Here Are Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s Richest Donors

RFK Jr. inherited just a small slice of his family’s fortune, which helps explain why other rich people—including many Republicans—are bankrolling a Kennedy.

_{By Leo Kamin, Contributor}

A spoiler poised to hand the election to Trump? An appealing alternative to Biden? An antidote to two-party rule? Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the independent presidential candidate, is many things to many people. No surprise, then, that his richest donors are a diverse group.

Worth a combined $37 billion, these tycoons include once-dependable Democrats, political newcomers and some of Trump’s biggest backers. Together, they’ve seeded RFK Jr.’s longshot bid with $39 million, funding a Super Bowl ad and underwriting a frantic effort to get JFK’s nephew on the ballot in all 50 states. It would take a lot more money to actually return a Kennedy to the White House, but $39 million could nonetheless be enough to affect whether Biden or Trump ends up there.

1. Timothy Mellon

Donations to Kennedy groups: $25 million | Net worth: Nearly $1 billion

The Mellons and Kennedys, American dynasties associated with opposite political parties, summered together on Cape Cod in the 1960s. More than a half-century later, Timothy Mellon, who grew his inheritance in the railroad industry, is the biggest supporter of Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s candidacy. That doesn’t necessarily mean he wants RFK Jr. to win. Mellon has invested more than three times as much into Donald Trump’s effort to reclaim the White House.

2. Nicole Shanahan (ex-spouse of Sergey Brin)

Donations to Kennedy groups: $14 million | Net worth: $300 million+

Kennedy’s running mate is also his second-biggest donor. The ex-wife of Google cofounder Sergey Brin, Shanahan appears to have received at least 2.6 million shares of Google’s parent company, Alphabet, in her divorce. If she held onto them, those shares would be worth nearly $500 million today. Shanahan gave thousands to Hillary Clinton in 2016 and even more to support Biden in 2020. But she was drawn to Kennedy, especially his ideas about chronic illness, which–Shanahan believes–can be caused by things like microplastics, electromagnetic pollution and prescription medications. “As Bobby says, we need to investigate every possible cause of the chronic disease epidemic that is devouring our nation from the inside,” Shanahan said in a March 2024 speech. She ended up pouring $4 million to air a Super Bowl ad supporting Kennedy earlier this year, according to the New York Times. In March, Kennedy selected her as his running mate, allowing her to inject unlimited sums directly into the campaign. Since then, she has spent $10 million.

3. John Paul DeJoria

Donations to Kennedy groups: $6,600 | Net worth: $3 billion

DeJoria, a former door-to-door salesman who once lived out of a 20-year-old Rolls-Royce, cofounded the hair-care giant John Paul Mitchell Systems in 1980 with just $700. Nine years later, he started Patrón, a premium tequila brand he sold to Bacardi in 2018. DeJoria is a prolific philanthropist, and he also shares his fortune with politicians—mostly Republicans from his adopted home state of Texas. His connection to RFK Jr. runs deep, though. DeJoria is a trustee of Kennedy’s Waterkeeper Alliance, one of multiple environmental efforts the billionaire has bankrolled. DeJoria chipped in $6,600 last September to support Kennedy, the first presidential candidate to receive a DeJoria donation since Jeb Bush.

4. Holly Gores (spouse of Tom Gores)

Donations to Kennedy groups: $6,600 | Net worth: $9.1 billion

5. Kelly Gores (spouse of Alec Gores)

Donations to Kennedy groups: $6,600 | Net worth: $2.2 billion

Sisters-in-law Holly and Kelly Gores are not megadonors, but they certainly have plenty of money to spend. Holly is married to Tom Gores, the owner of the Detroit Pistons. Kelly is married to his brother Alec. The Los Angeles-based siblings once worked together on buyouts before striking it out on their own with separate private-equity firms. Their wives have both donated $6,600 to Kennedy’s campaign, the most any noncandidate can give directly to a campaign. So far, they have not handed over bigger sums to Kennedy’s super-PAC, which is allowed to accept donations of any size.

6. Bill Ackman

Donations to Kennedy groups: $3,300 | Net worth: $9.3 billion

The hedge fund manager who helped oust Harvard president Claudine Gay has mostly donated to Democrats over the years. But he has been hesitant about Biden. Ackman backed RFK Jr. and Congressman Dean Phillips, who both launched Democratic primary bids against the president. In May, Ackman said in a lengthy post on X that he would not vote for Biden, who he had previously criticized for his Israel policy and mental acuity. “I am seriously considering @RFK and @realDonaldTrump,” he explained. On the night of the debate, however, Ackman encouraged the country to “rally around Trump.”

7. Elizabeth Uihlein

Donations to Kennedy groups: $3,300 | Net worth: $6.6 billion

The cofounder of an industrial-supplies giant, Uihlein is a stalwart Republican–and one of Trump’s biggest benefactors. She hasn’t always been on the Trump train, though. Uihlein donated $1.5 million to a pro-Ron DeSantis super-PAC last year and doled out smaller contributions to the campaigns of Mike Pence, Vivek Ramaswamy and RFK Jr. Uihlein seems firmly committed to Trump now, though. She hasn’t donated anything to Kennedy since he dropped out of the Democratic primary and announced his third-party bid. In May, Uihlein and her husband Dick each handed Trump’s super-PAC $5 million.

8. Lisa Troutt (spouse of Kenny Troutt)

Donations to Kennedy groups: $2,500 | Net worth: $1.7 billion

Troutt and her husband, Texas telecom billionaire Kenny Troutt, have been dependable sources of cash for Republicans for years. They gave generously to support Trump in 2016 and 2020, and they’ve continued to stand with Trump this time around, pouring over $1 million into groups that support him. The couple tend to give together, but only Lisa contributed to Kennedy, giving him $2,500 in September of last year, two months after the pair donated $500,000 to Trump’s PAC. The Kennedy contribution did not signal a move away from the 45th president: Lisa Troutt went on to give over $400,000 to a pro-Trump committee in March.

9. Ron Corio

Donations to Kennedy groups: $2,000 | Net worth: $1.7 billion

The solar energy pioneer, New Mexico’s only billionaire, has long kept a low profile. He gave a few thousand to Clinton in 2016 and Biden in 2020 and has consistently supported his state’s Democratic representatives, but he tends not to speak publicly about politics. Corio’s recent donations suggest that he is unsatisfied with the top of the Democratic ticket. Though he has continued to support New Mexico’s liberal senator, his only other contributions this cycle are a pair of $1,000 checks to Kennedy’s campaign in March and May, He also gave more than $250,000 to Andrew Yang’s third-party alternative, the Forward Party.

10. Bridget Koch (spouse of Bill Koch)

Donations to Kennedy groups: $1,000 | Net worth: $2 billion

Bridget Koch is married to Bill Koch, who came out on the wrong side of a lengthy legal dispute with his brothers Charles and David (d. 2019) for control of the family’s industrial conglomerate, one of the largest private companies in America. Bill’s wife Bridget had been a consistent conservative, never donating the sums of her famous brothers-in-law but supporting Trump in 2016 and 2020. She may have soured on MAGA, though. In the last two years, she hasn’t donated to support Trump, or any other Republicans. The only federal contribution she has disclosed, in fact, was a $1,031.24 check to Kennedy’s campaign last June.

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