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Kevin Paffrath, Kevin Paffrath smiles for a selfie in front of the California State Capitol in Sacramento on Friday, July 16, 2021.
Kevin Paffrath via AP

Last year at this time, Kevin Paffrath was focused on his YouTube channel, where his half-million-plus followers could tune in for daily commentary on housing, stocks and stimulus checks. It earned him nearly $10 million over the last 12 months.

Now, the 29-year-old former real estate broker is following Gov. Gavin Newsom around his home state. It’s the best way he can think of to draw attention to his unlikely effort to replace Newsom in the upcoming recall election on Sept. 14.

Paffrath is a registered Democrat and self-declared centrist who voted for Joe Biden in the 2020 presidential election. While he’s highly critical of Newsom and says he’s been a “failed leader,” Paffrath is equally concerned that the Democratic Party has no emergency plan.

Should more than half of California voters support the recall on their ballots, the next governor would be whichever of the 46 successor candidates gets the most votes, making it much easier for an outsider to win. Paffrath is one of the nine candidates listed as a Democrat, but party leaders are urging a “No” vote to the recall effort and saying voters should skip the second question asking who should be governor if the recall succeeds.

“It was mind-blowing to us that they didn’t put at least somebody in, so that way, worst case, they had a hail mary,” Paffrath said in an interview on Friday over a coffee, after attending a Newsom press event in San Francisco.

In an early August poll by Survey USA, Paffrath had the most votes in the field of replacements, with 27%. The next six candidates are all Republicans, including conservative talk show host Larry Elder and reality TV star and former Olympic athlete Caitlyn Jenner.

“We think in the last two weeks of this campaign if the recall looks more and more likely, the Democratic party will be forced to pick a Hail Mary back-up candidate,” Paffrath said. “Given that we’re No. 1 in the polls, we hope that’s us.”

California Governor Gavin Newsom speaks with media at a long-standing encampment along Highway 80 in Berkeley, California, August 9, 2021.
John G. Mabanglo | Pool | Reuters

Democrats are right to be nervous.

A poll conducted by the University of California, Berkeley, and the Los Angeles Times in late July showed 51% of registered voters opposed the recall, with 36% in favor. But among likely voters, the gap favoring Newsom’s retention narrowed to three percentage points.

The anti-recall movement has raised about $51 million, almost eight times as much as the side trying to oust Newsom. Netflix CEO Reed Hastings has contributed $3 million in support of the governor.

Donors can contribute an unlimited amount for or against the recall, but only up to $32,400 in support of any specific replacement candidate. Paffrath said he’s raised close to $400,000 and has put in about $200,000 of his own money. The average donation is $70, he said.

“We don’t have the war chest that Newsom does, so we have to do everything in our power with grassroots and social media,” Paffrath said.

For example, Paffrath paid his brother-in-law, an app developer, to build his “Meet Kevin” app. And he’s trying to get in front of the media as much as possible. Most of his ad spending is via text message to let voters know there’s a Democratic alternative.

On Friday, Paffrath hung out outside Manny’s restaurant in San Francisco as Newsom spoke inside to the press. Dressed in a navy suit with a purple tie, Paffrath made himself easy to spot for reporters. He said he’s careful not to be disruptive at the events.

“We have to combat, this ‘Oh yeah he’s a YouTuber, he’s a prankster,'” Paffrath said. “We stand there very respectfully and reporters recognize us. They talk to us.”

From San Francisco, he’s following Newsom to Los Angeles and San Diego, and possibly beyond.

How it started

The recall effort picked up momentum during the pandemic as frustration mounted about the state’s shutdown of schools and small businesses, and the slow pace of the reopening even as Covid-19 cases and hospitalizations plummeted.

Newsom critics pounced at the opportunity to highlight the worsening homeless problem and increasing crime rates while taxes and living costs remained among the highest in the country. Paffrath said he wasn’t an initial proponent of the recall and didn’t get involved until it was well underway.

“The reason I think folks are frustrated is we pay our taxes, then we look up to see what our government is doing for us with the services we’re paying for,” he said. “And we see people dying on the street. We see blight. That’s why people are leaving.”

Paffrath, who lives with his wife and two young sons in Ventura, about 70 miles from Los Angeles, has made addressing the homeless issue his top agenda item. His proposal is to build new emergency facilities and lease commercial and office buildings, including many that have been vacated during the pandemic, to set up mass spaces with cots and small rooms, supported by staffing from the National Guard.

His aim is to get all of California’s 160,000 homeless people off the streets in 60 days at an eventual cost of $10 per person per day, covering food, medical support and bathrooms.

Paffrath has equally ambitious — some may say outlandish — goals for new types of “future” schools, a system of underground tunnels to alleviate traffic problems and the building of Las Vegas-style casinos as part of a plan to fully legalize gambling.

He also recognizes the existential threat posed by fires and droughts. He advocates spending on controlled burns and a pipeline from the Mississippi River to double water flow to the Colorado River. When it comes to solar plants, he wants to incentivize companies to stay in California rather than going elsewhere.

“I’m tired of hearing about Tesla building solar panels in New York and Nevada,” he said. “Those should be in California.”

$10 million on YouTube

Paffrath’s fans are used to hearing him opine on such matters. He now has almost 150,000 Twitter followers and 1.7 million on YouTube. Regular topics include interest rates, the crypto economy and politics.

Paffrath got his start in real estate a little over a decade ago by teaching people how to invest in the market. He became a broker and started buying property, then took his teaching experience and market knowledge to YouTube. By 2018 was making enough money — a couple thousand dollars a day — to let his broker license expire and to get out of sales.

At the coffee shop on Friday, he pulled out his phone and navigated to his YouTube earnings dashboard. Over the past year, the page showed, his ad revenue on the site topped $3.5 million. Affiliate revenue and money he makes from courses on building wealth brought in an additional $6 million or so, he said.

Kevin Paffrath on the campaign trail
Ari Levy | CNBC

But his focus now is on politics. Paffrath said he’ll run in 2022 even the recall is unsuccessful or if another replacement candidate wins. That’s as far out as he’s projecting.

“I don’t want to be a career politician,” he said. “I want to fix California.”

He also wants to assure Democrats that he’s not just using their party label because it gives him the best chance to win. With a legislature that’s three-quarters Democratic, he said it’s important to start on things that the majority cares deeply about, like the homeless problem.

Control of the U.S. Senate could also be at stake. Dianne Feinstein, the state’s senior senator, is the oldest member of the chamber at 88. She’s not up for reelection until 2024, and questions have been swirling around whether she’ll retire before then.

If so, the governor would get to pick her temporary successor. The Senate is currently at a 50-50 split, with Vice President Kamala Harris in position to cast deciding votes when needed.

Paffrath made it clear he would pick a Democrat.

“I’m not going to burn the party,” he said. “I don’t want people to think that just because I’m a recall candidate I’m going to go in there and do what Republicans say they want to do, start cutting things and throwing around the furniture. It’s not going to work. You’ve got to respect the legislature.”

WATCH: California Gov. Newsom faces recall

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Xiaomi shares see biggest drop since April after fatal EV crash sparks safety concerns

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Xiaomi shares see biggest drop since April after fatal EV crash sparks safety concerns

A Xiaomi electric car SU7 in a store in Yichang, Hubei Province, China on July 19, 2025.

Cfoto | Future Publishing | Getty Images

Chinese tech giant Xiaomi saw its shares fall over 5% on Monday, following reports that the doors of one of its electric vehicles failed to open after a fiery crash in China that left one person dead.

The stock slid as much as 8.7% in Hong Kong, marking its steepest drop since April, before paring losses after images and video of a burning Xiaomi SU7 sedan in Chengdu circulated on Chinese social media.

Video and eyewitness accounts showed bystanders trying but failing to open the doors of the burning car to rescue an occupant. Personnel at the scene eventually used a fire extinguisher to put out the blaze, local reports said.

Chengdu police said the crash occurred after the SU7 collided with another sedan, killing a 31-year-old male driver who was suspected of driving under the influence of alcohol.

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Xiaomi shares

Xiaomi, which manufactures consumer electronics, software and electric vehicles, did not immediately respond to CNBC’s request for comment.

The latest incident follows a fatal SU7 crash earlier this year that raised questions about the vehicle’s smart driving features and sent Xiaomi’s shares tumbling.

The crash could also intensify scrutiny on electronic door handles, a design popularized by Tesla and now common in modern EVs. 

Unlike mechanical models, electronic door handles rely on sensors and electricity and may fail during a fire or power outage.

China is considering a ban on such electric door handles to address safety risks linked to the feature, state-backed media reported in late September.

Meanwhile, the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has launched an investigation into about 174,000 Tesla Model Y vehicles after reports of door handle failures.

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Dutch government takes control of Chinese-owned chipmaker Nexperia in ‘highly exceptional’ move

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Dutch government takes control of Chinese-owned chipmaker Nexperia in 'highly exceptional' move

A close-up view of the Nexperia plant sign in Newport, Wales on April 1, 2022.

Matthew Horwood | Getty Images News | Getty Images

The Dutch government has taken control of Nexperia, a Chinese-owned semiconductor maker based in the Netherlands, in an extraordinary move to ensure a sufficient supply of its chips remains available in Europe amid rising global trade tensions.

Nexperia, a subsidiary of China’s Wingtech Technology, specializes in the high-volume production of chips used in automotive, consumer electronics and other industries, making it vital for maintaining Europe’s technological supply chains. 

On Sunday evening, the Dutch Minister of Economic Affairs revealed that it had invoked the “Goods Availability Act” on the company in September in order “to prevent a situation in which the goods produced by Nexperia (finished and semi-finished products) would become unavailable in an emergency.”

Following the announcement from the Hague, Wingtech plunged its maximum daily limit of 10% on the Shanghai Stock Exchange.

The Goods Availability Act allows the Hague to intervene in private companies to ensure the availability of critical goods in preparation for emergency situations, and its use comes amid escalations in the U.S.-China trade war.

The government statement said the “highly exceptional” move had been made after the ministry had observed “recent and acute signals of serious governance shortcomings and actions” within Nexperia.

“These signals posed a threat to the continuity and safeguarding on Dutch and European soil of crucial technological knowledge and capabilities. Losing these capabilities could pose a risk to Dutch and European economic security,” it said, identifying automotives as particularly vulnerable.

Governance changes

In a corporate filing dated Oct.13, lodged with the Shanghai Stock Exchange, Wingtech confirmed Nexperia was under temporary external management and had been asked to suspend changes to the company’s assets, business or personnel for up to a year, according to a Google translation.

Wingtech chairman Zhang Xuezheng had been immediately suspended from his roles as executive director of Nexperia Holdings and non-executive director of Nexperia after the ministerial order, according to the filing.

The filing added that Nexperia’s daily operations will continue, with the impact of the measures not yet quantifiable.

“The Dutch government’s decision to freeze Nexperia’s global operations under the pretext of ‘national security’ constitutes excessive intervention driven by geopolitical bias, rather than a fact-based risk assessment,” Wingtech said in a deleted WeChat post, which was archived and translated by Chinese policy blog Pekingnology.

It added that since it acquired Nexperia in 2019, Wingtech “has strictly abided by the laws and regulations of all jurisdictions where it operates, maintaining transparent operations and sound governance,” and employs “thousands of local staff” through R&D and manufacturing sites in the Netherlands, Germany and Britain.

A spokesperson from Nexperia told CNBC that the company had no further comments, but that it “complies with all existing laws and regulations, export controls and sanctions regimes,” and remained in regular contact with relevant authorities.

The Netherlands’ move comes after Beijing tightened its restrictions on the export of rare earth elements and magnets Thursday, which could impact Europe’s automotive industry. 

The move could also further strain trade relations between China and the Netherlands, following years of restrictions on Dutch company ASML’s exports of advanced semiconductor manufacturing equipment to China.

In 2023, the Netherlands had also investigated Nexperia’s proposed acquisition of chip firm startup Nowi, though the deal was later approved.

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Navan sets price range for IPO, expects market cap of up to $6.5 billion

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Navan sets price range for IPO, expects market cap of up to .5 billion

FILE PHOTO: Ariel Cohen during a panel at DLD Munich Conference 2020, Europe’s big innovation conference, Alte Kongresshalle, Munich.

Picture Alliance for DLD | Hubert Burda Media | AP

Navan, a developer of corporate travel and expense software, expects its market cap to be as high as $6.5 billion in its IPO, according to an updated regulatory filing on Friday.

The company said it anticipates selling shares at $24 to $26 each. Its valuation in that range would be about $3 billion less than where private investors valued Navan in 2022, when the company announced a $300 million funding round.

CoreWeave, Circle and Figma have led a resurgence in tech IPOs in 2025 after a drought that lasted about three years. Navan filed its original prospectus on Sept. 19, with plans to trade on the Nasdaq under the ticker symbol “NAVN.”

Last week, the U.S. government entered a shutdown that has substantially reduced operations inside of agencies including the SEC. In August, the agency said its electronic filing system, EDGAR, “is operated pursuant to a contract and thus will remain fully functional as long as funding for the contractor remains available through permitted means.”

Cerebras, which makes artificial intelligence chips, withdrew its registration for an IPO days after the shutdown began.

Navan CEO Ariel Cohen and technology chief Ilan Twig started the company under the name TripActions in 2015. It’s based in Palo Alto, California, and had around 3,400 employees at the end of July.

For the July quarter, Navan recorded a $38.6 million net loss on $172 million in revenue, which was up about 29% year over year. Competitors include Expensify, Oracle and SAP. Expensify stock closed at $1.64on Friday, down from its $27 IPO price in 2021.

Navan ranked 39th on CNBC’s 2025 Disruptor 50 list, after also appearing in 2024.

WATCH: Brex CEO on Navan partnership

We developed 'best in class' enterprise travel expense solution, says Brex CEO on Navan partnership

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