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The Epic Hypocrisy of Tom Steyer


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the-epic-hypocrisy-of-tom-steyer.phpPower Line:

John Hinderaker

April 20, 2014

 

Billionaire hedge fund operator and “green” energy magnate Tom Steyer has pledged $100 million in the 2014 election cycle to help Democratic candidates who oppose the Keystone pipeline and who favor “green” energy over fossil fuels. Steyer claims to be a man of principle who has no financial interest in the causes he supports, but acts only for the public good. That is a ridiculous claim: Steyer is the ultimate rent-seeker who depends on government connections to produce subsidies and mandates that make his “green” energy investments profitable. He also is, or was until recently, a major investor in Kinder Morgan, which is building a competitor to the Keystone pipeline. Go here, here, here, here, here and here for more information about how Steyer uses his political donations and consequent connections to enhance his already vast fortune.

 

But Steyer’s hypocrisy goes still deeper. Today, he is a bitter opponent of fossil fuels, especially coal. That fits with his current economic interests: banning coal-fired power plants will boost the value of his solar projects. But it was not always thus. In fact, Steyer owes his fortune in large part to the fact that he has been one of the world’s largest financers of coal projects. Tom Steyer was for coal before he was against it.

 

A reader with first-hand knowledge of the relevant Asian and Australian markets sent us this detailed report on how Steyer got rich on coal. He titled his report “Hypocrisy & Hedge Funds: Climate Change Warrior Tom Steyer’s Secret Life as Coal Investment Kingpin.” Here it is, in full:

 

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Hypocrisy is not in short supply in the political world, but Tom Steyer is in a class by himself. Now that he is enriching himself through “green” cronyism, coal is evil. Sure: like all hydrocarbons, it competes with the solar energy boondoggles on which he is making millions, with the aid of the Obama administration. But where was Steyer’s alleged social conscience when he was one of the world’s biggest investors in coal? And how substantial are his current holdings in coal projects? Is Steyer financing his anti-fossil fuel campaign on profits from past or, perhaps, ongoing investments in Asian and Australian coal? Inquiring minds want to know! Tom Steyer appears to have elevated political hypocrisy to an entirely new level.


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The Black Book of Tom Steyer
Allegations of fraud plague hedge fund of Democratic super-donor
Lachlan Markay
April 21, 2014

The former hedge fund of one of the Democratic Party’s most important donors was involved in a scheme to defraud foreign investors out of tens of millions of dollars, according to documents filed in a Texas court.

 

Farallon Capital Partners L.P., a fund run by Farallon Capital Management, the multibillion-dollar hedge fund founded by Democratic donor Tom Steyer, became a limited partner in a project to build a large shopping mall near Seattle, Wash., in the mid-1990s after it guaranteed a line of credit for the project.

 

According to the Texas case, Farallon and other parties involved in the deal operated “in conjunction with” foreign-owned corporations in Texas “to defraud a group of over three-hundred German investors out of approximately sixty-million dollars.”

 

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Tom Steyers Song of Himself

Scott Johnson

4/23/14

 

Tom Steyer disclaims any similarity to the Koch brothers, and we can agree with his claim to this extent: Steyer is a repulsive left-wing liar and hypocrite while the Koch brothers are paragons of virtue. Thats not what Steyer means though.

 

Unfortunately, the Washington Post a prime culprit in the Koch defamation business serves as one of the interlocutors in the interview with Steyer reported by Politico:

 

 

 

 

 

 

Liberal billionaire Tom Steyer insisted Tuesday that hes not the lefts version of the Koch brothers.

 

That is not something I embrace. I think there are real distinctions between the Koch brothers and us, Steyer said in an interview with POLITICO and The Washington Post taped for C-SPANs Newsmakers, which will air on Sunday.

 

Steyer, who hopes to use his vast personal fortune to make climate change a top priority in the upcoming midterm elections, said hes not entering politics for personal gain.

 

Charles and David Kochs priorities line up perfectly with their pocketbooks and thats not true for us, Steyer said.

 

On MSNBC last year Steyer put it this way:

 

 

I think that Im very different from the Koch brothers in the sense that I have absolutely no personal interest in what happens except as a citizen of the United States. So whereas theyre representing points of view that are in their personal monetary interests, *Im actually representing the citizens of the whole country in terms of their diffuse interests against concentrated economic interests that the Koch brothers represent.

 

__________________________________________________________________________

 

* Wow Must be great to be him!

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Tom Steyer's Glass House

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

Kimberley A. Strassel

4/24/14

 

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 pocketbooksand 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."

 

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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.

 

(Snip)

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