{"id":1286,"date":"2026-05-17T15:39:58","date_gmt":"2026-05-17T15:39:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/usglobalnews.com\/?p=1286"},"modified":"2026-05-17T15:39:59","modified_gmt":"2026-05-17T15:39:59","slug":"a-tax-the-rich-billionaire-candidate-democrats-are-intrigued","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/usglobalnews.com\/?p=1286","title":{"rendered":"A \u2018tax-the-rich\u2019 billionaire candidate? Democrats are intrigued"},"content":{"rendered":"<div style=\"border-color:var(--article-border)\" class=\"dcr-wqti5a\">\n<div class=\"dcr-1fw0voq\">\n<div style=\"--grid-area:media\" data-gu-name=\"media\" class=\"dcr-1fnjjtg\">\n<div class=\"dcr-1j5hrwi\">\n<div class=\"dcr-tr9ye5\">\n<figure id=\"2edcab66-a5a3-4474-926c-78ee00dc8d5a\" class=\"dcr-142siv7\">\n<div id=\"img-1\" class=\"dcr-1t8m8f2\"><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"A man gestures with open arms while holding a microphone, speaking to a seated audience\" src=\"https:\/\/i.guim.co.uk\/img\/media\/9376b4bac6969f8774ab340b19bb86886ea8a198\/158_0_6471_5178\/master\/6471.jpg?width=465&amp;dpr=1&amp;s=none&amp;crop=none\" width=\"465\" height=\"372.086230876217\" loading=\"eager\" class=\"dcr-evn1e9\"><span class=\"dcr-v822l1\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"dcr-gup2gr\">\n<div class=\"dcr-fntg6k\"><label for=\"the-checkbox\" class=\"dcr-1xgwz8b\"><\/label> <\/p>\n<div id=\"the-caption\"><figcaption data-spacefinder-role=\"inline\" class=\"dcr-1os51wo\"><span class=\"dcr-hvsf4t\"><\/span><span class=\"dcr-1qvd3m6\">Tom Steyer campaigns In Riverside, California, on 12 May 2026.<\/span> Photograph: Brian Cahn\/ZUMA Press Wire\/Shutterstock<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><\/span><a href=\"#img-1\" data-ignore=\"global-link-styling\" class=\"open-lightbox dcr-13fd1ms\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><button data-element-id=\"2edcab66-a5a3-4474-926c-78ee00dc8d5a\" type=\"button\" class=\"open-lightbox dcr-4tmywn\" aria-haspopup=\"dialog\"><span class=\"dcr-194i6pr\">View image in fullscreen<\/span><\/button><\/a><\/div>\n<p><span class=\"dcr-n4pnam\"><figcaption data-spacefinder-role=\"inline\" class=\"dcr-1hdkqum\"><span class=\"dcr-hvsf4t\"><\/span><span class=\"dcr-1qvd3m6\">Tom Steyer campaigns In Riverside, California, on 12 May 2026.<\/span> Photograph: Brian Cahn\/ZUMA Press Wire\/Shutterstock<\/figcaption><\/span><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div style=\"--grid-area:border\" data-gu-name=\"border\" class=\"dcr-1fnjjtg\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"--grid-area:headline\" data-gu-name=\"headline\" class=\"dcr-1fnjjtg\">\n<div class=\"dcr-14emo0l\">\n<div class=\"dcr-1aqe7zu\">\n<h1 class=\"dcr-1k1a1x\">A \u2018tax-the-rich\u2019 billionaire candidate? Democrats are intrigued<\/h1>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div style=\"--grid-area:standfirst\" data-gu-name=\"standfirst\" class=\"dcr-1fnjjtg\">\n<div class=\"dcr-cj4vxp\">\n<p>Tom Steyer has built his campaign for governor of California around affordability \u2013 he\u2019s not the only Democrat testing the party\u2019s appetite for a populist from the 1%<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div style=\"--grid-area:body\" data-gu-name=\"body\" class=\"dcr-kn9unn\">\n<div class=\"dcr-1a4fred\">\n<div id=\"maincontent\" class=\"dcr-ydnaza\">\n<div class=\"article-body-commercial-selector article-body-viewer-selector dcr-1c9t5u6\">\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">Tom Steyer has built his campaign for governor of California around affordability \u2013 and taxing the uber-wealthy.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">It is perhaps an unusual message for a candidate with an <a href=\"https:\/\/www.forbes.com\/profile\/thomas-steyer\/\" data-link-name=\"in body link\">estimated<\/a> net worth of $2.4bn. But the hedge fund founder-turned climate activist and liberal mega-donor is pitching himself as a different kind of billionaire: one who wants people like him to pay far more in taxes.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">As early voting ballots trickle in for the 2 June primary, Steyer a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/interactive\/polls\/california-governor-election-polls-2026.html\" data-link-name=\"in body link\">leading<\/a> candidate in the unsettled contest, is racing to convince Californians that his elect-the-rich-guy-to-eat-the-rich candidacy isn\u2019t a contradiction.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">\u201cPeople are very skeptical of billionaires,\u201d Steyer, wearing a beige baseball cap with the words \u201cclass traitor\u201d embroidered on it, told a small group of reporters at a campaign event in East LA on Wednesday. \u201cI\u2019m skeptical of billionaires because we\u2019ve seen so many billionaires being selfish and arrogant.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">Steyer\u2019s campaign arrives at a particularly combustible political moment in the US, shaped by a surge in anti-elite populism, widening income inequality and growing suspicion of billionaire power across both parties.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">A <a href=\"https:\/\/theharrispoll.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Americans-and-Billionaires-Survey-October-2025-Year-3-November-2025.pdf\" data-link-name=\"in body link\">survey<\/a> conducted last year by the Harris Poll found that the share of Americans who said billionaires threaten American democracy rose to 53%, up 7 points from 2024. At the same time, nearly eight in 10 respondents said they were more likely to support a billionaire who \u201cchallenges unjust systems\u201d.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">Since Donald Trump\u2019s return to office, millions have flocked to hear Senator Bernie Sanders excoriate the 1% on his cross-country Fighting Oligarchy tour. In New York, the city\u2019s new democratic socialist mayor, Zohran Mamdani, celebrated tax day by filming a video outside billionaire Ken Griffin\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2019\/01\/24\/nyregion\/238-million-penthouse-sale.html\" data-link-name=\"in body link\">$238m Manhattan<\/a> penthouse to promote a tax proposal on luxury second homes. Earlier this month protests erupted over the involvement of Amazon founder Jeff Bezos\u2019s involvement in this year\u2019s Met Gala.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">\u201cYou can\u2019t earn a billion dollars,\u201d Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York <a href=\"https:\/\/open.spotify.com\/episode\/6ElwahgBlO1xnJFqWUoMdX?si=4e193cf753614110&amp;utm_medium=share&amp;utm_source=linktree&amp;nd=1&amp;dlsi=da286a13cf73457b\" data-link-name=\"in body link\">said<\/a> in a podcast interview earlier this month, setting off a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/opinions\/2026\/05\/07\/alexandria-ocasio-cortez-is-wrong-about-billionaires\/\" data-link-name=\"in body link\">heated<\/a> debate.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">Anti-rich sentiment is especially pronounced in the Golden State, which boasts the world\u2019s fourth largest economy and more billionaires than any other US state. Yet <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/us-news\/california\" data-link-name=\"in body link\" data-component=\"auto-linked-tag\">California<\/a> faces a deep affordability crisis, leaving many voters searching for a governor who will do more than take on the billionaire in the White House.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">They want someone who will \u201cupend the system\u201d, said Lorena Gonzalez, president of the powerful California Federation of Labor Unions.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">A decade after Trump, a billionaire real estate mogul, proved he could harness working-class discontent, Democrats see a chance to rebuild their frayed coalition and win back the voters squeezed by the rising cost of rent, utilities and groceries<strong>. <\/strong>Ahead of the November midterm elections, Democrats are hammering Trump over his coziness with Silicon Valley billionaires and his preoccupation with building a ballroom at the White House, evidence, they say, that the president\u2019s party has abandoned working class voters in favor of a new gilded-age oligarchy.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">\u201cThere\u2019s no question that we think working people represent working people best,\u201d said Gonzalez, whose union issued a multi-candidate endorsement of Steyer, former congresswoman Katie Porter and former LA mayor Antonio Villaraigosa. But, she continued, \u201cif there is a billionaire who says, \u2018I will take on this entire system, shit, all right, let\u2019s see.\u201d<\/p>\n<hr class=\"dcr-z9ge1j\">\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\"><span style=\"color:var(--drop-cap);font-weight:500\" class=\"dcr-15rw6c2\">S<\/span>teyer is not the only Democrat testing the party\u2019s appetite for a populist from the 1%. In Illinois, Governor JB Pritzker, a scion of the Pritzker family that founded the Hyatt hotel chain, is running for a third term \u2013 and widely believed to be considering a presidential bid in 2028.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">Other wealthy progressives include Saikat Chakrabarti, a centimillionaire tech entrepreneur and former chief of staff to Ocasio-Cortez who is self-funding<a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/us-news\/2025\/nov\/12\/chakrabarti-aoc-pelosis-trump-ballroom\" data-link-name=\"in body link\"> his anti-establishment bid<\/a> to succeed retiring former House speaker Nancy Pelosi in San Francisco.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"517ac652-583d-4e0a-b76b-13ec2d0aacd9\" data-spacefinder-role=\"showcase\" data-spacefinder-type=\"model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.ImageBlockElement\" class=\"dcr-5h0uf4\">\n<div id=\"img-2\" class=\"dcr-1t8m8f2\"><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Saikat Chakrabarti, left, a centimillionaire tech entrepreneur and former chief of staff to Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, right, is running for Nancy Pelosi\u2019s seat.\" src=\"https:\/\/i.guim.co.uk\/img\/media\/15f6a3cc581747afc7d095c1361011b09e5a14d6\/0_0_3686_2756\/master\/3686.jpg?width=445&amp;dpr=1&amp;s=none&amp;crop=none\" width=\"445\" height=\"332.72381985892565\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"dcr-evn1e9\"><a href=\"#img-2\" data-ignore=\"global-link-styling\" class=\"open-lightbox dcr-13fd1ms\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><button data-element-id=\"517ac652-583d-4e0a-b76b-13ec2d0aacd9\" type=\"button\" class=\"open-lightbox dcr-4tmywn\" aria-haspopup=\"dialog\"><span class=\"dcr-194i6pr\">View image in fullscreen<\/span><\/button><\/a><\/div><figcaption data-spacefinder-role=\"inline\" class=\"dcr-9ktzqp\"><span class=\"dcr-1inf02i\"><\/span><span class=\"dcr-1qvd3m6\">Saikat Chakrabarti, left, a centimillionaire tech entrepreneur and former chief of staff to AOC is running for Nancy Pelosi\u2019s seat.<\/span> Photograph: Pablo Mart\u00ednez Monsiv\u00e1is\/AP<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">Wealthy Democrats are hardly a new phenomenon. From Franklin Roosevelt\u2019s patrician roots to John F Kennedy\u2019s vast family fortune, the party has a history of elevating affluent political leaders who framed their privilege as a responsibility to serve the public. As <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/profile\/cas-mudde\" data-link-name=\"in body link\">Cas Mudde<\/a>, a leading scholar of populism, noted by email, \u201csocialists have long been led by \u2018class traitors\u2019 (eg Friedrich Engels) or have supported rich politicians and intellectuals (for example Bernie Sanders and Noam Chomsky)\u201d.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">In progressive San Francisco, Mayor Daniel Lurie, a moderate Democrat and heir to the Levi Strauss fortune, governs with a technocratic style reminiscent of Mike Bloomberg, the billionaire who served three terms as New York\u2019s mayor \u2013 and residents love it. A recent poll showed <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2026\/02\/03\/us\/san-francisco-mayor-daniel-lurie.html\" data-link-name=\"in body link\">74%<\/a> approval of his job performance.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">Across the country, however, Democrats are confronting a rising anti-establishment backlash, with the party\u2019s rank-and-file, still seething from the party\u2019s 2024 losses to Trump, embracing the economic populism of candidates like oyster farmer Graham Platner in Maine and seminarian James Talarico in Texas.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">Amid a volatile job market and escalating inflation, voters want leaders who understand their economic struggles. In California, with the nation\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sfchronicle.com\/california\/article\/cost-living-electricity-california-21360801.php?fbclid=IwY2xjawR1f45leHRuA2FlbQIxMABicmlkETFOM2ppQThqdmRIdXQ0SU9Oc3J0YwZhcHBfaWQQMjIyMDM5MTc4ODIwMDg5MgABHuvWBAoUb845L0yo7tu-lnpOwKH89xb_FfK2yUfIbrBeq_iPa-OSUeVIQ20j_aem_qPPT2eQsXs0c2_OodRgzew&amp;utm_campaign=mrf-facebook-SFChronicle&amp;mrfcid=2026042569ecca6461162f69ee4517c0\" data-link-name=\"in body link\">highest cost of living<\/a> and gas prices <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/us-news\/2026\/may\/01\/gas-price-california-iran-war\" data-link-name=\"in body link\">topping<\/a> $6 per gallon amid the Iran war, that demand is particularly urgent.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"93ed9625-1eaa-4105-8deb-90f0c74c64bd\" data-spacefinder-role=\"showcase\" data-spacefinder-type=\"model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.ImageBlockElement\" class=\"dcr-5h0uf4\">\n<div id=\"img-3\" class=\"dcr-1t8m8f2\"><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Democratic Senate candidate for Texas, James Talarico, speaks during his primary election night party in Austin, Texas, on 4 March 2026.\" src=\"https:\/\/i.guim.co.uk\/img\/media\/fa04ec99db838b608f68a2603151ff2a6b48a88b\/0_0_5500_3667\/master\/5500.jpg?width=445&amp;dpr=1&amp;s=none&amp;crop=none\" width=\"445\" height=\"296.69363636363636\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"dcr-evn1e9\"><a href=\"#img-3\" data-ignore=\"global-link-styling\" class=\"open-lightbox dcr-13fd1ms\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><button data-element-id=\"93ed9625-1eaa-4105-8deb-90f0c74c64bd\" type=\"button\" class=\"open-lightbox dcr-4tmywn\" aria-haspopup=\"dialog\"><span class=\"dcr-194i6pr\">View image in fullscreen<\/span><\/button><\/a><\/div><figcaption data-spacefinder-role=\"inline\" class=\"dcr-9ktzqp\"><span class=\"dcr-1inf02i\"><\/span><span class=\"dcr-1qvd3m6\">Democratic Senate candidate for Texas, James Talarico, speaks during his primary election night party in Austin, Texas, on 4 March 2026.<\/span> Photograph: Joel Angel Juarez\/Reuters<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">Perhaps then it is a sign of the times that if Steyer advances to the November general election, Californians would likely have the chance to elect a billionaire for governor and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/us-news\/2026\/apr\/27\/california-billionaire-tax\" data-link-name=\"in body link\">impose<\/a> a first-of-its-kind wealth tax on the state\u2019s richest residents. Steyer has said he would vote for the so-called \u201cbillionaire\u201d tax that has drawn the ire of some of the state\u2019s richest tech leaders.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">That, in part, has helped Steyer consolidate support among progressives in the state, including Representative Ro Khanna, whose Silicon Valley-based district is the wealthiest in the country. He also earned the somewhat begrudging endorsement of the California Democratic Socialists (DSA) of America, which wrote that Steyer was \u201csomehow\u201d the most progressive candidate in the race \u201cdespite being a billionaire\u201d who earned his wealth through the \u201cexploitation of the working class\u201d.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">In the governor\u2019s race, Democrats briefly fretted a lock-out scenario, in which two Republicans would advance to the general election \u2013 a quirk of the state\u2019s nonpartisan primary system. Surveying the field of Democratic aspirants, many on the left saw few better options.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">\u201cWe fundamentally believe billionaires are a policy failure,\u201d said Joseph Geevarghese, executive director of the Bernie Sanders-founded Our Revolution, whose endorsement helped <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nbcnews.com\/politics\/2026-election\/tom-steyer-unexpected-alliance-progressives-california-governor-race-rcna342878\" data-link-name=\"in body link\">cement<\/a> Steyer as the leading progressive in the race. \u201cBut in this case, he is the person most aligned with our values.\u201d<\/p>\n<hr class=\"dcr-z9ge1j\">\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\"><span style=\"color:var(--drop-cap);font-weight:500\" class=\"dcr-15rw6c2\">S<\/span>teyer\u2019s spending has <a href=\"https:\/\/calmatters.org\/politics\/2026\/04\/california-governor-race-financials\/\" data-link-name=\"in body link\">dwarfed<\/a> his rivals. Since launching his campaign seven months ago, he has spent more than $<a href=\"https:\/\/calmatters.org\/politics\/2026\/04\/california-governor-race-financials\/\" data-link-name=\"in body link\">132m<\/a> \u2013 and counting \u2013 of his own money to saturate the California airwaves and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.latimes.com\/politics\/story\/2026-05-15\/steyer-campaign-pays-influencers-their-posts-dont-always-make-that-clear\" data-link-name=\"in body link\">pay<\/a> social media influencers, some of whom have <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/technology\/2026\/05\/15\/tom-steyers-influencer-campaign-triggers-california-investigation-over-undisclosed-posts\/\" data-link-name=\"in body link\">failed to disclose <\/a>the payments.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">His opponents have tried to make his accumulation of wealth a vulnerability. At a debate last month, Porter, one of Steyer\u2019s Democratic rivals for governor, attacked him over investments made by the hedge fund he founded and stepped back from in 2012. Steyer, she said, was a \u201cbillionaire who got rich off polluters and ICE prisons and is now using that money to fund this election\u201d.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"e8e92d2d-e659-4bfd-bbc5-e4a18fee1cd9\" data-spacefinder-role=\"showcase\" data-spacefinder-type=\"model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.ImageBlockElement\" class=\"dcr-5h0uf4\">\n<div id=\"img-4\" class=\"dcr-1t8m8f2\"><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"A campaign bus for California gubernatorial candidate Tom Steyer is parked in the lot of Pan Pacific Park before a campaign event in Los Angeles, on 7 May 2026.\" src=\"https:\/\/i.guim.co.uk\/img\/media\/327e6657630006d4f2b58c7f7073cfa4070b955d\/0_0_8640_5760\/master\/8640.jpg?width=445&amp;dpr=1&amp;s=none&amp;crop=none\" width=\"445\" height=\"296.66666666666663\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"dcr-evn1e9\"><a href=\"#img-4\" data-ignore=\"global-link-styling\" class=\"open-lightbox dcr-13fd1ms\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><button data-element-id=\"e8e92d2d-e659-4bfd-bbc5-e4a18fee1cd9\" type=\"button\" class=\"open-lightbox dcr-4tmywn\" aria-haspopup=\"dialog\"><span class=\"dcr-194i6pr\">View image in fullscreen<\/span><\/button><\/a><\/div><figcaption data-spacefinder-role=\"inline\" class=\"dcr-9ktzqp\"><span class=\"dcr-1inf02i\"><\/span><span class=\"dcr-1qvd3m6\">A campaign bus for California gubernatorial candidate Tom Steyer is parked in the lot of Pan Pacific Park before a campaign event in Los Angeles, on 7 May 2026. <\/span> Photograph: Jae C Hong\/AP<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">Funding his own campaign, Steyer counters he \u201ccan\u2019t be bought\u201d \u2013 an echo of Trump\u2019s appeal in 2016, when he cast his Republican rivals as beholden to a corrupt political system. On the campaign trail, Steyer reminds voters that while he is the only billionaire on the state ballot he is \u201cnot the only billionaire in this race\u201d, pointing to the corporations and tech executives spending against his campaign.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">\u201cIf the teachers and the nurses and the cafeteria workers and the hotel workers and the people who work in schools stand up for me, that\u2019s my crew,\u201d Steyer said in East LA. \u201cIf the working people of this state understand that I am for them 100% then I\u2019ve done my job.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">Self-funders have a long record of losing, as Steyer knows personally after an unsuccessful run for the White House in 2020. Bloomberg also ran for president that year, spending $1bn and winning only one primary contest: the Democratic caucus in American Samoa.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">\u201cIf you have a vast amount of personal wealth, you have cleared one of the biggest hurdles that candidates often are worried about, which is, how will I fund my campaign?\u201d said <a href=\"https:\/\/issueone.org\/team\/michael-beckel\/\" data-link-name=\"in body link\">Michael Beckel,<\/a> the director of money and politics reform at Issue One, a nonpartisan political advocacy group. \u201cBut at the end of the day \u2026 voters must also like a politician\u2019s platform and ideas.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">At Steyer\u2019s campaign event on Wednesday night \u2013 a stop on his \u201cA California You Can Afford\u201d tour, featuring \u201cfree\u201d tacos and face painting \u2013 there were signs his \u201ctax me more\u201d pitch was resonating.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">\u201cHonestly, if it takes a billionaire who wants to be taxed more and wants to use that money to help people, then at this point, he\u2019s our guy,\u201d said Duane Paul Murphy, a 30-year-old who lives in the San Fernando Valley.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">Carla Ramirez, 66, who came from the Antelope Valley with her husband, liked much of what she heard Steyer say. Deeply alarmed by the concentration of wealth in America, she wants the state\u2019s next governor to enact bold change, like the kind she sees Mamdani setting in motion as mayor of New York.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">\u201cRight now, our country is run by billionaires,\u201d Ramirez sighed. By the evening\u2019s end, she still wasn\u2019t sure <strong>\u2013 <\/strong>at least not yet <strong>\u2013<\/strong> if California should be run by one, too.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div data-print-layout=\"hide\" class=\"dcr-qxqnsy\"><span class=\"dcr-1rq3vad\">Explore more on these topics<\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"dcr-1dzx48f\">\n<ul class=\"dcr-1rrvs2w\">\n<li class=\"dcr-hj8byr\"><a href=\"\/us-news\/california\" class=\"dcr-1gwziyt\">California<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"dcr-hj8byr\"><a href=\"\/us-news\/tom-steyer\" class=\"dcr-1gwziyt\">Tom Steyer<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"dcr-hj8byr\"><a href=\"\/us-news\/us-politics\" class=\"dcr-1gwziyt\">US politics<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"dcr-hj8byr\"><a href=\"\/us-news\/west-coast\" class=\"dcr-1gwziyt\">West Coast<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"dcr-hj8byr\"><a href=\"\/tone\/features\" class=\"dcr-1gwziyt\">features<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"dcr-nu129i\"><a href=\"mailto:?subject=A%20%E2%80%98tax-the-rich%E2%80%99%20billionaire%20candidate?%20Democrats%20are%20intrigued&amp;body=https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/us-news\/2026\/may\/17\/tom-steyer-billionaire-candidate-democrats?CMP=share_btn_url\" class=\"dcr-125qj9d\">Share<\/a><\/p>\n<div class=\"dcr-zhx6xs\"><a data-link-name=\"meta-syndication-article\" href=\"https:\/\/syndication.theguardian.com\/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Fus-news%2F2026%2Fmay%2F17%2Ftom-steyer-billionaire-candidate-democrats&amp;type=article&amp;internalpagecode=us-news\/2026\/may\/17\/tom-steyer-billionaire-candidate-democrats\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer\" title=\"Reuse this content\" class=\"dcr-14rjinq\">Reuse this content<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div style=\"--grid-area:right-column\" data-gu-name=\"right-column\" class=\"dcr-1h2hraq\">\n<div class=\"dcr-jwg3xc\">\n<section class=\"dcr-1hko8ef\"><\/section>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Tom Steyer campaigns In Riverside, California, on 12 May 2026. Photograph: Brian Cahn\/ZUMA Press Wire\/Shutterstock View image in<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":1287,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1286","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-world-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/usglobalnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1286","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/usglobalnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/usglobalnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usglobalnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1286"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/usglobalnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1286\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1288,"href":"https:\/\/usglobalnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1286\/revisions\/1288"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usglobalnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/1287"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/usglobalnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1286"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usglobalnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1286"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usglobalnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1286"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}