- William Newsom
William Alfred Newsom III (born
February 15 ,1934 ) is a retired state appeals court judge, administrator of the Getty family trust, and the father ofSan Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom .A lifelong San Franciscan, Newsom has longstanding political and financial ties. His father, also named William Newsom, was a close friend of
Pat Brown , who rose from San Francisco district attorney to governor ofCalifornia . He remains friends with Pat Brown’s son, California Attorney General, former Oakland Mayor and former California GovernorJerry Brown . Newsom's sister was once married to the brother-in-law of U.S. House SpeakerNancy Pelosi . He is also a close friend ofGordon Getty , son of oil tycoonJ. Paul Getty , whom he met in the late 1940s while attending St. Ignatius Catholic prep school in San Francisco.Judicial career
After graduating from the
University of San Francisco , Newsom attendedStanford Law School and was admitted to the California Bar in 1962. He worked as legal adviser to the Italian division ofGetty Oil and then as a tax attorney for the Getty family. In 1967, he married Tessa Menzies, and had two children before divorcing after five years.In 1968, he ran unsuccessfully against State Senator Milton Marks, a popular Republican.
In 1975, then-governor Jerry Brown appointed Newsom to the Superior Court bench in rural Placer County. Three years later, Brown elevated him to the state Court of Appeals in San Francisco, where he served until 1995.
Investment management
Newsom currently serves as a financial advisor for the Getty family businesses. He directly manages the Gordon P. Getty Family Trust, which is estimated at more than $2 billion. According to Newsom, the trust earns about 2 percent a year, which translates to roughly $40 million in annual income. He screens potential investments and makes recommendations on real estate, stocks, bonds, and other ventures. "I make my living working for Gordon Getty," Newsom said in 2003.
A lifelong friend of state Senate leader
John Burton and a leading figure in local Democratic circles, Newsom acknowledged to theSan Francisco Examiner that his son’s appointment by Willie Brown to the Board of Supervisors in 1997 "was based on Burton's friendship with me."External links
* [http://www.sfweekly.com/Issues/2003-04-02/news/feature.html Bringing Up Baby Gavin] , by Peter Byrne, "San Francisco Examiner", April 2, 2003
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