William Newsom

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William Alfred Newsom III (born February 15, 1934) is a retired state appeals court judge, administrator of the Getty family trust, and the father of San 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 of California. He remains friends with Pat Brown’s son, California Attorney General, former Oakland Mayor and former California Governor Jerry Brown. Newsom's sister was once married to the brother-in-law of U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. He is also a close friend of Gordon Getty, son of oil tycoon J. Paul Getty, whom he met in the late 1940s while attending St. Ignatius Catholic prep school in San Francisco.

[edit] Judicial career

After graduating from the University of San Francisco, Newsom attended Stanford Law School and was admitted to the California Bar in 1962. He worked as legal adviser to the Italian division of Getty 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.

[edit] 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 the San 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."

[edit] External links