A cousin of Gov. Gavin Newsom’s wife, Jennifer Siebel Newsom, is throwing his tech fortune behind two of the governor’s biggest critics.
Siebel Systems founder Tom Siebel, second cousin of Siebel Newsom, gave $50,000 to San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan’s bid for California governor and another $10,000 to Republican former Fox News Host Steve Hilton.
Siebel sold Siebel Systems, an enterprise software firm, to Oracle to 2006 for approximately $5.8 billion, making him a billionaire with an estimated net worth of around $4 billion currently.
Hilton, who’s topped many recent polls in the crowded governor’s race, is one of Newsom’s loudest critics.
He gave Newsom an “F” when asked by journalist Ashley Zavala to grade the governor’s performance.
“F, the lowest possible. It’s a total disaster,” Hilton said.
Democrat Mahan has clashed with Newsom in the past over homelessness policym
It’s not the first time Siebel’s giving has put him at odds with his famous cousins.
Siebel kicked in a whopping $1 million to the campaign against Prop. 50, Newsom’s splashy and successful attempt to gerrymander California’s congressional maps to counter a similar effort in Texas. He was the third-largest donor to the effort to stop Prop. 50.
The software boss isn’t the only conservative in the extended Siebel-Newsom clan.
Siebel Newsom, who grew up in Ross, the ultra-exclusive Marin County hamlet, was a registered Republican until 2008 — the same year she married her Democratic rising star husband.
She briefly became an Independent — once accidentally registering with the far-right American Independent Party, according to media reports — before declaring herself a “progressive” Democrat.
She has previously said her wealthy family “revered Ronald Reagan.” Siebel Newsom’s father, prominent investor Kenneth F. Siebel Jr., has long contributed to Republican causes.
Tom Siebel threw $500,000 behind President Donald Trump’s 2024 campaign and together with his wife, Stacey, hosted a fundraiser for him that same year.
Siebel previously made headlines for being mauled by an elephant while on a Tanzanian safari in 2009.
