Gavin Newsom hailed the Biden administration’s decision to federally insure all depositors of Silicon Valley Bank — without disclosing the proven fact that the failed lender counts the California governor as a client.
Newsom, the Democrat governor, owns three Northern California wineries which are listed on the bank’s website as clients, based on The Intercept news site.
A longtime former aide of Newsom told The Intercept that the governor also maintained a private account with the Santa Clara-based bank, which was put right into a receivership by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation.
A spokesperson for the governor, Nathan Click, told The Intercept: “Governor Newsom’s business and financial holdings are held and managed by a blind trust, as they’ve been since he was first elected governor in 2018.”
The Intercept cited bank records which list clients including CADE, Odette, and PlumpJack — all of that are owned by Newsom.
In 2021, SVB also donated $100,000 to a charity founded by Newsom’s wife, actress Jennifer Siebel Newsom, based on the news site.
Newsom and his wife, California First Lady Jennifer Siebel Newsom, have ties to SVB executives, based on a report.AP
The bank cut a six-figure check to the nonprofit, the California Partners Project, on the request of the governor, The Intercept reported.
The Post has sought comment from Newsom’s office and Silicon Valley Bridge Bank, the newly created entity that’s managing the accounts of the lender after it was placed into FDIC receivership.
The Biden administration announced that it will backstop all depositors — including those whose accounts hold greater than the $250,000 threshold for FDIC insurance coverage.
Over the weekend, Newsom’s office released an announcement praising the move — without noting that the governor is a beneficiary of the move.
California Partners Project, a charity founded by Siebel Newsom, received $100,000 from Silicon Valley Bank in 2021, based on the news site The Intercept.AP
“The Biden Administration has acted swiftly and decisively to guard the American economy and strengthen public confidence in our banking system,” Newsom said within the statement.
“Their actions this weekend have calmed nerves, and had profoundly positive impacts on California — on our small businesses that may now make payroll, employees who will get their paychecks, on reasonably priced housing projects that may proceed construction, and on non-profits that may keep their doors open tomorrow.”
Newsom added: “California is a pillar of the American economy, and federal leaders did the best thing, ensuring our innovation economy can proceed to grow and move forward.”
Before entering politics, Newsom became a multimillionaire after he opened up PlumpJack Wines, a San Francisco wine store that began in 1992 as a joint business enterprise with Gordon Getty, heir to the Getty oil fortune.
The business then expanded, encompassing bars, restaurants, a Napa Valley winery, and a ski lift and lodge in Squaw Valley.
The Newsoms are multimillionaires whose business interests include a winery, restaurants, bars, a ski lodge, and a documentary production company.AP
After Newsom was elected governor in 2018, he moved to position ownership interest in PlumpJack Group right into a blind trust.
Title and control of the companies were transferred to Shyla Hendrickson, a family friend, lawyer, and licensed public accountant who agreed to function a trustee, based on the Los Angeles Times.
Hendrickson is legally barred from talking to Newsom about business considerations.
She made news in the course of the pandemic when she relocated to Utah, a state with way more lax business restrictions than California.
The California governor praised the Biden administration’s move to backstop SVB depositors without mentioning that he’s considered one of them, based on a report.AP
Newsom’s administration was widely criticized for imposing lockdown measures on restaurants, retail, and other business sectors in the course of the coronavirus pandemic.
By law, Newsom is permitted to take care of an ownership stake in the corporate. He can also be legally allowed to sign laws from which he would derive financial profit as long as all residents of the state could profit as well.
Newsom’s most up-to-date tax filings show that the governor and first lady reported $1.47 million in income in 2020. The couple also paid $480,223 in taxes.
The governor’s income included a $20,000 advance for a children’s book he wrote about dyslexia.
The couple also donated $28,763 to charity, based on the filings.
In 2019, the Newsoms earned $1.7 million. Siebel Newsom derives her income from her documentary production company.