Stephen Cloobeck, the billionaire real estate developer who bankrolled Eric Swalwell's political ambitions for years, says the relationship is over, and he wants his money back. In a blistering account given to the New York Post, Cloobeck described a final face-to-face meeting with the disgraced California congressman inside his Beverly Hills mansion, where he told Swalwell to leave and pledged "zero financial help" going forward.
The break came after four women accused Swalwell of sexual assault, a cascade of allegations that ended his gubernatorial campaign and prompted his resignation from Congress. Swalwell had been staying at Cloobeck's 9,700-square-foot, $26 million home as the accusations mounted, even filming a video from inside the house in which he denied the claims.
Now the man who once opened his doors and his wallet has slammed both shut. And the details of how it ended tell you everything about the kind of patron-client arrangement that flourishes in Democratic politics, until it doesn't.
Cloobeck told the New York Post that he sat down with Swalwell alongside his own legal counsel for a last conversation. Swalwell, he said, apologized. It wasn't enough.
Cloobeck described the exchange bluntly:
"I was with my counsel and we had a chat with him, I just told him: 'You busted the trust.'... 'I'm shocked, I'm disturbed and get the f*** out of here.' Then I walked away and that was it."
He did not mince words about what drove the split, either. Cloobeck said he could not stand behind someone credibly accused of mistreating women.
"I am no longer associated with a man that takes advantage of women. I support women's rights."
Cloobeck also told the Post he "ripped him a new f***ing a**hole", language that suggests the meeting was not a polite parting of ways.
The billionaire's relationship with Swalwell was not casual. Fox News reported that Cloobeck had supported Swalwell since 2017 and donated $23,400 to his campaigns between 2017 and 2023. But the financial backing went far beyond direct contributions.
Breitbart reported that Cloobeck spent more than $1 million backing Swalwell's gubernatorial campaign after dropping out of the California governor's race himself and endorsing the congressman. Cloobeck now says he wants to explore recovering that money.
Swalwell, for his part, had made himself comfortable. The Post confirmed he was staying at Cloobeck's Beverly Hills mansion as the allegations surfaced. Cloobeck described a pattern: Swalwell would stay at the house, then send "pastries and cookies" two days later, a detail that paints a picture of a politician who treated a donor's home like a personal hotel.
That arrangement is done. Cloobeck said Swalwell would receive "zero financial help" and confirmed the congressman is no longer welcome at his California residence.
Four women have accused Swalwell of sexual assault. One ex-staffer claims Swalwell raped her while drunk at a charity gala in April 2024. The Manhattan District Attorney's Office has opened a sexual assault investigation into the congressman.
Swalwell suspended his campaign for California governor in a matter of days. On Monday, he announced his resignation from Congress, vowing to "fight the serious, false allegation made against me." He has denied the rape and sexual assault claims.
Swalwell married Brittney Watts in 2016. They have three children.
The speed of the collapse is worth noting. As recently as Friday night, Cloobeck's own lawyer was still defending Swalwell on CNN. Cloobeck explained that his counsel went on the network at his request because Swalwell "was advised to go on himself, he didn't want to do it and I asked my counsel to do it." By Monday, Swalwell was resigning. By the time Cloobeck spoke to the Post, the billionaire was washing his hands of the entire relationship.
One detail Cloobeck went out of his way to address: nondisclosure agreements. He denied that his companies played any role in silencing Swalwell's accusers.
"There were no NDAs by any of my entities for any of these women."
That denial is notable. In an era when powerful men routinely use legal instruments to keep accusers quiet, the question was apparently pressing enough that Cloobeck felt the need to get ahead of it. Whether the denial holds up under further scrutiny remains to be seen. The Manhattan DA's investigation is ongoing, and the identities and full accounts of the four accusers have not been publicly detailed.
Eric Swalwell spent years cultivating a public image as a champion of accountability. He sat on the House Intelligence Committee. He ran for president. He positioned himself as a progressive crusader willing to hold others to the highest standards.
Now he stands accused of conduct that, if substantiated, represents a profound betrayal of the principles he claimed to defend. And the man who funded his political rise, who let Swalwell stay in his mansion, who sent his own lawyer onto national television to vouch for him, says the trust is gone.
The questions that remain are significant. What did Cloobeck know, and when? What exactly did his lawyer say on CNN Friday night, and on what basis? How did Swalwell end up living in a donor's $26 million home in the first place, and for how long? None of these questions have clear answers yet.
What is clear is the pattern. A Democratic politician built his career on other people's money and other people's trust. When the allegations hit, he retreated to a billionaire's guest room, filmed a denial video from inside the house, and waited for someone else to go on television and defend him. When the weight of the accusations became undeniable, the billionaire told him to get out.
Accountability is easy to demand from a committee chair. It's harder when the cameras turn around.