Kevin Paffrath California Governor

Kevin Paffrath, who goes professionally by the name Meet Kevin, is a real estate investor and landlord. He has used his experience in these and related investment fields to grow a popular YouTube channel called Meet Kevin.

Paffrath announced in 2021 that he was running against Gavin Newsom for governor of California. Paffrath and Newsom are both members of the Democratic Party.

Who Is Kevin Paffrath YouTuber?

Kevin Paffrath started his Meet Kevin YouTube channel in 2010 when he was just 18 years old. At first, Paffrath used the channel to drive traffic to his business website. Today, the channel offers more diverse content about investment topics. His business URL now houses his campaign website, where he outlines his plan for solving several of California’s most pressing problems.

Most videos on the Meet Kevin YouTube channel are 9 to 20 minutes long. Paffrath occasionally produces longer videos up to an hour long.

Meet Kevin offers a long list of informative, instructive videos. Some of his video playlists cover topics like:

• Making money in real estate
• Passive income
• Cryptocurrencies
• The Federal Reserve
• Federal and state politics
• Current news that might influence investing and money management choices

Since announcing his plan to run for governor, most of Meet Kevin’s content has covered his 20-part plan that he wants to start working on immediately after winning the election against Newsom.

How Meet Kevin Got Started

Meet Kevin is a self-starter. He earned his real estate license at 19 and began working long days. He and his wife purchased a badly damaged home that was in foreclosure. They used profits from selling the home to fund future real estate investments.

Today, the couple own rental properties throughout Southern California and broker real estate deals in addition to making popular YouTube videos – and running a gubernatorial campaign, of course. They’re very busy people!

Kevin Paffrath CNBC Make It

CNBC’s Make It program profiled the Paffrath family in November of 2020. The program revealed that the Paffraths were on track to earn $6 million that year from YouTube, affiliate programs, and real estate. The couple says that Kevin typically works 12 hours per day, from 5 a.m. to 5 p.m. He always sets a goal to stop working at 5 p.m. so he can spend the evenings with his family.

The Paffrath’s work as a team but fulfill different business and household tasks. Lauren works full-time managing rental properties owned by their company, The Paffrath Organization. She is also a full-time mother who took care of their two children throughout the pandemic when they could not attend school.

Lauren grew up in a family of real estate professionals, so she has been connected to the industry for most of her life. Her mother became a professional property manager at 18 years old. Lauren did the same.

In the profile, Meet Kevin explains their first steps toward success. At 19, Kevin and Lauren purchased a house in foreclosure. They spent $308,000 buying the property, which needed extensive repairs and upgrades. According to the Paffraths, the house did not have a kitchen or functional bathroom.

The couple continued buying, renovating, and selling properties for a few years while Kevin completed his degree requirements. They own 20 rental properties in Southern California.

Kevin Paffrath YouTube Star

Although Kevin has had his YouTube channel for more than a decade, he didn’t commit to posting regular content until 2018.

As of mid-2021, Paffrath’s channel has about 1.6 million subscribers. Some of his most popular videos have been viewed over 1 million times. Overall, his videos have more than 362 million total views.

Like many YouTube stars, Paffrath relies on an extremely outgoing, animated personality. While his videos attract a lot of attention, not all of it is positive. For example, a New York Times Magazine profile piece written by Adlan Jackson points out that Meet Kevin has a natural appeal on camera but that he previously extolled the business virtues of misleading tenants and refusing to lend to applicants who had low credit scores. 

Paffrath has defended himself by saying that he keeps his personal and business ethics separate. He sees renting to people with suboptimal credit scores as an unacceptable business risk. Personally, he wants to find ways to ensure affordable housing for everyone. He does not see it as a landlord’s responsibility to change business plans to meet political or social justice goals.

Meet Kevin videos have also created small legal issues for Paffrath. Ramsey Solutions sued Paffrath in 2018, saying that he was in breach of contract, had stolen trade secrets, and was disparaging the company in his videos. Meet Kevin had posted several videos about Ramset Solutions and its owner Dave Ramsey. In one video, he says that Ramsey sells his clients “cold-as-ice leads,” which effectively means that they pay for nothing.

In 2018, Paffrath was arrested for trespassing and disorderly conduct during a YouTube stunt he had concocted to entertain viewers. While making a video exposing the business model of Grant Cardone, he dressed up as a Christmas elf and delivered flowers to Cardone’s office. He began running through the hallways, which prompted the staff to call police. 

Cardone did no press charges against Paffrath. Later, Paffrath apologized for his behavior, saying that he regretted letting the YouTube prank get out of control.

Does Meet Kevin Have a Degree?

Kevin Paffrath attended Ventura College for a time before transferring to UCLA, where he graduated with a degree in economics.

Paffrath actually started his business before graduating, though. He obtained his real estate license in 2010 at just 19 years old. Paffrath’s wife, Lauren, is a property manager.

How Much Is Meet Kevin Worth?

According to Meet Kevin’s LinkedIn profile, Paffrath is a self-made millionaire with a $20 million net worth. Other sources say that he has a net worth closer to $32 million.

Paffrath seems to make most of his money from YouTube and real estate. In 2018, Meet Kevin released a YouTube video that claimed to “expose” Parrath’s income via tax returns. The content does provide images of his tax documents.

He also talks about his revenues and tax write-offs as outlined in his tax return. According to Paffrath, it doesn’t make sense for public figures – or anyone, really – to hide their tax returns. He says he believes that the tax returns of financially successful people can provide guidance for other people who want to earn more money and lower their tax burdens.

Kevin Paffrath California Governor

Kevin Paffrath’s decision to run for governor came from his perceived mismanagement of the coronavirus pandemic in California.

Throughout 2020 and 2021, he released videos criticizing Newsom’s approach. Paffrath wanted to make it easier for businesses to operate during the pandemic, believing that it would help companies survive the crisis. Newsom, however, demanded that most businesses remain at least partially closed to prevent the virus from spreading faster through the population.

Many Californians were similarly upset with Newsom’s leadership, although it’s difficult to say whether the governor made wise choices that saved lives.

Meet Kevin calls his 20-point plan The California Future Model. It includes some bold proposals, such as:

• Eliminating state income tax on the first $250,000 a household earns.
• Charging a flat tax (5% to 7%) on income earned above $250,000.
• Using the governor’s emergency powers to house every homeless person in California within 60 days.
• Creating Future Schools that combine elements of high school, trade school, college, and financial education.
• Helping developers construct new housing units per year for 5 years.
• Ending plans for high-speed rail.
• Legalized gambling throughout California.
• Building smarter utility grids to eliminate blackouts and water shortages.
• Redirecting non-violent convicts from jails to community service programs.
• A streamlined, 14-day legal immigration process.
• Expanding gun rights.
• Ending pandemic lockdowns.
• Instituting the first statewide carbon tax to incentivize green energy in California.

Meet Kevin’s YouTube channel has videos that explain Paffrath’s plans in detail.

Kevin Paffrath vs. Gavin Newsom

Kevin Paffrath emphasizes that the recall attempt against Newsom was not a “Republican” recall of the governor. Rather, it’s a referendum on Newsom’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The majority of Democrats in California show little interest in replacing Newsom as their candidate in the next election. Paffrath and several other Democrats in Southern California, however, believe that Newsom overstepped his office’s powers and needs to face a recall.

Kevin Paffrath Predict-It Odds

The Predict-It odds show that Paffrath has very little chance of overtaking Newsom as California’s governor. On June 8, 2021, Predict-It was selling Paffrath “no” votes – meaning that he will not win – for $0.91 and “yes” votes for just $0.09. The odds are so bad that you can bet on Paffrath’s success for less than a dime.

Gavin Newsom’s Predict-It odds are almost the opposite. Betting against him costs $0.13 while betting for him costs $0.81.

Luckily for Newsom, Paffrath looks like his top challenger. Other people who have announced their candidacies include:

• Caitlyn Jenner ($0.03)
• Kevin Faulconer ($0.02)
• Eleni Kounalakis ($0.01)

According to Predict-It, it’s nearly impossible for any of these candidates to give Newsom any meaningful competition.

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The author has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. Financhill has a disclosure policy. This post may contain affiliate links or links from our sponsors.