A report from City Journal accuses California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) of building his multi-million-dollar wine empire using illegal migrant labor — suggesting the potential presidential candidate has held a secretive, vested financial stake in promoting illegal immigration.
The report, published by Christopher Rufo, Ryan Thorpe, and Kenneth Schrupp, investigated Newsom’s PlumpJack Collection of Wineries and Oso Vineyard, which was purchased by PlumpJack in 2022.
Newsom, who continues to hold a financial stake in PlumpJack, and his wife, Jennifer Siebel Newsom, reported at least $11 million in income from 2019 to 2024, according to the report, with most of the money coming from Newsom’s stake in wineries and restaurants.
The report, which the journalists write is based on court documents, labor reports, and interviews with various sources in California’s wine industry, reveals that “Newsom’s business has contracted the services of a vineyard management company with a long history of employing illegal labor.”
City Journal reports:
And as governor, Newsom has leveraged tax dollars to facilitate the presence of illegal immigrants in California, which, in turn, helps prop up the struggling Napa wine industry from which he profits.
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But according to multiple industry sources in Napa, the real percentage of illegals working in the vineyards is considerably higher.
“I think it’s 80 percent,” said the owner of a vineyard management company, who spoke to us on the condition of anonymity. “If you’re legal, you have your Green Card, you have your driver’s license and all these things, you don’t want to be working in the vineyards.”
