Last week, California Gov. Gavin Newsom purchased a $9 million Bay Area home marketed as an “extraordinary luxury residence” offering “resort-style living.” The timing of his exodus from the state capital, which came just a week after the election, strongly suggests that Newsom’s sights are shifting from governing California to laying the groundwork for a presidential campaign. The home — located in the elite Marin County town of Kentfield, which lies north of San Francisco — is a full 90 miles from the California capitol.
Newsom has explained the move by stating that he wishes to ensure continuity for his children’s education. His daughter Montana recently enrolled at the Branson School in Marin County, where tuition costs $62,590 per year.
This is far from the first time Newsom has given low priority to being in the state capital. When he was lieutenant governor, he said that he spent “Like one day a week, tops” in Sacramento. He then added that being lieutenant governor was “just so dull.” During his governorship, he has frequently traveled across the country on trips — such as his tour of red states — that have drawn ire for resembling presidential campaign stops rather than gubernatorial duties.
Newsom’s wealth stems from his ownership in PlumpJack Group, a business empire of wineries, hotels, and restaurants he founded with funding from the billionaire Gordon Getty. When Newsom was elected governor, there was pressure on him to sell his businesses to avoid a conflict of interest, but he instead transferred the assets into a blind trust managed by a longtime family friend. To address the concerns and temper criticism over retaining ownership, Newsom promised to release his tax returns annually. Yet Newsom has repeatedly refused to release his tax returns, and the most recent filing he has released is from 2020. In response to a CalMatters request for his tax returns following his luxury home purchase, Newsom’s spokesman refused.
Additional financial concerns are all the more reason for Newsom to release his tax returns. For instance, during his tenure as lieutenant governor, Newsom’s wife received a $290,000 annual salary from the nonprofit organization she founded. The charity was funded by a number of corporations with business interests in California, including AT&T, Comcast, Kaiser Permanente, and Pacific Gas & Electric, and donations increased markedly upon Newsom’s 2015 announcement that he was seeking the governorship. His wife continued to receive a salary of $150,000 per year from the charity upon Newsom’s elevation to the office.
In the wake of Trump’s election, Newsom has quickly sought to position himself as the leader of the opposition against Trump — which of course sets himself up to seek the Democratic nomination to the presidency. Two days after the election, Newsom called a special session of the state Legislature to “safeguard California values.” In his proclamation calling the session, the governor noted his past record for leading the opposition against Trump during the former president’s first term. The governor also listed the potential “consequences” of a Trump presidency, including an “assault on reproductive freedom” and “undoing clean vehicle policies,” and pledged to “mitigate the impacts of actions by the incoming Trump Administration.”
When Newsom was inaugurated to his first term as governor in 2018, he pledged to “offer an alternative to the corruption and incompetence in the White House.” Now, for his final two years as governor, he will likewise seek to make himself Trump’s most prominent opponent so as to win the presidency come 2028. He may be governor of California, but his focus will be 90 miles away, entirely consumed with his path to the White House.
Ellie Gardey Holmes is the author of Newsom Unleashed: The Progressive Lust for Unbridled Power.
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