What Was Said

“Over 10 years ago I realized that there was something going on that had to do with fossil fuels, that we had to change. So I divested from fossil fuels.”

— Tom Steyer, at the Democratic presidential primary debate in January

This is exaggerated. Mr. Steyer, the billionaire businessman who has emphasized climate change as a presidential candidate, has repeatedly faced questions over how investments in oil, gas and coal companies helped him amass his fortune. Since 2014, Mr. Steyer has vowed to free his vast holdings from investments in fossil fuels. On the campaign trail, he has said that he has “divested from all of that stuff” though he has conceded that “there’s probably some dregs left.”

A review of Mr. Steyer’s financial disclosure form reveals some of those “dregs” — and, more broadly, just how difficult it is to disentangle investments from carbon-emitting industries altogether.

Most directly, Mr. Steyer has assets worth between $1,001 and $15,000 in Direct Petroleum Exploration Inc., a Colorado company that “operates oil and gas field properties,” according to Bloomberg. (The form lists assets in ranges, not exact amounts.) The Steyer campaign said these assets are valued at less than $4,500.