Russell Goldencloud “Russ” Weiner (born 1970) is an American businessman and political fundraiser.
Early life and education
Weiner is the son of Michael Weiner, better known as conservative radio talk show host Michael Savage, and Janet Weiner.
Weiner graduated from Redwood High School in Larkspur, California and graduated from San Diego State University with a bachelor’s degree in political science. He organized events for the Paul Revere Society and worked as a travel consultant.
Career
He is the creator of the Rockstar energy drink. Weiner is also the founder and CEO of his own company, which is based in Las Vegas, Nevada.
In 2016, he entered the Forbes list of the 500 richest Americans at position 494, with an estimated worth of 3.4 billion dollars.
Politics
With his father, he co-founded the Paul Revere Society. In 1998, he ran as a Republican for the 6th district seat in the California State Assembly, receiving an endorsement from the president of the NAACP branch in Oakland, California. In June 1998, Weiner won the Republican primary election by five votes. Among his campaign issues included advocacy for Proposition 227, the ballot initiative eliminating bilingual education in public schools, and protection of old-growth forests. Receiving 13.3% of the vote, Weiner lost to incumbent Democrat Kerry Mazzoni. After he lost the election, election posters depicting him were vandalized in an anti-Semitic manner.
In 2009, Weiner donated $25,000 to the California gubernatorial campaign of Gavin Newsom, who was the Democratic mayor of San Francisco. Newsom returned the donation and Weiner gave it to charity.
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