Fury mounts over Gavin Newsom's 'slap in the face' $9.1M property purchase

Gavin Newsom is facing mounting backlash after splashing out on a lavish $9.1million mansion in one of the most exclusive corners of California. 

The California Governor, 57, moved his family to the mansion in Kentfield, Marin County this week, while also keeping the $3.7 million mansion in Fair Oaks he currently lives in. 

The Democrat has been slated for the exorbitant purchase considering the crippling inflation and cost of living crisis his constituents have endured through his tenure in recent years. 

Others also pointed to Newsom's reported $200,000 salary, as the closure of his new home this week marked the fifth-most expensive home bought in the Marin County area in the last 25 years. 

The average home price in the county stands at $1.76 million, with Newsom criticized for moving to such an exclusive are while homelessness has skyrocketed in California while he has been governor. 

Sacramento Bee opinion writer Robin Epley led the charge this week, as she questioned in an op-ed how Newsom could have been 'so mind-numbingly obtuse to the lives led by average Californians?' 

The lawmaker's bad optics worsened as critics on X also launched on footage of Newsom casually sipping a latte as he strolled past homeless people on Skid Row, while being bombarded with questions from protestors. 

Although some critics launched on Newsom's yearly salary, it is important to note that the governor accumulated a multi-million-dollar fortune early in his career from a variety of businesses and investments. 

This included stakes in wineries that raked in at least $1.4 million per year from 2010 to 2016, alongside income from PumpJack partnerships, a wine distiller, that brought in over $6 million in that time, according to the LA Times. 

But many felt the luxury mansion purchase was particularly poorly timed, as Epley condemned him in her op-ed this week for leaving Californians with a 'bad taste in their mouths' after 'struggling to put Thanksgiving diner on the table this year.' 

'Many Californians struggle to buy groceries and gas. Many are behind on utility bills and carrying crushing debt,' she wrote. 

'How can anyone in this state, much less this country, look to a man who is so excessively opulent in his lifestyle? How can Newsom rant about Big Oil when he is now a super commuter? 

'How can he urge frugality in the state budget when he is spending millions on a home with a swimming pool, spa, garden sculptures and 5,600 sq. ft.?' 

Epley added that the presidential election should have been enough to make Newsom think twice, as his Democratic Party suffered heavy defeats fueled by a perception that they are the party of out-of-touch elitists. 

Others said the mansion adds insult to injury following Newsom's questionable conduct while in office during the pandemic, including strictly enforcing mask mandates before he was caught partying maskless on several occasions. 

He was also heavily scrutinized for his decision to close public schools to protect against the spread of Covid-19, but kept allowed private school children such as his own to continue attending exclusive schools. 

Newsom's children were ostensibly the reason for his high value move across the state this month, as he will reportedly relocate to Marin County because it is where his eldest child Montana has just enrolled in high school. 

Montana enrolled at The Branson School, where tuition fees run upwards of $60,000 a year. 

The deal for the 5,600sq ft new mansion closed on Thursday and saw Newsom pay 7 percent more than the asking price for the mansion that sits on less than an acre of land.

The six-bedroom, five-and-a-half bathroom property complete with a guest house for visitors comes with floor-to-ceiling windows with views of Mount Tamalpais.

Outdoors, there's a swimming pool and a spa with sculptures lining a back garden with a roaring fire pit. Inside the bedrooms come with a handful of walk-in closets.

A Newsom spokesperson would not confirm the purchase of the property but stated: 'The family continues to split their time between Sacramento and Marin counties.

'The family's children are transitioning grade levels, including to high school. The Governor and First Partner want to create continuity in their children's education, recognizing the Governor's term ends in January 2027.'

After footage of Newsom walking past homeless people on Skid Row this month emerged, opponents jumped on it as further evidence he is out-of-touch. 

'Gavin Newsom was daydreaming about his new $9,000,000 mansion as he was supping his latte stepping over homeless people on Skid Row,' one critic said on X.  

The home was previously owned by Hyatt Hotels billionaire heir Daniel Pritzker - the cousin of Illinois' Democrat Governor JB Pritzker. 

Newsom knows the area well having previously owned a home in Kentfield that he purchased in 2011 for $2.2 million and sold ten years later in May 2021.

The area has become a property magnet for celebrities and venture capitalists with the median price for a home in Marin in September at $1.76 million.

'He'll probably fit right in,' Jeff Leh, president of the Kentfield homeowners association said to the San Francisco Standard.

'We've got a ton of people of that kind of stature. I would never divulge individuals, but you could probably put the math together — Belvedere, Ross, Tiburon — you're familiar with Billionaire's Row?', Leh said.

'It's widely publicized that there are great schools throughout Marin, but Kentfield and Ross have really great schools,' he went on.

Marin County, situation right across the Golden Gate Bridge from San Francisco, is among the wealthiest counties in the country.

His statement that he 'recognizes' his term ends in 2027 may be telling, as he is widely expected to turn his attention to exploring a presidential run in 2028. 

'Newsom is obviously hoping that, in four years, America will see this as the Western White House,' political advisor Daniel Corwin said to the California Globe.

'This is his Crawford Ranch or Mar-a-Lago. The Kentfield House, you know, we'll be hearing a lot about it should he run. This isn't a situation where "oh, he bought this house, he's running". No It is just a good sign that he is starting to move slowly away from the Governor's seat and off to his next thing.

'Practically, he wanted his kids in a good school and to have a home ready for post-Governorship. But on a larger level, Newsom is eyeing an older mansion in Washington.'

The couple have four children - Montana, Hunter, Brooklyn and Dutch.