Explore More
WASHINGTON — President Biden and his extended family arrived late Friday for a weeklong Lake Tahoe vacation at the $18 million waterfront mansion of billionaire climate investor Tom Steyer.
Biden, 80, and his scandal-plagued son Hunter, 53, showed up separately to the six-bedroom Nevada retreat, which is touted on Redfin as “one of Lake Tahoe’s finest lakefront properties and the pinnacle waterfront estate within the gated Glenbrook community.”
The home features a “spectacular lakeside gazebo [that] rests between the park-like grounds and the calming shores of Glenbrook Bay,” the real estate website says.
The president has enjoyed free vacations at the homes of other prominent Democrats, but the White House said that he will pay for the stay at Steyer’s three-acre property.
“The First Family is renting a private home for their stay in Lake Tahoe,” a statement read. “The home belongs to Tom Steyer and Kat Taylor. The First Family is renting the home for fair market value.”
The White House did not disclose what amount Biden would pay for the home, and it’s unclear how such a private transaction could be verified unless the terms are voluntarily disclosed by the parties.
The president and first lady Jill Biden arrived in Nevada aboard Air Force One with first daughter Ashley Biden, granddaughters Maisy and Naomi, who are Hunter’s daughters, and Naomi’s husband Peter Neal.
Hunter, his wife Melissa Cohen and their 3-year-old son Beau “flew separately on a commercial flight” and were “already at the residence awaiting the rest of the family, according to the White House,” per a pool report.
House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) said earlier this month that Republicans are moving closer to launching an impeachment inquiry into the president’s alleged role in his son’s business ventures in countries such as China and Ukraine during the elder Biden’s vice presidency.
Hunter’s former business partner Devon Archer told the House Oversight Committee on July 31 that Joe Biden dined at least twice with his son’s Ukrainian, Russian and Kazakhstani associates, had coffee with his son’s Chinese partner in a state-backed investment fund and was put on speakerphone by Hunter during about 20 business meetings.
Hunter Biden faces a possible trial for alleged tax fraud and other crimes after a probation-only plea deal collapsed under scrutiny by a federal judge last month. Delaware US Attorney David Weiss, whose office was accused by IRS investigators of thwarting the pursuit of leads implicating Joe Biden, was elevated to be a special counsel on Aug. 11, expanding his investigative and charging powers.
Steyer’s Lake Tahoe property is estimated by Redfin to be worth $18.1 million. The billionaire bought the home for $15 million in 2007, according to county records.
Biden will take a break from vacation for a Monday visit to Hawaii to tour damage from the devastating wildfires that killed at least 111 people on the island of Maui.
Steyer, 66, sought the 2020 Democratic nomination against Biden, but earned no presidential delegates despite spending $341 million on his longshot bid.
The billionaire previously garnered national attention by spending about $10 million financing a publicity campaign advocating for the impeachment of then-President Donald Trump, beginning shortly after he took office in 2017.
Steyer is a co-founder of the Galvanize Climate Solutions fund, which invests in environmentally friendly companies.
Biden last year signed into law the Inflation Reduction Act, which included an estimated $369 billion in financing for environmental programs and tax incentives.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) said at a White House event this week celebrating the anniversary of the bill that the environmental provisions could end up totaling between $500 billion and $1 trillion due to unexpected demand.
It’s not immediately clear if Steyer’s investments pose potential conflicts of interest for Biden.
Last August, Biden and his family spent seven days at the nine-bedroom Kiawah Island, SC, mansion of donor Maria Allwin, whose family runs a hedge fund, after asking her to use the home, a source told The Post at the time.
“They’re not paying. They’ve never paid,” the source said.
First lady Jill Biden extended her stay on Kiawah another five days after testing positive for COVID-19.
For Thanksgiving, the extended Biden family stayed for six days at the Nantucket Island compound of billionaire investor David Rubenstein, co-founder of the Carlyle Group.
The White House and a spokesperson for Rubenstein didn’t respond to inquiries about whether the Bidens paid.
In late December and early January, the first couple, their daughter Ashley and grandkids Natalie and Hunter stayed seven days for free as “guests” at the beachfront St. Croix home of businesspeople Bill and Connie Neville.
The arrangement turned heads because the home typically is a VRBO rental and because the Nevilles gained access just weeks earlier to Biden’s first state dinner honoring French President Emmanuel Macron, joining about 300 guests including many billionaires and political and cultural powerbrokers.
Biden did not disclose any of his free vacations as president as gifts on annual disclosure forms, drawing criticism from government ethics experts who said the willful failure to report could amount to a felony.
ncG1vNJzZmimqaW8tMCNnKamZ2Jlf3R7j3FmanFfl7alsc2sZK%2BZk5bBqrvNZpitZZKeua21zqeYoqqVYsGwuYysq56xlafAbn2XpmSlmZuaerWtx6icZqWRo8Cqu81o