Robert Kennedy Jr. and his wife, Cheryl Hines, are worth an estimated $15 million, according to Forbes
- Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Cheryl Hines are worth roughly $15 million, per Forbes estimates.
- The financial outlet said Kennedy's 10 other siblings had diluted his claim to the family fortune.
The long-shot presidential hopeful Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is incredibly wealthy but perhaps not as well off as his last name might suggest, according to a Forbes analysis.
The financial publication has concluded that Kennedy and his wife, the actor Cheryl Hines, are worth roughly $15 million based on an analysis of the couple's earnings, properties, and debt as gleaned from Kennedy's legally required financial disclosure that he filed in June.
Despite his wealth, Kennedy is not self-funding his campaign. His campaign reported just over $4.5 million on hand in July after its most recent filing.
Forbes noted that one of the major reasons Kennedy didn't have more money was that "the Kennedy family tree has a lot of branches." Sen. Robert Kennedy and Ethel Kennedy had 11 children, including RFK Jr., which leaves far more links to the family fortune than President John F. Kennedy, whose only surviving descendant in their generation is Caroline Kennedy, the US ambassador to Australia. Forbes estimated in 2015 that the entire Kennedy family fortune was worth $1.2 billion.
Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who rose to fame as an environmental activist and attorney before pivoting to vaccine skepticism, has also made his own money too. He reported raking in more than $5 million from his law firm, Kennedy & Madonna LLP, from the start of 2022 to the middle of 2023. Kevin J. Madonna, Kennedy's partner at the firm, told Forbes that their income could fluctuate wildly year-to-year. Kennedy also received salary and bonuses from Children's Health Defense, a nonprofit that has been the main generator of his anti-vaccine agenda.
Hines, a star of HBO's "Curb Your Enthusiasm," brought in more than $1 million in 2022 and early 2023 when she appeared in the second season of the Kaley Cuoco-led series "The Flight Attendant." Hines also appeared in the romantic comedy "About Fate." According to Forbes, Hines also has two retirement accounts, which hold $600,000 to $1.7 million, mainly in stock and bond index funds. The couple share properties in Los Angeles and the Kennedy clan home of Hyannis Port, Massachusetts.
Some of Kennedy's family members have been outspoken in their support of President Joe Biden, and he struggled to make in-roads with Democrats before his October 9 announcement that he was running as an independent