The Julian clan was a very well-established part of the Roman polity, although it is true that they were not among the most prominent families. Nevertheless Caesar's father had made it praetor, and one of his uncles, I think, had been consul.
However, Caesar's personal wealth was considerable even before the plunder rolled in from his successful warmaking. He paid fifty talents of silver in ransom to the pirates who captured as a young man which, to be sure, he later recovered in celebrated fashion. But the incident nevertheless illustrates what sort of financial resources he could call upon.
In his rise to power Caesar went into debt, but that was because of his prodigious expenditure, e.g. when he served as aedile he personally borrowed over 1300 talents to spend on feasts and games (and incidentally give contracts for the Appian Way repairs to influential people). Point is, he had access to serious financial backing to get that much credit.
Caesar's lavishness was notable even in the Late Republic:
Quote:
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Originally Posted by Plutarch
Then there were his dinner parties and entertainments and a certain splendour about his whole way of life; all this made him gradually more and more important politically. At first his enemies thought this influence of his would soon come to nothing, once he stopped spending money, and they stood aside and watched it grow among the common people...He spent money recklessly, and many people thought he was purchasing a moment's brief fame at an enormous price, whereas in reality he was buying the greatest place in the world at inconsiderable expense.
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I'm not saying Caesar was rich as Crassus, but Cicero was definitely at a "lower tier" than either of them.
Both Caesar and Cicero, like all politicians in the oligarchy, made strategic marriages to gain friends and funds. Caesar's first marriage was to one of the Cornelii, while Cicero first married into the Terentii--both brides provided by wealthy aristocratic houses.
One minor correction to my earlier post: I found there was one other
novus homo who made it to the consulate between Marius and Cicero, named Gaius Caelius Caldus.