Warren Hellman was the chairman for Hellman & Friedman LLC., and an honorary trustee at the Brookings Institution (think tank).

Steven A. Denning is a director at the Next Generation, honorary trustee at the Brookings Institution (think tank), a trustee at Stanford University, and an advisory council member for Stanford Graduate School of Business.

Susan E. Rice was a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution (think tank), is a stockholder in the TransCanada Corporation, the White House national security adviser for the Barack Obama administration.

TransCanada Corporation is the proposed builder for the Keystone XL pipeline.

Vernon E. Jordan Jr. is an honorary trustee at the Brookings Institution (think tank), Valerie B. Jarrett’s great uncle, an Oak Bluffs (MA) homeowner, a director at the American Friends of Bilderberg (think tank), and a 2008 Bilderberg conference participant (think tank).

Henry Louis Gates Jr. was an honorary trustee at the Brookings Institution (think tank), is an Oak Bluffs (MA) homeowner, and a trustee at the Aspen Institute (think tank).

Valerie B. Jarrett is Vernon E. Jordan Jr’s great niece, the senior adviser for the Barack Obama administration, and a member of the Commercial Club of Chicago.

James S. Crown is a member of the Commercial Club of Chicago, and a trustee at the Aspen Institute (think tank).

Lester Crown is a member of the Commercial Club of Chicago, and was a lifetime trustee at the Aspen Institute (think tank).

David H. Koch is a trustee at the Aspen Institute (think tank), and the EVP for Koch Industries.