Kevin Paffrath

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Kevin Paffrath
Portrait of Kevin Paffrath from the shoulders up
Born (1992-01-28) January 28, 1992 (age 29)
Germany
EducationVentura College
University of California, Los Angeles (BA)
Years active2010–present
Political partyDemocratic
Spouse(s)Lauren Paffrath
YouTube information
Channel
Years active2010–present
GenreReal estate, finance
Subscribers1.7 million[1]
Total views448 million[1]
YouTube Silver Play Button 2.svg 100,000 subscribers 2019
YouTube Gold Play Button 2.svg 1,000,000 subscribers 2020
Updated: December 15, 2021
Websitewww.meetkevin.com Edit this at Wikidata

Kevin Paffrath (born 1992; also known as Meet Kevin),[2] is an American YouTuber, financial analyst, landlord, and real estate broker.[3][4][5] In 2019, he was described by Curbed as a "landlord influencer".[6] Paffrath was a Democratic candidate to replace Gavin Newsom in the unsuccessful 2021 California gubernatorial recall election.[7][8][9]

Personal life[]

Paffrath was born in Germany on January 28, 1992.[2][10] His parents immigrated from Wuppertal[11] to the United States when he was 18 months old, and his parents divorced when he was six years old.[10] As a teenager, Paffrath initially wanted to work in law enforcement, and participated in a law enforcement explorer program, in which he rode along with police officers and learned about the career.[12][10] While on a high school trip to Paris, Paffrath met his future wife, Lauren. In the summer before his senior year of high school, Paffrath moved to California to live with Lauren and her family, while finishing high school at Buena High School.[13] Lauren's parents worked in real estate, and Paffrath became interested in the field.[10]

Paffrath attended Ventura College, and then the University of California, Los Angeles.[14] At UCLA, he studied economics, accounting, and political science.[15][13]

Kevin and Lauren Paffrath have two sons. Lauren, who began to manage properties when she was 18 years old, works as a property manager for The Paffrath Organization.[10] As of May 2021, the Paffraths live in Ventura, California.[14]

Career[]

Paffrath earned his real estate license in 2010 and the same year purchased a condemned house with his future wife and fixed it up. They then began renovating additional homes and renting them out. Paffrath and his wife Lauren own the real estate business The Paffrath Organization, through which they buy, renovate, and rent properties in southern California. In 2017 they began to offer construction services through their organization but ended the venture 18 months later after losing $1 million, which Paffrath attributed to narrow cost margins not allowing room for error. As of May 2021, Paffrath and his wife owned 22 properties, including one in which they live.[10]

Paffrath started his YouTube channel, Meet Kevin, in September 2010. The channel reached 1 million subscribers in December 2020 and had over 1.7 million as of September 2021.[16] His videos have discussed topics including real estate, the stock market, COVID-19 stimulus checks, cryptocurrency, and airline points.[3][10][17][18][14] Paffrath also teaches online courses on the Teachable platform.[10]

Steven T. Wright publishing in the real estate website Curbed about "landlord influencers" included a profile of Paffrath. In the article, he described some of Paffrath's "arguably incendiary opinions on landlord-tenant relations", including Paffrath's requirement that his tenants have a credit score of 700 or higher, and his advice that property owners should mislead tenants by concealing the fact that they own the property, or are the sole owner.[6]

In November 2020, Paffrath's channel and real estate career were featured on CNBC's Millennial Money, which publishes profiles of millennials and how they earn and spend their money.[19] CNBC found that Paffrath earns most of his income from YouTube advertising revenue and affiliate programs, not real estate or stock market investing.[10][3] Paffrath was among a group of finance YouTubers profiled by Adlan Jackson in a March 2021 New York Times Magazine article, which discussed their shift during the COVID-19 pandemic from offering advice on becoming multimillionaires towards creating videos to provide "any little update" on stimulus payments. In the article, Jackson said that Paffrath was "exceptionally talented at talking to a camera, a natural salesman", but later wrote that he was "a multimillionaire landlord who once extolled the virtues of misleading tenants and vigorously refusing to rent to people with suboptimal credit scores".[3]

In August 2021, CNBC reported that Paffrath earned close to $10 million from YouTube over the last 12 months.[20]

Legal issues[]

Ramsey Solutions, a media company owned by finance personality Dave Ramsey, sued Paffrath in 2018 for alleged breach of contract, stealing trade secrets, and disparaging the company. Paffrath allegedly made videos mocking Dave Ramsey and criticizing his business practices, including one video entitled "Dave Ramsey: Exposed" where Paffrath asserted Ramsey's business provided "cold-as-ice leads" and collected a fee for "doing nothing". Paffrath stated that he had ended his relationship with Ramsey Solutions before making the videos, and therefore did not violate a contract. Paffrath also claimed the lawsuit was an attempt at censorship which violated his right to free speech.[21] The case moved to federal court in 2019, and was settled privately out of court later that year.[21][22] The videos mentioned in the lawsuit are no longer on YouTube.[21]

Paffrath made numerous YouTube videos criticizing the business model of real estate personality Grant Cardone. In an effort to bring more attention to his other videos, in 2018 Paffrath delivered flowers to Cardone's office staff while dressed as a Christmas elf, reportedly running through Cardone's offices. Paffrath was charged with trespassing and disorderly conduct, but the charges were later dismissed.[10][23] In a May 2021 interview with KTXL discussing his gubernatorial candidacy, Paffrath expressed regret for the "YouTube prank" and said he had gotten "carried away with the entertainment aspect of YouTube".[23]

2021 California gubernatorial candidacy[]

See also: 2021 California gubernatorial recall election

On May 17, 2021, Paffrath announced his candidacy as a Democrat in the 2021 California gubernatorial recall election, which was held on September 14, 2021, and which ultimately resulted in sitting governor Gavin Newsom not being recalled.[24][25][26][9] Paffrath was one of nine Democratic candidates to replace Newsom who qualified to appear on the ballot, out of 46 total candidates; the thin pool of Democrats was attributed to the California Democratic Party's strategy, which focused on defeating the recall and discouraged established Democratic candidates from entering the race.[27][28]

Instagram briefly removed Paffrath's campaign announcement post from their platform. According to Paffrath, Instagram notified him that they had removed his post, in which he described Newsom as a "weanie baby", under its harassment guidelines. Paffrath told Fox News he suspected the post was taken down intentionally, and that the removal was related to its parent company Facebook's donations to Newsom's causes. A Facebook spokesperson said that the company's donations had gone towards coronavirus relief, not the governor's campaign.[29] The Los Angeles Times has reported that such donations by Facebook and other social media companies were "behested" payments, or indirect payments to government causes on Newsom's behalf.[30] Shortly after Fox News inquired about the removal of the post, it was restored, and a spokesperson said it had been removed in error.[29]

Paffrath sued the Secretary of State of California to allow him to be listed on the ballot as "Kevin 'Meet Kevin' Paffrath".[31] The court denied his petition on July 21, finding that "Meet Kevin" was nonetheless a brand and not a nickname or formal name.[32][33]

In August 2021, Paffrath's attorneys sent a cease and desist letter to CNN related to their reporting that "no Democrats are competing against their own party's governor." Fox News reported the CNN article was subsequently revised to state, "no party-backed Democrats are competing against their own party's governor" and suggested CNN should have been aware of Paffrath from recent press coverage.[34]

61.9% of voters opposed recalling Newsom. In the ballot question asking which candidate should replace Newsom if the recall was successful, Paffrath came in second place to Republican Larry Elder, with around 706,000 votes (9.6%) to Elder's 3.5 million (48.4%).[35][36] Paffrath said he intended to run again in the 2022 California gubernatorial election.[28]

References[]

  1. ^ a b "About KevinPaffrath". YouTube.
  2. ^ a b "Kevin Paffrath on Facebook". Retrieved May 25, 2021.
  3. ^ a b c d Jackson, Adlan (March 24, 2021). "Why Finance Gurus Switched Their Bait From Millions to Thousands of Dollars". The New York Times Magazine. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on May 17, 2021. Retrieved May 18, 2021.
  4. ^ Lambert, Lance (May 20, 2019). "Falling Stars: You Won't Believe the 10 Cities Where Home Prices Are Down the Most". Realtor.com. Archived from the original on February 25, 2021. Retrieved May 24, 2021.
  5. ^ Jackson, Jon (May 17, 2021). "Kevin Paffrath, "Meet Kevin" YouTuber, becomes 26th candidate to announce challenge to Newsom". Newsweek. Archived from the original on May 21, 2021. Retrieved May 27, 2021.
  6. ^ a b Wright, Steven T. (November 15, 2019). "Meet the newest YouTube stars on the block: landlords". Curbed. Archived from the original on May 18, 2021. Retrieved May 18, 2021.
  7. ^ "Meet Democrat California Gubernatorial candidate Kevin Paffrath". KUSI. May 20, 2021. Archived from the original on May 20, 2021. Retrieved May 20, 2021.
  8. ^ Seitz-Wald, Alex (May 24, 2021). "In California's recall, Democrats would rather not have a backup plan". NBC News. Archived from the original on May 24, 2021. Retrieved May 25, 2021.
  9. ^ a b Ronayne, Kathleen; Blood, Michael R. (September 15, 2021). "California Gov. Gavin Newsom beats back GOP-led recall". AP News. Retrieved September 15, 2021.
  10. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Martin, Emmie (November 19, 2019). "This millennial couple earns $6 million a year from YouTube and real estate—here's how they spend their money". CNBC. Archived from the original on May 24, 2021. Retrieved May 23, 2021.
  11. ^ Schuler, Marcus (September 11, 2021). "Wie Kevin aus Deutschland Gouverneur werden will". Tagesschau (in German). Retrieved September 13, 2021.
  12. ^ Fishman, Scott (September 28, 2008). "Explorers on target". Sun-Sentinel. Archived from the original on May 24, 2021. Retrieved May 24, 2021.
  13. ^ a b Staggs, Brooke (August 6, 2021). "Who the heck is Kevin Paffrath? Recall might make him governor". Orange County Register. Archived from the original on August 9, 2021. Retrieved August 9, 2021.
  14. ^ a b c "John & Ken Show Hour 4 (5/21)". May 21, 2021. Archived from the original on May 24, 2021. Retrieved May 23, 2021 – via iHeart Radio.
  15. ^ "Meet the 2 agents in CA's gubernatorial recall election". Inman. Archived from the original on July 24, 2021. Retrieved July 24, 2021.
  16. ^ "Meet Kevin's YouTube Stats (Summary Profile)". SocialBlade. Archived from the original on May 21, 2021. Retrieved September 4, 2021.
  17. ^ Hake, Mark R. (February 11, 2021). "VG Acquisition Corp's SPAC Deal With 23andMe Is Too Speculative". Nasdaq.com. Archived from the original on May 24, 2021. Retrieved May 24, 2021.
  18. ^ Competiello, Christopher (December 24, 2019). "'My net worth went up at least $100,000 on each purchase.' A 27 year-old real-estate expert shares how he sniffs out the perfect deal with 'virtually no risk'". Business Insider. Archived from the original on May 24, 2021. Retrieved May 24, 2021.
  19. ^ "Millennial Money". CNBC. August 20, 2018. Archived from the original on May 21, 2021. Retrieved May 24, 2021.
  20. ^ Levy, Ari (August 15, 2021). "This 29-year-old YouTube millionaire has a good chance to be the next governor of California". CNBC. Archived from the original on August 28, 2021. Retrieved September 3, 2021.
  21. ^ a b c Blois, Matt (October 11, 2019). "Ramsey Solutions sues real estate YouTuber". Nashville Post. Archived from the original on May 20, 2021. Retrieved May 20, 2021.
  22. ^ Blois, Matt (January 8, 2020). "Ramsey Solutions settles with online critic out of court". Williamson Homepage. Archived from the original on May 24, 2021. Retrieved May 24, 2021.
  23. ^ a b YouTuber Kevin Paffrath talks about his candidacy for governor (Video). Fox40. May 23, 2021.
  24. ^ "Who filed a Statement of Intention to run for What State Office? (Filers may not have qualified for the ballot)". Secretary of State of California. May 23, 2021. Archived from the original on May 24, 2021. Retrieved May 23, 2021.
  25. ^ John Myers (April 26, 2021). "The exact date of the Newsom recall election is still unclear. Here's why". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on May 22, 2021. Retrieved May 24, 2021.
  26. ^ Korte, Lara (July 1, 2021). "Gavin Newsom recall election date officially set: California voters to cast ballots in September". The Sacramento Bee. Archived from the original on July 5, 2021. Retrieved July 1, 2021.
  27. ^ "Certified List of Candidates" (PDF). Secretary of State of California. July 21, 2021.
  28. ^ a b Nieves, Alexander (September 10, 2021). "California Democrats' recall strategy gives rise to 29-year-old YouTube star". Politico. Retrieved September 15, 2021.
  29. ^ a b Ruiz, Michael (May 20, 2021). "Newsom challenger calls embattled guv a 'weanie baby,' post briefly censored from Instagram". Fox News. Archived from the original on May 21, 2021. Retrieved May 24, 2021.
  30. ^ Gutierrez, Melody; Moore, Maloy (April 27, 2021). "Big companies donate millions on Newsom's behalf, raising concerns about corporate influence". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on May 21, 2021. Retrieved May 24, 2021.
  31. ^ Zavala, Ashley; Taraya, Jonathan (July 20, 2021). "California secretary of state faces lawsuits over recall candidate listing". KTXL. Archived from the original on July 20, 2021. Retrieved July 20, 2021.
  32. ^ Edinger, Marie (July 21, 2021). "In 3 arguments against the Secretary of State, only one gubernatorial candidate succeeded". KMPH-TV. Archived from the original on July 24, 2021. Retrieved July 24, 2021.
  33. ^ Mehta, Seema (July 21, 2021). "Elder will appear on recall election ballot; Faulconer can't use 'retired San Diego mayor' title". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on July 24, 2021. Retrieved July 24, 2021.
  34. ^ Ruiz, Michael (August 24, 2021). "California Democrat slaps CNN with cease and desist after report claims Newsom faces no Dems in recall". Fox News. Archived from the original on September 3, 2021. Retrieved September 3, 2021.
  35. ^ Myers, John (October 22, 2021). "California's recall election officially ends as Newsom prepares for 2022". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved October 26, 2021.
  36. ^ Weber, Shirley (October 22, 2021). "STATEMENT OF VOTE, SEPTEMBER 14, 2021 CALIFORNIA GUBERNATORIAL RECALL ELECTION" (PDF). Office of the California Secretary of State. Retrieved October 22, 2021.

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