Thanks to Mike C.
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. made money from his anti-vaccine advocacy through several channels tied directly to his public stance on vaccines:
- Children’s Health Defense Nonprofit: Kennedy founded and chaired Children’s Health Defense (CHD), an organization known for spreading vaccine skepticism. Tax filings revealed he received more than $20,000 per week as chairman before stepping down in 2023. For just three and a half months of work at the nonprofit in that year, he made $326,056. Records also show his total earnings from CHD for 2022 were $836,571, contradicting earlier claims that he was not paid for this work.
- Legal Referral Fees in Vaccine Litigation: Kennedy earned millions in referral and contingency fees from law firms, most notably Wisner Baum. This firm is involved in lawsuits against Merck, alleging harm from the HPV vaccine Gardasil. Kennedy is entitled to 10% of any contingency fees in such cases, a stake that has made him around $2.5 million since 2022, including $850,000 in 2024 alone. His financial disclosure documents note that even if confirmed as a public official, he would continue to collect fees from some vaccine injury lawsuits as long as the U.S. is not a direct party to the case.
- Other Legal and Brand-Related Income: Kennedy’s financial disclosures include $481,732 from another law firm, JW Howard, which represented groups challenging vaccine mandates, and $100,000 in licensing fees for a health branding venture associated with his anti-vaccine movement.
- Promotion and Outreach: Kennedy promoted lawsuits and anti-vaccine messaging directly linked to the prospect of profit. For example, he invited people to join litigation against vaccine makers like Merck using public social media posts invoking his initials and offering referral services, thus fueling more cases that would generate legal fees for him. (continued on Page 2 or here)
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