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Robert F. Kennedy Jr. visits "The Story With Martha MacCallum" at Fox News Channel Studios on September 25, 2024 in New York City© Getty

RFK Jr.'s surprising net worth is a far cry from that of famous Kennedy family

The lawyer has been alienated from his family for his support of Donald Trump

Beatriz Colon
Beatriz Colon - New York
New York WriterNew York
November 6, 2024
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Being from one of America's most famous families, one hailed as our version of royalty, doesn't exactly promise the hoards of wealth one might expect, at least not in the case of Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

The controversial former presidential hopeful, who has been largely alienated from his esteemed family, is one of the 11 children that the late Ethel Kennedy, who passed away last month, welcomed with her husband Robert F. Kennedy.

The late brother of President John F. Kennedy, who was the former president's attorney general, was assassinated in Los Angeles in 1968 during his run for president.

RFK Jr. started his career as an esteemed lawyer with a special focus in environmental causes, but he has since become better known for touting conspiracy theories, including antisemitic ones concerning COVID-19, being an anti-vaccine activist, and, following his failed campaign for president, endorsing Donald Trump, who just won the 2024 race.

According to Forbes, RFK Jr. has a surprisingly low net worth of $15 million, and that's including that of his wife Cheryl Hines', who for years famously starred opposite Larry David on Curb Your Enthusiasm, and would reportedly make about $275,000 per episode.

His net worth pales in comparison to what Forbes last estimated to be that of the Kennedy family's as a whole, a whopping $1.2 billion, as of 2015.

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. speaks ahead of Former US President and Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump at a campaign rally at the Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, November 1, 2024.© Getty
RFK Jr. has become a spokesperson for Trump

Moreover, his late mother Ethel reportedly had a net worth of $50 million at the time of her death, and his cousin Caroline Kennedy, JFK's only surviving child, has a reported net worth upwards of $250 million.

Since 1984, RFK Jr. has welcomed six kids with two different women. In 1982, he married Emily Ruth Black, and they had two children, Robert Francis "Bobby" Kennedy III, 39, and Kathleen Alexandra "Kick" Kennedy, 36, before divorcing in 1994.  

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and his wife Cheryl Hines arrive at his mother Ethel Kennedy's celebration of life at the Cathedral of Saint Matthew on October 16, 2024 in Washington, DC© Getty
He and his wife attending his mother's funeral earlier this year

He later married the late Mary Kathleen Richardson in 1992, with whom he welcomed four children, Conor Richardson Kennedy, 30, Kyra LeMoyne Kennedy, 29, William Finbar "Finn" Kennedy, 26, and Aidan Caohman Vieques Kennedy, 23.

Hillary Rodham Clinton, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Ethel Kennedy attend the RFK Ripple Of Hope Gala at Hilton Hotel Midtown on December 16, 2014 in New York City© Getty
He has made a shocking departure from his family's firmly Democratic politics

That marriage however ended in tragedy; RFK Jr. filed for divorce in 2010, and a bitter legal battle ensued, which culminated in Richardson taking her own life in 2012. 

Conor Richard Kennedy, Aiden Caohman Vieques Kennedy, Robert F. Kennedy Jr, and Bobby Kennedy III in 2016© Getty
With three of his sons in 2016

Prior to her death, she had found a 2001 diary of her estranged husband in which he detailed affairs with 37 different women.

He and Cheryl met in 2006, started dating in 2011, and married in 2014. Last month, it was reported he had developed a sexual relationship with New York Magazine writer Olivia Nuzzi, though he claimed it was never physical.

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