McAuliffe’s ‘green’ supporter made fortune in coal, gas and oil
By Kenric Ward / September 27, 2013 /
GREEN MONEY: Billionaire environmentalist Tom Steyer made his pile by investing in coal, oil and gas.
By Kenric Ward | Watchdog.org Virginia Bureau
ALEXANDRIA — The self-styled environmentalist helping to bankroll Terry McAuliffe’s campaign made a chunk of his fortune by betting on coal.
San Francisco billionaire Tom Steyer has contributed $900,000 on behalf of the Democratic gubernatorial candidate, while attacking GOP rival Ken Cuccinelli on environmental issues.
But green is a new shade for Steyer.
Breitbart News reported that the hedge fund executive who founded Farallon Capital Management has aggressively worked both sides of the energy field.
In 2008, Farallon heavily invested in Adaro, Indonesia’s second-largest coal company. Indonesia is the world’s largest exporter of thermal coal and, according to Reuters, China is Adaro’s biggest customer.
Steyer’s firm held additional stock in “dirty coal” and nuclear plants, oil and gas companies in Texas, Oklahoma and Louisiana, Breitbart said.
Steyer left Farrallon in 2012 and now fashions himself as an environmentalist. Today, he rabidly opposes the Keystone XL Pipeline and is a leader of the anti-coal movement.
In an interview with The Hill last April, Steyer vowed to “destroy” candidates who support coal and oil.
This month, he started funding a group of southwest Virginians criss-crossing the state to attack Attorney General Cuccinelli’s handling of politically charged dispute over natural-gas royalties.
See Watchdog.org’s earlier story here.
Kenric Ward is chief of Watchdog.org’s Virginia Bureau. Contact him at kenric@watchdogvirginia.org or at (571) 319-9824. @Kenricward
Please, feel free to "steal our stuff"! Just remember to credit Watchdog.org.
http://watchdog.org/107945/mcauliffes-green-supporter-made-fortune-in-coal-gas-and-oil/This makes perfect sense to me. If he can keep the industries from growing, he makes more money on the investments he already has. Democrats did the same thing when they seceded from the union with slavery. Their constitution called for the ban on the importation of slaves so that their slaves would become more valuable at market. Steyer and McAuliffe are just reintroducing the concept this time using energy rather than slaves.
