Sunshine State governor Ron DeSantis is running for the 2024 GOP presidential nomination against Donald Trump, who now has the daggers out for his former protégé. While DeSantis was previously hailed as the darling of the right, his campaign to beat Trump is proving far from straightforward. DeSantis takes after his ex-mentor in many ways. But while Trump has basked in the lap of luxury since birth, his upstart rival comes from modest beginnings and lived in some pretty basic properties before he took up residence in the lavish Florida Governor's Mansion. As of 2022, his net worth is reportedly just $320,000 (£253k). Click or scroll through for the scoop on every place DeSantis has called home and see for yourself.
Ron DeSantis may be taking a beating in the Republican primary polls, but it's nothing compared to the destruction caused by deadly Hurricane Idalia. As fierce 125 mph winds battered the Florida coast on 30 August, an enormous oak tree blew onto DeSantis' governor's mansion while his family were taking shelter there. His wife Casey took to Instagram to reveal the terrifying near miss. "[A] 100 year old oak tree falls on the Governor’s Mansion in Tallahassee," Florida's First Lady wrote, sharing a photo of the enormous tree. "Mason, Madison, Mamie and I were home at the time, but thankfully no one was injured. Our prayers are with everyone impacted by the storm."
DeSantis confirmed that his family were "fine" following the incident. "I don't know that it fell on like the residence per se. I think it was a little bit off to the side," he said. "If they do cut down the whole tree that's just going to be more room for my kids to hit baseballs." That same day, the presidential hopeful took time off the campaign trail to warn Florida residents that if "you loot, we shoot." Highlighting the fact that Florida is a Second amendment state, where the right to bear arms for self-defense in the home is largely embraced. “You never know what’s behind that door," he added. The Category Four storm has lashed Florida and Georgia with torrential rain and blasting winds, killing three people and leaving some homes submerged and others in ruins.
Pictured here in sunnier weather before the hurricane season, the DeSantises set up home in the esteemed Governor's Mansion in January 2019. Built in 1956 in a Greek Revival style, the Florida Governor's Mansion (aka the People's House) is suitably grand and features a portico based on the one that fronts the Hermitage, President Andrew Jackson's historic home in Nashville. The manse consists of a public area and capacious private quarters.
Florida's first lady, Casey DeSantis is shown here at a gathering in the reception room, which is one of the six staterooms in the public area. The other five are the entrance hall, dining room, guest bedroom, Florida room and wood-panelled library, which can be glimpsed through the doorway to the right.
An old-fashioned solarium with floor-to-ceiling windows, the Florida room is a go-to for family photos. The Desantises' private quarters comprise a kitchen, den, dining room, four bedrooms and the same number of bathrooms. The official residence also houses offices for the governor and his wife. However, fun is evidently still top of the agenda at the mansion. In fact, according to a Washington Post investigation, a wealthy donor lent DeSantis a golf simulator for the property, which are typically worth tens of thousands of dollars.
Astonishingly for someone of his status, DeSantis hasn't owned property since 2019 and he and his wife even gave up their cars when they moved into the manse. And – although it looks unlikely with polls showing DeSantis trailing far behind rival Donald Trump – if the Florida governor snags the GOP presidential nomination, wins the 2024 election and ends up in the White House, it could be years before he ever has to pay for a roof over his head.
While may be headed for the most prestigious house in the land, Ron DeSantis came from relatively humble beginnings. Let's see where his story started...
Future American politician Ron DeSantis was born on 14 September 1978 in Jacksonville and lived in the Florida city for the first five years of his life. Though hardly poverty-stricken, DeSantis' upbringing was blue-collar through and through – his father was a Nielsen ratings box installer and his mother worked as a nurse. Records are sketchy for this time, but it appears the family rented an apartment in a complex in east Jacksonville.
In the early 1980s, the family is thought to have moved to Orlando's quiet Chickasaw Woods neighbourhood, where they bought their first home. Ron's sister, Christina, was born in Orlando in 1985 (she sadly passed away in 2015, aged just 30). Not long after her birth, the family decamped to the city of Dunedin, on Florida's Gulf Coast. DeSantis' folks snapped up their new home for a reported $65,000, (£50k) the equivalent of $180,000 (£140k) today. The number of bedrooms isn't listed publicly, but the property is said to span 1,304 square feet.
DeSantis called the property home throughout his school days. This snap is from his senior prom. A gifted student and athlete, he excelled at high school, becoming its most skilled baseball player and one of the highest academic achievers. Needless to say, DeSantis graduated in 1997 with stellar grades and won a place at Yale University.
While studying history at the prestigious college, DeSantis is thought to have lived in this historic semi-detached house according to public records, which is located a stone's throw away from the Yale campus in New Haven, Connecticut. With no rich parents to bankroll him, DeSantis worked his way through college, though he was fortunate enough to gain a scholarship. DeSantis also took out student loans, which he's still paying back.
After leaving Yale in 2001 with a BA in History, DeSantis spent the following academic year working as a history teacher and sports coach at Darlington School, an elite private boarding school in Rome, Georgia. A colleague doing the same job told the New York Times full board was provided for staff, on top of a salary of $27,000 (£21k).
DeSantis' foray into teaching only lasted that academic year. Setting his sights on a much more lucrative legal career, the Yale graduate applied to another renowned Ivy League institution, Harvard Law School, and was accepted with open arms. The brainiac student sailed through his studies and earned a Juris Doctor with honours in 2005.
After living rent-free during the 2001-02 academic year, DeSantis went back to paying for accommodation when he embarked on his studies at Harvard Law. During his three years at the renowned school, he is thought to have lived in a one-bedroom apartment in central Cambridge, Massachusetts. It was last listed for rent in 2018 priced at $2,400 (£1.9k) per month, which is steep for a student pad.
Here's a photo of the interior pulled from Zillow, which is likely to have been taken when the property was last listed on the rental market in 2018. Judging by the décor, which appears decidedly dated, the place may not have changed all that much from when DeSantis lived at the property in the early 2000s.
DeSantis was reportedly been inspired to become a military lawyer after watching the 1992 movie A Few Good Men, starring his favourite movie star Tom Cruise, who plays a legal eagle in the US Navy's Judge Advocate General's Corps (aka JAG). Fulfilling his ambition, DeSantis was assigned to the JAG in 2004 while still at Harvard, and completed Naval Justice School in 2005.
DeSantis lived in Dallas for a period in 2004 while he undertook training at the Naval Reserve Center following his assignment to the JAG. The law student certainly didn't slum it, opting for a plush apartment within this fabulous Art Deco-inspired complex in the city's Stonewall Terrace neighbourhood, according to public records.
Rents in the building start at around $2,000 (£1.6k) for a two-bedroom apartment these days. The complex offers beautiful contemporary interiors, while the amenities on offer include a sensational pool, a gym and more. It's unclear if DeSantis would have shared the property with a fellow recruit, but he would have been given a generous allowance towards accommodation, like all naval personnel. The following summer, DeSantis hot-footed it to Newport, Rhode Island to take the Naval Officer Indoctrination Course and study at the Naval Justice School.
During his active-service naval career, DeSantis was stationed at the Mayport base just outside Jacksonville and rented several homes in the area, which as we've mentioned would have been subsidised by the Navy.
Early in 2006, DeSantis reportedly moved into an apartment in Cape House, an amenity-packed waterside community offering vacation-style living. Rents these days for units in the building start from around $1,429 (£1.1k). That same year, DeSantis was promoted to lieutenant and worked with detainees at Guantanamo Bay.
DeSantis relocated a 20-minute drive away to the equally desirable Bellside Riverside complex later in 2006. The following year, he served as a lawyer with Navy SEALs in Iraq, garnering a Bronze Star for his efforts there.
After returning from Iraq, DeSantis moved into a two-bedroom, two-bathroom condo in the evocative Venetian on the Ortega, a reimagining of Venice with Renaissance-style apartment blocks, picturesque waterways and impressive amenities. DeSantis' apartment is no longer rented out, but similar units cost around $1,500 (£1.2k) per month.
In 2008, DeSantis relocated to this cute two-bedroom, two-bathroom home with tiny house vibes within the Sawgrass Players Club, a sprawling gated community in the Jacksonville suburb of Ponte Vedra Beach. However, it wasn't long before he eventually snapped up a more permanent base.
In 2009, DeSantis quit renting and snapped up his first home, this pristine three-bedroom, three-bathroom beauty in the Sawgrass Players Club, a five-minute drive away from his last rental pad. DeSantis paid $307,500 (£239k), taking out a reported $314,111 (£244k) mortgage to finance the purchase.
When it comes to taste in décor, DeSantis is the polar opposite of flashy Trump, who favours a brash 1980s Dynasty-meets-Louis XVI aesthetic and copious gold. Casual and understated, the living room features a neutral colour palette of greys and beiges that extends to the rest of the property, along with comfy, unpretentious furnishings.
DeSantis installed a simple, stylish kitchen, opting for white cabinets and countertops, which are set off nicely by the grey walls and hardwood flooring. In 2010, a year more or less after he bought the property, DeSantis was honourably discharged from the Navy, though he remains a reservist to this day. He then joined Jacksonville law firm Holland & Knight.
Here's the home's spacious master bedroom. 2010 turned out to be a milestone year for DeSantis, as it was also the year the Navy veteran married TV host Casey Black, who he'd met playing golf. They tied the knot at Disney World in Orlando, a place DeSantis reportedly finds too “woke” these days. The couple has three children together.
Spurred on by the Tea Party, the right-wing populist movement that paved the way for Trumpism, DeSantis quit Holland & Knight in 2012 to run for a seat in the House of Representatives, and won Florida's Sixth Congressional District by a comfortable margin. No doubt DeSantis worked on his campaign in the property's monochrome den.
The Tea Party darling was re-elected in 2014 and again in 2016. That year, DeSantis and his family had to move when the neighbourhood was drawn into a different congressional district. The property was put on the rental market before it was eventually sold in 2019 for $460,000 (£357k), but DeSantis probably wishes he held out longer since the home's value soared over the next two years thanks to the pandemic market bounce.
DeSantis and his family relocated to this three-bedroom, two-bathroom lakefront home in Palm Coast within the Lakeside At Matanzas Shores gated community, slap bang in the redrawn Sixth Congressional District. Less expensive than the Ponte Vedra Beach property, the bungalow cost a reasonably modest $242,000 (£188k).
The DeSantises plumped for grey walls again and furnished the living room with a brown leather coffee table ottoman and cream corner sofa. While the property may have been smaller than their previous acquisition, it was still a beautiful, spacious property for the family.
DeSantis announced he was running for Florida governor in January 2018. Backed by Donald Trump, who saw him as a protégé and loyal ally, the right-wing populist politician stormed to victory in the November 2018 gubernatorial election. This prompted him to sell the Palm Coast property and move his family into the splendid Florida Governor's Mansion. It sold for a tidy $275,000 (£213k).
On 24 May, the Florida governor announced he was formally entering the 2024 presidential race via a Twitter conversation with Elon Musk. However, the live audio conversation didn't quite go to plan, with multiple tech glitches causing long delays, dead air and the dreaded screech of audio feedback. Poking fun at his former ally, Trump added: "Is the DeSantis launch fatal? Yes!" The former president still leads DeSantis in the polls and the Florida governor's bumpy start won't have helped, neither will the trouble brewing for him back in the Sunshine State...
In May 2023, DeSantis banned Chinese citizens from buying land in the Sunshine State in an effort to reportedly "combat corporate espionage and higher education subterfuge carried out by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and its agents." During the event at which he signed the bills into law, DeSantis said: "Today Florida makes it very clear: we don't want the CCP in the Sunshine State."
DeSantis believes China is making a "concerted effort to acquire farmland" in Florida. "Our food security is also national security. And so we don't want the CCP in charge of any of the food production," he said. Chinese citizens are also banned from buying land within 10 miles of a military installation or anything that's considered 'critical infrastructure' such as airports. Other countries facing these bans include Russia, Syria, Cuba, Iran, North Korea and Venezuela.
Chinese citizens who are also US citizens or green card holders are exempt from the laws. Prior to the bill signing, dozens of Chinese Americans mounted a protest outside the Florida Capitol, holding signs that read 'Equality For All' and 'No anti-Asian Bill.' Critics believe the legislation may violate the Fair Housing Act which bans "discrimination based on race, national origin, religion, or sex in the sale of housing," according to Latin Post. Some took to Twitter to brand the law 'xenophobic', while others don't think the new laws go far enough.
DeSantis may be on high alert regarding potential espionage in Florida due to two incidents that occurred at former President Trump's Mar-a-Lago resort. In 2019, two Chinese women were caught trespassing on the estate on separate occasions. One of the women, Yujing Zhang, was reportedly carrying two passports and a device containing malware. Investigators found nine USB drives, five SIM cards, $8,000 (£6.2k) in cash and a 'signal detector' device for allegedly spotting hidden microphones or cameras in her hotel room. Zhang was found guilty of unlawfully entering a restricted building and making false statements to a federal officer. She was deported to China in 2021.
Most recently, DeSantis and his family have been hitting the campaign trail hard, including at this 4 July parade, which was ominously threatened by storm clouds. Just days later, it was revealed his team was forced to cut 10 staff as the campaign has "burned through cash" and donations have slowed alarmingly, according to The Telegraph. Initially, he out-performed Donald Trump, hauling in a staggering $20 million (£15.5m) in second-quarter fundraising, compared to the reported $17.7 million (£13.7m) raised by Trump. However, hit by poor performances since his launch, backers are said to be deserting him. While the former president is riding high with 50.8% in national polls, DeSantis trails behind on just 21.2%. Meanwhile, he has been hit by accusations that a Florida state guard he established to provide disaster relief is actually being trained as an "armed, combat-ready militia," The Guardian reports.
On Tuesday, DeSantis attempted to reset his campaign by giving a 15-minute interview with CNN's Jake Tapper, finally warming up to mainstream media after having shunned it in the early days of his run. He attempted to defend his slide in the polls and doubled down on what he calls the "woke mind virus," but it was notable that – for a TV appearance that was supposed to present DeSantis to a new audience – Donald Trump somehow stole the show. The Florida governor was forced to spend chunks of precious airtime responding to the news that Trump was facing another indictment, this time for his alleged efforts to overturn the 2020 election results.
Interestingly, DeSantis defended his former ally, saying: "I hope he doesn’t get charged. I don’t think it’ll be good for the country," but added that Trump “could’ve come out more forcefully” to stop the 2021 White House insurrection. However carefully DeSantis is stepping around the issue of Trump, the same cannot be said of his rival. Just before the interview, a Trump advisor sent out a statement labelling the governor an “unlikable candidate” with “no campaign message, and rapidly sinking poll numbers.” Despite the former president now facing an incredible four indictments, DeSantis still trails behind him in the polls. Whether or not he sees an uptick in numbers, one thing's for sure; as the race heats up, the rhetoric between this warring pair will too.
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