A top former Biden White House adviser is calling out what she sees as glaring hypocrisy on the left after the Democratic Socialists of America threw its support behind billionaire investor Tom Steyer in California’s governor race.
Neera Tanden, who served as a senior adviser to President Joe Biden and has long been a prominent figure in Democratic politics, mocked the endorsement over the weekend after the DSA officially backed Steyer despite his Wall Street background and enormous personal fortune.
“I really like Tom Steyer – I have known him a long time,” Tanden wrote on X. “But I have to say I find it so funny that DSA is endorsing a billionaire who started his career at Goldman Sachs.”
The jab landed hard because the Democratic Socialists of America has built much of its identity around attacking billionaires, corporate power, hedge funds, and what it views as exploitative capitalism.
Yet now the country’s largest socialist organization is backing one of the wealthiest candidates in the California governor’s race.
Steyer, whose fortune was built through private equity and hedge-fund investing, founded Farallon Capital Management in 1986 and transformed it into a multibillion-dollar investment empire managing more than $20 billion in assets before he stepped away in 2012.
Farallon specialized heavily in distressed assets and risk arbitrage — aggressive investment strategies often criticized by progressive activists and labor groups.
The DSA itself openly acknowledged the contradiction in its endorsement materials.
In its voter guide, the organization admitted Steyer’s wealth “was earned through the exploitation of the working class” and noted that portions of his fortune were connected to investments in coal mining and private prisons.
“Much of his wealth was also invested in private prisons and coal mining, accumulated by the same things he now decries,” the guide stated.
Still, despite that criticism, the organization ultimately concluded that Steyer represented the “most progressive” viable candidate currently in the race.
“Even if he glibly considers himself a ‘class traitor,’” the guide added, “time will tell whether he’s truly a class traitor.”
The endorsement is already sparking debate inside Democratic circles about ideological consistency and the increasingly blurred lines between establishment wealth and progressive activism.
