Who is Gavin Newsom, California's Governor: Biography, Family, Net Worth

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Who is Gavin Newsom: Biography, Early Life

On October 10, 1967, Gavin Newsom was born in San Francisco, California. Tessa and William, a judge and an attorney, were his parents.

His dyslexia made for a challenging childhood.

Due to his dyslexia, Newsom was moved to a different school after spending his early kindergarten years at École Notre Dame Des Victoires. According to Newsom, having dyslexia contributed to his rough childhood.

He graduated from Redwood High School in 1985. He attended Santa Clara University on a baseball scholarship that was partially funded. With a B.S. in political science, Newsom earned his degree.

He received a portion of a baseball scholarship to attend Santa Clara University, where he earned a political science degree in 1989. Newsom entered the corporate field after graduating thanks to Gordon Getty, a wealthy family acquaintance.

The PlumpJack Winery in San Francisco, which eventually employed more than 700 people, was his first business venture.

Gavin Newsom Personal Life: Wife and Children

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Newsom lives in Fair Oaks, California, with his wife, Jennifer Siebel. He has four children.

When Gavin Newsom is sworn in Monday, he, his wife and four young kids will become California’s first family.

Here’s a look at them from Sacbee and some of Newsom’s other notable relatives.

Gavin Newsom's Wife: Jennifer Siebel

The new first partner from California is an actress, documentary filmmaker, and vocal supporter of women. Instead of using the more formal phrase "first lady," the family prefers that she be referred to as "first partner." The 46-year-old has previously produced films about gender stereotypes in American culture and is currently working on a new documentary about inequality in the country. She obtained both her bachelor's and her business degrees from Stanford University. Gavin and Jennifer have been wed for ten years.

Children

Gavin and Jennifer have four kids: 9-year-old Montana, 7-year-old Hunter, 5-year-old Brooklynn and 2-year-old Dutch.

Hilary Newsom: Gavin’s sister is president of PlumpJack, the hospitality company he founded. PlumpJackGroup owns wineries, boutique hotels, restaurants and spirits shops in San Francisco, Napa, Palm Springs, Lake Tahoe and Marin County.

Tessa Newsom: Their mother raised Gavin and Hilary as a single parent after she and her husband divorced. She was 55 when she died of breast cancer in 2002, inspiring her daughter to raise money for breast cancer research through the PlumpJack Foundation.

William Newsom III: Hilary and Gavin’s father died last month at 84. The former State Court of Appeal justice was friends with outgoing Gov. Jerry Brown and was known for his environmental activism.

Newsom and his family relocated from a home in Marin County to the California Governor's Mansion in Downtown Sacramento after being elected governor. He has since made his home in the Fair Oaks region.

The romance between Newsom and Ruby Rippey-Tourk, the wife of Alex Tourk, who served as his campaign manager at the time, was made public in 2007. As a result, Tourk filed for divorce and quit Newsom's government.

Newsom was wed to Kimberly Guilfoyle from 2001 till their divorce in 2006 before getting hitched to Siebel. Guilfoyle, a Republican who is in a relationship with Donald Trump Jr., was a senior advisor to the president of the United States.

Via his aunt, who wed Nancy Pelosi's brother-in-law, Newsom is related to the congresswoman.

Net Worth and Salary

The estimated range of Gavin Newsom's net worth is $18 to $22 million.

His annual personal income ranged from 1996 to 2001 and was above $425,000 on average. His overall investments were valued at $7 million by the year 2002.

Newsom sold his ownership in many of his San Francisco-based businesses after being chosen as the mayor of San Francisco in 2004. Yet, he continued to be the proprietor of those outside the city.

Newsom made almost $250,000 in profits in 2007.

He has also invested in real estate. Newsom made a $750,000 profit in 2009 through the sale of some of his assets. He completely entered politics after being elected mayor and has maintained his position in the Democratic Party ever since.

In Kentfield, California, Gavin and Jennifer spent $2.225 million in 2011. In February 2019, they put this house up for sale for $5.995 million. For $5.895 million, they sold this house in August 2021.

The couple purchased a $3.7 million home in Sacramento at the end of 2018, not long after Gavin was elected governor.

Career Path

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He started his political career in the San Francisco government

After being appointed to the San Francisco Parking and Traffic Commission in 1996, Newsom steadily advanced through the ranks of the city's administration, serving as a member of the board of supervisors and becoming the commission's president before winning the 2003 mayoral election and taking office in 2004.

According to his biography on the municipal website at the time, Newsom, who was born on October 10, 1967, was the city's youngest mayor in a century. Later, in 2010 and 2018, Newsom was chosen to serve as governor of California.

The governor's willingness to "[put] his neck out]" on issues including "same-sex marriage, gun safety, marijuana, the death penalty, universal health care, access to preschool, technology, criminal justice reform, and the minimum wage" is praised on his campaign website.

He's been a pioneer on same-sex marriage

When Newsom was the mayor of San Francisco in 2004, same-sex unions were first permitted, according to a 2004 BBC News report. This took place before the Democratic Party adopted support for homosexual marriage as its official position. In his historic 2008 presidential campaign, former President Obama didn't even support homosexual marriage.

He played two years of college baseball

According to the NYT, Newsom went to Santa Clara University and played baseball there for two seasons, but it appears he never saw the field because he never showed up in the school's college stats. When the San Francisco Giants were in the World Series in 2010 and Newsom was the mayor of San Francisco, he told the Times, "I was your regular 6-foot-3-inch first baseman."