(NewsNation) — Sharing the prosperous Kennedy name, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. was born to be in the political spotlight — and a millionaire.
RFK Jr. is the son of the late Robert F. Kennedy, a senator from New York and U.S. attorney general in the 1960s.
RFK Jr., like his father, ran for president. The senior Kennedy was shot and killed during his candidacy as a Democrat, while the junior Kennedy, who ran on the independent ticket, withdrew from the 2024 race in August.
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He endorsed President-elect Donald Trump and was later nominated to Trump’s Cabinet on Nov. 14 to oversee the Department of Health and Human Services. Congress will need to approve the selection.
RFK Jr.’s net worth
Duluth, GA – October 24 : Robert F. Kennedy Jr. speaks with Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump at a Turning Point Action Rally in Duluth, GA on Wednesday, Oct. 23, 2024. (Photo by Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post via Getty Images)
RFK Jr.’s net worth is around $15 million, Forbes estimates, as of Nov. 14.
The Kennedy family fortune was valued at $1.2 billion in 2015, according to Forbes.
His uncle, former President John F. Kennedy, is the second wealthiest American president in history with a net worth during his life of $1.3 billion (accounting for inflation).
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Kennedy family wealth
1937: American multi-millionaire Joseph Patrick Kennedy (right), the newly-appointed ambassador to London, with his wife Rose Kennedy (second from right) and eight of their nine children, in London. From left: Edward, Jeanne, Robert, Patricia (1924 – 2006), Eunice, Kathleen, Rosemary and John F Kennedy who later became the 35th President of the United States. (Photo by Keystone/Getty Images)
Though not as wealthy as some family members when they were still alive, RFK Jr. shared an inheritance from his father among his 10 siblings.
His share of family assets is worth about $4 million, along with a $1.75 million to $6.5 million stake in Chicago luxury apartment and office property, Forbes reported.
The Kennedy family’s wealth was built over generations. His grandfather Joseph P. Kennedy Sr. made a fortune investing in stocks and then built a substantial portfolio investing in real estate and private businesses.
In 1998, the family sold Chicago’s Merchandise Mart, which was once the largest building in the world, for around $300 million.
The family’s money is preserved in trusts passed down to each heir, according to Forbes.
Forbes reported that RFK Jr. has about $500,000 in stocks, private equity and hedge funds managed by the family’s Park Financial Holdings.
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American Environmental lawyer Robert Kennedy Jr speaks during a press conference for the 25th Anniversary of Earth Day at The National Mall on April 22, 1995 in Washington D.C.. (Photo By Larry Busacca/Getty Images)
Aside from inheriting wealth, RFK Jr. earned his money as a top environmental lawyer.
He graduated from Harvard University and the University of Virginia Law School. RFK Jr. was an assistant district attorney in New York City before joining the nonprofit industry as an environmental lawyer in the 1980s.
He then founded the Pace Environmental Litigation Clinic at Pace University School of Law in 1987, where he would serve as the clinic’s supervising attorney for three decades.
He was also a professor of law.
In 1999, RFK Jr. founded the Waterkeeper Alliance, which is a worldwide network of environmental organizations to protect bodies of water, and he served as president until 2020.
In 2000, he co-founded Kennedy & Madonna LLP, a successful environmental law firm that was profiled in the 2010 HBO documentary “Mann v. Ford.”
Later, he became counsel to Morgan & Morgan in 2016.
That is not an exhaustive list of ventures RFK Jr. has stuck his hands in.
Investments, businesses and real estate
HYANNISPORT, MA – JULY 25: An aerial view of the Kennedy Compound on July 25, 2008 in Hyannisport, Massachusetts. (Photo by Tim Gray/Getty Images)
According to his 2023 financial disclosure, RFK Jr. owns Bitcoin worth between $100,001 and $250,000; earned close to $5.5 million from his law firm Kennedy & Madonna LLP and made more than $1.5 million as a consultant for another law firm.
His wife, Cheryl Hines known for her acting role in HBO’s “Curb Your Enthusiasm,” brought in $1 million in residuals for her acting projects between 2022 and early 2023.
RFK Jr. owns an estimated $3 million property on the Kennedy Compound in Hyannis Port, Massachusetts, according to Forbes.
He also owns a $7 million Los Angeles home with Hines.
