Tom Steyer's "Cheaper, Faster, Better" presents a paradox that's hard to ignore. Here's a billionaire who made his fortune in hedge funds – an industry with deep ties to fossil fuel investments – now positioning himself as a champion of renewable energy and climate action. The author's voice in non-fiction carries the weight of their lived experience and credibility in ways that fiction simply doesn't. When Tom Steyer writes about climate solutions we can't separate his billionaire hedge fund background from his arguments the way we might separate a novelist from their fictional characters.
To his credit, Steyer doesn't shy away from his past. He acknowledges that his hedge fund, Farallon Capital, invested in fossil fuel companies, and he's been transparent about divesting from these holdings. The book argues that renewable energy isn't just environmentally necessary – it's economically inevitable. Solar and wind are now cheaper than fossil fuels in many markets, creating what he calls a "clean energy revolution" driven by market forces rather than just environmental concerns.
His central thesis is compelling: we don't need to sacrifice economic growth for environmental protection because clean energy is simply better business. The data he presents on falling renewable costs and job creation in the clean energy sector is solid and well-sourced. But there's an elephant in the room. Steyer spent decades profiting from the very system he now criticises. While people absolutely can evolve their thinking – and should be encouraged to do so – there's something unsettling about a billionaire hedge fund manager suddenly becoming the face of climate activism.
Despite these concerns, Steyer makes some important points. His insider knowledge of how capital flows work gives him credible insights into why clean energy investments are accelerating. He's right that economic arguments often persuade people who remain unmoved by environmental appeals. The book also highlights genuine success stories where clean energy has created jobs and economic opportunities in communities that desperately needed them. These aren't just feel-good anecdotes – they're examples of how climate action can address economic inequality if done thoughtfully.
However, there's minimal discussion of the lifestyle changes that might be necessary for meaningful climate action. The book also glosses over the role that financial speculation and short-term profit maximisation have played in delaying climate action. Most notably, there's little acknowledgment that the same financial system that made Steyer wealthy continues to fund fossil fuel expansion globally. Bank lending to fossil fuel companies actually increased after the Paris Agreement, suggesting that good intentions from individual billionaires aren't enough to shift systemic behaviour.
Can we trust a former hedge fund billionaire to lead on climate? Maybe the better question is whether we should have to. Steyer's conversion may be genuine, but it also highlights how much power we've ceded to wealthy individuals to solve collective problems. The book is worth reading for its economic insights and policy recommendations, but approach it as one perspective among many rather than a definitive guide to climate solutions. Real climate action will require voices from frontline communities, young activists, scientists, and yes, even reformed billionaires – but probably not as the primary messengers.
Steyer may have genuinely changed his mind about climate, and his economic insights shouldn't be dismissed simply because of his background. While the system that enriched him remains largely intact, perhaps books like this represent one necessary step in a broader transformation - imperfect messengers contributing to a conversation that ultimately needs many more voices to succeed.
