Who makes what: The incomes of California’s governor candidates, revealed
Thanks to a 2019 law, candidates for California governor must submit tax returns for the last five years.
That paperwork gives voters a rare glimpse into the personal finances of 10 candidates — eight Democrats and two Republicans — vying to replace Gov. Gavin Newsom ahead of the June 2 top-two primary.
The candidates earned a median annual income of $489,000 from 2021 to 2025, a total that in most cases includes their spouse’s income. That’s almost five times the median income of the average California household of around $100,000, according to the Census Bureau’s 2024 estimates.
There’s one major outlier: Billionaire Tom Steyer, a Democrat and former financier, took home an average of $68 million a year.
Here’s a deeper look at what the candidates made and how they made it:
Xavier Becerra (D)
Average income: $485,603
Becerra, the former attorney general of California, and his wife, physician Carolyn Reyes, had a relatively steady combined income, rising over four years to around $490,000. Becerra drew most of his income from his job as the former U.S. secretary of Health and Human Services under President Joe Biden. The returns show Reyes, who is a doctor at UC Davis Health System, set up a sole proprietorship that a campaign spokesperson said is connected to her membership on a board. The couple brought in additional net income from three rental properties that rose from several hundred dollars in 2021 to nearly $110,000 in 2024.
Chad Bianco (R)
Average income: $566,570
The Riverside County Sheriff’s household income fluctuated from around $500,000 in 2021 and 2022 to nearly $720,000 in 2023. That rise was attributable to the introduction of around $180,000 in pension income. Bianco and his wife, marketing consultant Denise Bianco, reduced their tax burden through substantial charitable donations totaling up to $94,500 a year to religious groups, including Sandal Church and Harvest Christian Fellowship, as well as charities like the Wounded Warrior Foundation, Cops for Kids and Olive Crest.
Steve Hilton (R)
Average income: $3,989,577
Hilton, a former Fox News host, and his wife, public relations executive Rachel Whetstone, were second only to Steyer in their annual earnings. The returns show that Whetstone was the household’s breadwinner in her former role as chief communications officer at Netflix, with her income growing from $4.2 million in 2021 to more than $6.7 million three years later. The couple, both of whom grew up in England, owned rental property, bank accounts and pension plans in the U.K. as of their last filing in 2024. Hilton’s salary at Fox rose from nearly $475,000 in 2021 to nearly $510,000 when his show ended in 2023., though he drew an additional $250,000 in 2024, when Hilton served as a commentator on the network.
Matt Mahan (D)
Average income: $722,094
The San Jose mayor’s income boomed in 2021 before his mayorship, when he reported the sale of nearly $1.3 million in stock from Brigade, the company where he previously served as CEO. Aside from that outlier, Mahan and his wife, Silvia-Wedad Scandar, reported an income that grew from around $450,000 in 2022 to $508,000 in 2025. Scandar is the president of a private Jesuit high school in San Jose. The returns show the couple has two children.
Katie Porter (D)
Average income: $223,804
Porter, who is divorced and has three children, derived most of her income from her job representing parts of Orange County in the U.S. House of Representatives through the end of 2024. Her income more than doubled from 2022 to 2023, when it reached $312,000 thanks to royalties, presumably from her memoir “I Swear: Politics Is Messier Than My Minivan” published that year. Her income dipped back to $192,000 in 2024 before rising again last year to $300,000, when Porter returned to teaching law at the University of California-Irvine.
Tom Steyer (D)
Average income: $68,129,847
Steyer’s novella-length tax returns may not be surprising given his background running a hedge fund. His income moved dramatically from year to year, from a high of around $166 million in 2021 to a low of around $8 million the following year. That wealth came from investment returns rather than a traditional salary; his income varied based on which investments were sold in a given year. The returns show a global footprint, with Steyer paying taxes everywhere from Bangladesh to Brazil. His returns also show a fluctuation in charitable giving, rising from under $1 million in 2021 and 2022 to a combined $42 million across 2023 and 2024. As The Sacramento Bee previously reported, Steyer’s returns show he profited from investments in hedge funds despite his criticism of the industry as a progressive candidate for governor.
Eric Swalwell (D)
Average income: $444,614
Swalwell, who represents parts of the East Bay in the U.S. House of Representatives, reported a relatively consistent income from 2021 to 2024. Swalwell drew from his congressional salary as well as unspecified administrative office work—possibly connected to work he reported on other disclosures consulting for a production company—while his wife, Brittany Swalwell, who has a background in hospitality, made between $200,000 and $250,000. As the Bee previously reported, the couple supplemented their salaries with around $45,000 in annual withdrawals from their retirement accounts from 2020 to 2022, and Eric Swalwell declined to withhold most or all of his federal taxes in 2022 and 2023 — moves a spokesperson said were in line with other families facing a mortgage, childcare and student loans. The Swalwells reported up to $38,000 a year in childcare expenses for their three children.
Tony Thurmond (D)
Average income: $220,170
Thurmond drew most of his income from his salary as the state superintendent of public instruction, although his 2023 returns show he reported an additional combined $14,000 from the San Francisco Study Center and Berkeley Friends Church. After years of filing a return as single, he filed a joint return with his wife, Vanessa Wiarco, in 2025, reporting a combined income of around $310,000.
Antonio Villaraigosa (D)
Average income: $1,550,199
Villaraigosa’s income fluctuated from around $1.4 million to $1.8 million from 2021 to 2024, powered by multiple funding streams. The returns indicate Villaraigosa, a former Los Angeles mayor and speaker of the Assembly, derived much of his income from Actum, a global consulting firm with a strong Sacramento presence, as well as an LLC in his own name. The Democrat and his wife, Patricia Villaraigosa, paid taxes in a handful of states, including Arizona, Maryland, New Mexico and Virginia. The former mayor also brought in an L.A. city pension that reached more than $123,000 in 2024.
Betty Yee (D)
Average income: $199,692
Yee and her husband, Rabbi Steven Jacobs, showed a very steady income over the four years they provided returns. They drew most of their income in 2021 and 2022 from Yee’s job at the time as state controller, where she earned $157,000 by her final year in office in 2022. Over the next two years, the couple drew from tax-advantaged retirement investments as well as state pensions.
