2028 Democratic frontrunner Gavin Newsom’s recent admission that the Department of Justice is investigating him and his wife has fueled long-standing questions about the outgoing California governor’s wealth.
And new reports have uncovered that Newsome has amassed an estimated $30 million fortune — with a huge chunk of that coming from booze.
The revelation started after the US Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of California announced they are allegations brought forward by California whistleblowers regarding Jennifer Siebel Newsom’s taxes, former Newsom chief of staff Dana Williamson, and potentially some statehouse staff, multiple sources said.
The investigation first came to light when Newsom released a pre-recorded social media clip last Monday, accusing President Trump of directing the FBI and the Department of Justice to pursue the case against him because he was considering a run for president in 2028.
In full transparency, Newsom was considered a wealthy man by the time he became mayor of San Francisco in 2004 — his first big splash in politics.
However, new questions have surfaced over how his wealth has accumulated, stemming from questionable practices involving some Newsom-connected wineries across the state.
According to the New York Post, by the time Newsom dove into politics, he was worth about $6.9 million, largely from his stake in a lucrative wine and hospitality business he founded off the back of his connections to California’s wealthiest family, the Gettys.
According to the report, Newsom’s father, attorney and appeals court judge William Newsom, was so trusted by Gordon Getty that he delivered the $2.2 million ransom to secure the release of his nephew, John Paul Getty III, who had been kidnapped by the Italian Mafia on July 10, 1973.
Getty’s son, Billy, partnered with his then-friend Gavin Newsom to launch the upscale Balboa Cafe and Plumpjack.
However, in the time since the merger, Newsom’s wineries have benefited financially from Newsom’s political clout.
This past February, Newsom raised $120 million last year to help pass the Election Rigging Response Act, intended to help Democrats win the House of Representatives this year by rejiggering California congressional maps to wipe out as many as five Republican-held seats, according to the New York Post.
Turns out his wine company got a cut of the deal, too.
$26,882.89 of that donor cash was spent at Plumpjack Wines, Newsom’s fancy San Francisco-based wine shop, for a fundraising event, according to campaign filings reported by The New York Post.
Additionally, Newsom’s Campaign for Democracy Committee — which is his national political machine raising millions to help elevate his image on a national scale — reportedly dished out $23,792.12 at Plumpjack Wines across two events in September and October 2023, according to The Post.
Plumpjack, headquartered in San Francisco’s exclusive Marina District, sells premium wines ranging from $62 per bottle to $884 or more for a 2-pack Vineyard Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon, according to its website.
Newsom’s wine empire includes Plumpjack Winery in Oakville, Calif., which he co-founded with Getty, Napa Valley-based Odette Estate Winery, and roughly a dozen other associated entities, according to Newsom’s economic disclosure form filed last year.