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Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, a millionaire, set up new company before signing financial disclosure bills

Beth LeBlanc and Craig Mauger, The Detroit News on

Published in News & Features

LANSING, Michigan — Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s lawyer filed paperwork to form a company he says is meant to manage her family’s personal wealth, four days after the Michigan Legislature signed off on the hotly debated details of a personal financial disclosure law for state officeholders.

The Democratic governor disclosed her ownership interest in Super Deluxe LLC in her first report submitted under the new law, along with more than $2.3 million in investment and retirement assets. Whitmer will also use the entity to manage expenses and profits related to her upcoming book, her lawyer Christopher Trebilcock said.

The limited liability company, which filed paperwork with the state Nov. 13, is meant to serve as the “governor’s family office to manage her personal matters,” Trebilcock said. He is listed as the company’s resident agent and also works as a lawyer for Whitmer’s campaign arm.

The LLC is registered to the address of Trebilcock’s law firm, Clark Hill. A family office typically serves very high net-worth individuals and families in managing their wealth — from estate planning to tax services to the management of homes, planes, boats or cars.

Under Michigan's disclosure law, Whitmer didn't have to report the value of Super Deluxe or what the company's dealings were. She just disclosed that she was a member of it with an ownership interest.

Whitmer's upcoming book from Simon & Schuster, "True Gretch," was contracted through Super Deluxe because it is a "personal project," Trebilcock said. Any profits will be used to pay expenses related to the publication and the rest given to a Lansing-area nonprofit.

 

"The governor is proud to donate the proceeds from the publishing of 'True Gretch' to the Capital Region Community Foundation trough Super Deluxe LLC throughout the entirety of her term as governor," Trebilcock said.

Whitmer hasn't said how much her book deal is worth. Other public officeholders have made hundreds of thousands of dollars off similar projects. Former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo was paid about $5 million for his 2020 memoir titled "American Crisis: Leadership Lessons from the COVID-19 Pandemic," according to media reports.

Pete Hoekstra, chairman of the Michigan Republican Party, has previously called on Whitmer's administration to release the terms of her book deal.

The governor's interest in the LLC was reported in a filing Monday, the deadline for Michigan’s inaugural round of mandatory personal financial disclosure reporting. While the formation of the Super Deluxe was new, her investment and stock interests had been disclosed in prior voluntary reports from the governor, with Monday's investment total reflecting a slight increase from last year's voluntary disclosure.

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