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As a Kennedy, RFK Jr. belongs to an iconic political legacy, though he has drawn the ire of many of his relatives over the years. The assassinations of his uncle, President John F. Kennedy, and his father, presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy, were formative events in his life, shaping his viewpoints and goals in life.
Breaking Down Robert Kennedy Jr.’s Net Worth
Forbes estimates that RFK Jr. has a net worth of $15 million as of 2024. That includes the assets of his wife, Cheryl Hines.
| Asset or Income Source | Contribution to Net Worth |
|---|---|
| Cash, real estate, and investments | $33 million |
| Law firm buyout | $9 million |
| Bitcoin | $1 – 5 million |
| Inherited assets | $4 million |
| Wife’s income | $1 million |
| Book sales and speaking fees | $250,000 |
| Debt | -$12 million |
| Total Net Worth | ~$15 million |
The Kennedy family was once very wealthy, with an estimated fortune of $1.2 billion in 2015. Joe Kennedy, RFK Jr.’s grandfather, amassed that wealth primarily by investing in stocks and property. However, that fortune has been distributed across a very large family and now makes up a relatively small proportion of RFK Jr.’s net worth. Nevertheless, he holds at least $4 million in inherited assets.
RFK Jr. reportedly earned over $12 million in income over the past two years. This includes:
- $9 million, which he received when he resigned from his law firm (formerly Kennedy & Madonna LLP) to be the Secretary of the Department of HHS.
- $55 thousand from the sale of oil and gas rights in various states.
- $1 thousand dollar advance for a book called “Vax-UnVax: Let the Science Speak”.
- Referral fees from various law firms.
Kennedy is due to earn millions in advances for his as-yet-unpublished books “Unsettled Science” and “A Defense for Israel”. He also earned at least $200 thousand in speaking fees and at least $50 thousand for social media endorsements.
He holds cash, real estate, and investments worth $33 million and also reportedly owns between $1 million and $5 million in Bitcoin. However, RFK Jr. has significant debts, including $1.2 million in credit card debt and three mortgages worth $10 million.
Hines, a successful actress best known for her role in Curb Your Enthusiasm, brings considerable assets to the marriage, including residuals from her films and television series. In 2022 and early 2023, she earned more than £1 million. She also has retirement investments worth at least $600 thousand.
As HHS Secretary, RFK Jr. can expect to earn a salary of $246 thousand a year.
RFK Jr.’s Roller-Coaster Personal Life
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. was born in 1954. His uncle was President John F. Kennedy, who was assassinated in 1963. His father, Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy, was assassinated while running for president in 1968. His mother, Ethel Skakel Kennedy, was born to a wealthy family of coal barons.
RFK Jr. was the third of eleven children. He grew up in the Kennedy compound on an estate in Virginia that once served as the headquarters of the Union Army. As a child, he wanted to be a scientist or veterinarian.
As a teenager, RFK Jr. had trouble with drug abuse and, as a result, was expelled from two boarding schools. He was also arrested for marijuana possession and for spitting ice cream in a police officer’s face. He earned a degree in American history and literature from Harvard University and attended the London School of Economics. In 1981, he graduated from the University of Virginia with a law degree.
Health Issues
Kennedy Jr. suffers from spasmodic dysphonia, a neurological vocal cord condition that impacts his voice. He has also previously said that he has cognitive issues after doctors found a dead worm in his brain.
Drug Abuse
While at university, he continued to struggle with drug use and contracted hepatitis C from needle sharing. In 1983, Kennedy Jr. fell ill on a flight. When the flight landed, he was taken to a VIP room, where he was found to be in possession of heroin. He pleaded guilty to a felony charge and was sentenced to two years probation and community service. He recently spoke with GBN about his history of drug abuse.
Two days later, he checked into a drug treatment center. He says he has been sober since then and continues to attend daily meetings. Kennedy Jr. says he had a spiritual awakening after this recovery and found a “deep belief in God”.
Marriages
Kennedy Jr. married Emily Black, a fellow lawyer, in 1982, and they had children. They divorced in 1994. Soon after, Kennedy Jr. married Mary Kathleen Richardson, a friend of his sister’s. When they married, Mary was pregnant with their son, Conor. They had three more children and divorced in 2010. Mary died by suicide before the divorce was final.
Kennedy Jr. was introduced to his third wife, Cheryl Hines, by Larry David. Hines and David co-starred in the smash-hit HBO series “Curb Your Enthusiasm”. Hines and RFK Jr. married in 2014 and share seven children in a blended family.
The couple bought a $5 million home in Malibu, California. During Kennedy Jr.’s presidential campaign, he offered to announce that they had separated to protect her from public scrutiny surrounding his comments on vaccines. She said in an interview, “My husband’s opinions are not a reflection of my own. While we love each other, we differ on many current issues…”
The ole, one person side hug. Curb Your Enthusiasm is coming back early 2024! You ready??? #LarryDavid #CurbYourEnthusiasm #CherylDavid #CYE #PrettyPrettyPrettyGood pic.twitter.com/Oid3J3YmOF
— Cheryl Hines (@CherylHines) November 10, 2023
RFK Jr. is alleged to be a serial philanderer who struggles with compulsive sexual behavior.
RFK Jr.’s Work as an Environmental Lawyer
While completing his community service, RFK Jr. got involved in efforts to clean up the polluted Hudson River and became passionate about the environment. After graduating from law school at age twenty-eight, he became an assistant district attorney in New York City but resigned after he failed the bar exam.
Several years later, in 1985, Kennedy was admitted to the bar. He went on to receive a master’s of law in environmental studies at Pace University, where he latest established the Pace Environmental Litigation Clinic.
Clean Water Initiatives
In time, Kennedy Jr. became a renowned environmental lawyer. He was even named Time Magazine’s hero of the planet in 1999. He founded a clean water advocacy group called the Waterkeep Alliance that year and acted as chief prosecuting attorney for Riverkeeper, an NGO that works to clean up the Hudson River. He also played a key role in negotiating a 1997 agreement that protected the quality of drinking water in New York City: the Watershed Memorandum of Agreement.
Major Cases
In 2007, he gave the closing arguments in a judgment against the chemical manufacturing company DuPont. The company was found to have deliberately exposed a town to toxic substances and hundreds of millions in damages were awarded. He was also part of the team that won a 2018 class action lawsuit against Monsanto for its use of the potentially carcinogenic weed-killer product, Roundup.
BREAKING: #Monsanto hit with historic $2.055 billion verdict losing third #roundup trialhttps://t.co/01lcTT1Lmb
— Robert F. Kennedy Jr (@RobertKennedyJr) May 13, 2019
Protests
Kennedy Jr. was arrested on multiple occasions while protesting environmental matters, including a protest against US Navy bombing exercises in Puerto Rico and another about the Keystone XL pipeline, which was opposed by Indigenous Groups.
Publications
Kennedy Jr. is a prolific writer. His articles have appeared in the likes of the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and Rolling Stone. He has written two bestselling books: “Crimes Against Nature” (2005) and “The Real Anthony Fauci” (2021), as well as a successful biography – “American Values: Lessons I Learned from My Family” – and two children’s books on American history.
RFK Jr.’s Presidential Campaign
In April 2023, RFK Jr. announced that he would run for the Democratic nomination for the 2024 US presidential election. He had been encouraged to do so by the anti-vaccine movement because of his views on vaccines. Kennedy Jr. said, “I started thinking, well, the one place that they couldn’t censor me was if I was running for president.”
He polled well at first (for a new candidate) but lost support when many of his controversial views, mostly related to vaccines, became more widely known. Nonetheless, Kennedy Jr. embraced his oddball status. For example, he posted on X, “I offer to eat 5 more brain worms and still beat President Trump and President Biden in a debate.” In the polls, he hovered at around 5% nationally and was popular with young and Latino voters. In July 2023, he was polling more favorably among Republicans than Democrats.
I offer to eat 5 more brain worms and still beat President Trump and President Biden in a debate.
— Robert F. Kennedy Jr (@RobertKennedyJr) May 8, 2024
In October, anticipating that he would fail to become the Democratic nominee, he announced that he would run as an independent. In August 2024, he pulled out of the presidential race amid poor polling and endorsed Donald Trump, despite saying he had previously been a “ferocious critic” of Trump. He said in his announcement speech, “I was surprised to discover that we [Kennedy Jr. and Trump] are aligned on many key issues”.
After he dropped out, Kennedy revealed that Donald Trump had offered him a position in the White House. That position ended up being the Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services.
A few days later, insiders in the Kennedy and Democratic camps revealed that RFK Jr. had also asked Kamala Harris for a role in her administration in exchange for dropping out and endorsing her but Harris declined.
Scandals
During his presidential campaign, countless controversial stories about RFK Jr. came to light. Two of the more memorable scandals were that he abandoned a dead bear cub in Central Park and was investigated for decapitating a dead whale with a chainsaw.
Kennedy Family Legacy
Much of Kennedy’s Jr.’s family called his presidential campaign “perilous” for the country. He also drew criticism for a Super Bowl advert which resembled a famous 1960 television ad for his uncle, John F. Kennedy. Viewers felt it was an abuse of his family legacy and he later apologized to his relatives. Kennedy Jr.’s sister Kerry said said her brother’s endorsement of Donald Trump, “desecrated my father’s memory’.
Kerry Kennedy, sister of RFK Jr. and daughter of Robert Kennedy, on her brother:
"I am disgusted by my brother’s obscene embrace of Donald Trump. And I completely disavow and dissociate myself from Robert Kennedy Jr. and his flagrant efforts to desecrate my father's memory." pic.twitter.com/kczi8Y6rjR
— Protect Kamala Harris ✊ (@DisavowTrump20) February 13, 2025
RFK Jr.’s Health Advocacy
Over the years, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has repeated a wide range of controversial health theories and policy suggestions, many of which are scientifically dubious.
Fluoride in Drinking Water
Water has been added to the water supply in the US since 1945 in order to prevent cavities. Kennedy Jr. wants it removed, claiming is associated with a range of health issues. However, scientists agree that the concentration of Fluoride in US water is far too low to cause the health issues RFK claims it causes.
On January 20, the Trump White House will advise all U.S. water systems to remove fluoride from public water. Fluoride is an industrial waste associated with arthritis, bone fractures, bone cancer, IQ loss, neurodevelopmental disorders, and thyroid disease. President…
— Robert F. Kennedy Jr (@RobertKennedyJr) November 2, 2024
COVID Pandemic
In February 2021, RFK Jr.’s Instagram account was suspended. Facebook said that this was because he was “repeatedly sharing debunked claims” relating to the pandemic. At an antivax rally in 2022, Kennedy compared US vaccine mandates to Nazi laws. An outcry followed, including a denunciation from the official Auschwitz memorial. He also helped to finance a documentary called “Plandemic” which made various claims about the COVID pandemic, including the claim that the pandemic was planned by the government.
Vaccines and Autism
In 2018, RFK Jr. founded the Children’s Health Defense with the purported goal of tackling chronic diseases in children. The organization became a leading voice in the antivax movements. RFK Jr. has previously made the claim that childhood immunizations are linked to autism – a claim that has been widely debunked. He says that he has had his own children vaccinated, and his views on vaccines have changed over time. He has said that people “ought to have a choice” about vaccinations.
Food Additives and Pharmaceuticals
RFK Jr. said in an NBC News interview, “We have one thousand ingredients in our food that are illegal in Europe and illegal in other countries, and they’re making our kids sick. They’re there because of corrupt agencies.” On a podcast with Todd Ault, he said, “Our kids are all on Adderall. They’re all on S.S.R.I.s. Why? Doctors didn’t just start prescribing these for no reason. We have damaged this entire generation. We have poisoned them.”
Role in Trump Administration
In 2024, then former president Donald Trump announced that RFK Jr. was his pick for the Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services in his second administration. Fifty-two senators backed his appointment, and forty-eight opposed RFK Jr. was sworn into the position in February 2025. RFK Jr. has vowed to use his platform to “Make America Healthy Again”.
Is Robert Kennedy Jr. Pro Crypto?
RFK Jr. is undoubtedly pro-crypto and he frequently mentioned crypto, bitcoin, and blockchain during his presidential campaign. He made efforts to woo the crypto community by attending conferences and Twitter spaces to talk about Bitcoin and accepted Bitcoin donations to his campaign. “I understand that transactional freedom is as freedom of expression,” he said in one campaign video.
Cryptocurrencies, led by bitcoin, along with other crypto technologies are a major innovation engine. It is a mistake for the U.S. government to hobble the industry and drive innovation elsewhere. Biden’s proposed 30% tax on cryptocurrency mining is a bad idea. 🧵
— Robert F. Kennedy Jr (@RobertKennedyJr) May 3, 2023
RFK Jr. made policy promises to match his pro-crypto rhetoric. He criticized the SEC for trying to “destroy crypto” and promised to make the US “the most crypto-friendly country in the world.” At BTC 2024, he gave a speech in which he listed several executive orders he would sign on day one of his presidency to support the crypto ecosystem, including instructing the treasury to buy crypto every day until the value matched the treasury’s gold reserve and make the right to use and hold crypto “inviolable.”
RFK Jr.’s Crypto and NFT Holdings/Projects
RFK Jr. seems to truly believe what he says about Bitcoin because he owns between $1 million and 5 million invested it, making it one of the largest holdings in his portfolio. This was revealed in a new report filed with the Office of Government Ethics, detailing his investments. He also revealed that he bought two BTC for each of his seven children. He is not known to own any NFTs.
Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s Net Worth – Our Verdict
Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s current net worth is estimated at around $15 million. He has inherited a small piece of the Kennedy fortune but family money likely makes up a quarter or less of his net worth. A significant portion of his net worth comes from his work as an environmental lawyer as well as property investments.
RFK Jr.’s health activism is another source of income in the form of speaking fees and book deals. His wife, Cheryl Hines, brings her own money into the marriage, including her income from films and television. In his new role as health secretary, he will earn another $200 thousand this year.
FAQs
Is Robert Kennedy Jr. related to JFK?
Yes, Robert Kennedy Jr. is JFK's nephew. His father, Robert Kennedy Sr., was JFK's brother.
What happened to RFK Jr.'s voice?
Kennedy Jr. suffers from spasmodic dysphonia, a neurological vocal cord condition that gives his voice a hoarse quality.
Who is RFK Jr.'s wife?
RFK Jr. is married to the actress Cheryl Hines, who plays Larry David's wife in the HBO television series Curb Your Enthusiasm. She is RFK Jr.'s third wife.
