A scion of the wealthy Kennedy political dynasty, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has spent the better part of the past two decades as one of the nation's leading anti-vaccine critics. After earning a law degree from the University of Virginia, Kennedy built a litigation practice. In 2016, he founded Children's Health Defense, an anti-vaccine organization, and authored several anti-vaccine books, including "The Real Anthony Fauci" [Britannica, 9/15/26].
Kennedy’s pre-confirmation financial disclosures showed roughly $11 million to 12 million in earnings over the prior two years — nearly $9 million from his law firm, Kennedy & Madonna, plus book advances, speaking fees, and $326,000 in salary from Children's Health Defense — against up to $1.2 million in credit-card debt and mortgages reaching $10.5 million [ABC News, 1/22/25; Axios, 1/22/25]. Those disclosures also flagged a direct conflict of interest: Kennedy had earned $856,000 the prior year in referral fees from Wisner Baum, a firm suing Merck over its Gardasil HPV vaccine, and initially planned to retain a stake in that litigation even while overseeing the HHS vaccine-injury compensation program [Fierce Pharma, 1/23/25]. In August 2026, four Senate Democrats wrote to Kennedy stating that his account of whether he had actually divested that stake ahead of a $50 million Merck settlement was inconsistent with his sworn ethics-agreement commitments [Sen. Warren press release, 8/25/26].
RFK Jr. earned tens of thousands of dollars from an oil and gas rights leasing company. In March 2024, Politico reported that RFK Jr.,reported the earnings on his financial disclosure form filed last June from Arctic Royalty Limited Partnership, which leases land for oil and gas extraction in Oklahoma, Texas and other states. Arctic Royalty leased land to multiple companies that had been fined for pollution and regulatory infractions, as well as to the chemical subsidiary of the company that polluted East Palestine, Ohio, in the 2023 trail derailment. [Politico, 3/25/24]
RFK Jr. told a cryptocurrency conference he was “not an investor” despite holding up to $250,000 in Bitcoin. In May 2023, RFK Jr. told the crowd at the conference in Miami, “I am not an investor and I am not here to give investment advice.’ Then he announced he would be accepting campaign donations in bitcoin. CNBC reported, ”What Kennedy didn’t tell the crowd was that his family had invested in bitcoin recently, according to a financial disclosure form he filed June 30. On the twelfth page of the report, Kennedy lists a brokerage account that held between $100,001 and $250,000 worth of bitcoin." [CNBC, 7/7/23]
RFK Jr.'s campaign was backed by a pro-Trump billionaire with whom he shared a book publisher. According to The Wall Street Journal, “It isn’t just Democrats who believe Mellon’s motivations in giving to Kennedy are more motivated by causing problems for Biden. Several Republicans who regularly deal with major donors also have said they view his contributions as a means to sow chaos for Biden.” [Wall Street Journal, 3/16/24] According to Rolling Stone, “Kennedy and Mellon share a book publisher, Tony Lyons, who is, in fact, also steering American Values 2024. Lyons, in an interview with Rolling Stone, rejected the notion that Mellon is propping up Kennedy to benefit Trump. 'Tim Mellon is a true patriot — principled, sincere, fiercely independent,' Lyons says. 'He obviously hates political corruption and he’s backed candidates across the political spectrum, often right after they were subjected to censorship, hit pieces, lawfare, or anti-democratic political games.’” [Rolling Stone, 7/12/24]
RFK Jr. was invested in a company that had deals with Big Pharma companies. Robert F. Kennedy Jr. disclosed owning an investment worth between $15,001 and $50,000 in Dragonfly Therapeutics Inc. on the Executive Branch Personnel Public Financial Disclosure Reports filed with the Federal Election Commission on June 30, 2023, and July 3, 2024. He described the company as “Immunotherapy Research and Development.” In the earlier report, Kennedy disclosed income from the investment in the form of dividends between $5,001 and $15,000; on the later report, he reported income between $0 and $200. [Robert F. Kennedy Jr., OGE Form 278e, 6/30/23; Robert F. Kennedy Jr., OGE Form 278e, 7/3/24; Letter, Lisa J. Stevenson to Dennis J. Kucinich, 5/22/23] According to Dragonfly Therapeutics Inc., “Dragonfly, an unusual startup backed by a high-powered group of family offices, has partnered with multiple large drugmakers since its formation in 2015 by cancer researcher Tyler Jacks. Merck, AbbVie, and Bristol Myers have cut deals with the company, each drawn by a technology that focuses on natural killer cells, part of the body’s first response to foreign invaders.” [Dragonfly Therapeutics Inc., 8/17/20]
| Year | Assets | % Change |
|---|---|---|
| 20231 | $6 million to $19 million | n/a |
| 20242 | $8.6 to $33.5 million | +44% / +76% |
1Robert F. Kennedy Jr. - OGE Financial Disclosure, 7/3/24
2Robert F. Kennedy Jr. - OGE Financial Disclosure, 1/22/25
Anacostia Riverkeeper
Bedford Stuyvesant Restoration Corp.
Board member, 2000-22
Catskill Mountainkeeper Inc.
Children’s Health Defense
Chairman and Chief Legal Counsel, 2016-24
Drum Major Institute Inc.
Earth Conservation Corps
GridBright Inc.
Board member, 2016-22
Hudson River Fisherman’s Association
Hudson Riverkeeper
J W Howard Attorneys
Attorney, 2023-present
Kennedy & Madonna LLP
Partner, 2000-present
Kenviron Consulting LLC
Sole member, 2008-present
Keppler Associates Inc.
Speaker
Marwood Group LLC
Consultant, 2001-23
Morgan & Morgan PA
Of counsel, 2016-22
Co-counsel on contingency fee cases, 2023-present
National Resources Defense Council Inc.
Attorney, 1980s-2014
Pace University School of Law
Clinical professor
Skyhorse Publishing Inc.
Consultant, 2022-present
Waterkeeper Alliance Inc.
WKP Ventures LLC
Member, 2021-present
WisnerBaum
Consultant, 2016-present
Sources
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. - OGE Financial Disclosure, 7/3/24; New York Times, 4/19/24; Associated Press via Los Angeles Times, 6/9/87; Western Michigan University, 10/19/98; ProPublica Nonprofit Explorer, Accessed 2/7/24