Billionaire Democrat Tom Steyer is being accused by local residents of illegally renting his Lake Tahoe, Nevada residence to Joe Biden for the Biden family’s eight-day vacation that started last Friday. Steyer could face up to a $20,000 fine if he is found to not have a Douglas County Vacation Home Rental permit. Biden’s children Hunter and Ashley as well as spouses and grandchildren (not Navy Joan) are reported staying with Joe and Jill at Steyer’s $18 million mansion.
Steyer Lake Tahoe home, image via Redfin.
The White House claimed Biden was paying “fair market value” for the stay at the Steyer mansion, inadvertently opening the door to the complaints.
Megan Barth with the Nevada Globe broke the story on Monday as Biden interrupted his second vacation of the month for a day trip to Maui to tour the fire ravaged island (excerpt):
The Globe received a scoop this morning that a complaint was filed by a Douglas County resident with the Vacation Home Rental (VHR) Advisory Board against billionaire climate investor Tom Steyer, owner of the Glenbrook mansion that the First Family is renting while on a nine-day vacation in Lake Tahoe.
The complaint reportedly cites that Steyer does not have a VHR permit for his $18 million waterfront manse. If found to be in violation, Steyer could be subject to a $20,000 civil penalty per county ordinance.
The Globe report states the head of code enforcement confirmed several complaints had been received and that an investigation was being conducted, “Several inquiries have been received on this address. We cannot comment further as we are actively investigating any Douglas County Nevada code violations on this rental.”
The New York Post confirmed the Globe report, adding that the White House has not responded to a query about the rental.
Steyer ran against Biden for the 2020 presidential nomination on an environmentalist platform.
Any investigation would presumably reveal if and how much Biden paid for the vacation rental.
