California Governor Gavin Newsom and his wife have moved their family to an exclusive part of the state where all four of his children are now enrolled in Marin County schools.
The Democrat, touted as a possible future presidential candidate, will keep his six-bedroom $3.7 million in Fair Oaks in suburban Sacramento home where he will stay with spouse Jennifer Siebel Newsom some nights of the week.
But he will relocate his children 90 miles away to a $9.1 million home in Kentfield, Marin County where his eldest child Montana has just enrolled in high school at The Branson School – with tuition fees of up to $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.’
The home was previously owned by Hyatt Hotels billionaire heir Daniel 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.
Newsom grew up in San Francisco but then moved to Marin. He and Siebel both attended schools there.
In the tony suburb of Ross, where the elite school is located, the median household income is $250,000 while the median home price is $1.6 million – double California’s state average.
With Newsom’s term ending in January 2027, Trump reelected and no worries of a Kamala Harris reelection in 2028, Newsom may well turn his attention to a presidential run.
‘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.
In May, Siebel Newsom said she had to take one of them out of school because of bullying.
Newsom was branded a COVID hypocrite during the pandemic for imposing a mask mandate in schools while Montana and Hunter attended a basketball camp maskless.
Newsom pulled them out of the camp in July 2021, and at the time insisted he ‘missed’ the email which stated the kids wouldn’t have to wear face coverings.
It wasn’t the only time he was accused of double standards during lockdown, after he was caught having a maskless meal at the lavish French Laundry restaurant.