Skip to content
Search

Meet the Big Money Moguls Behind RFK’s Quest to Unseat Biden

Meet the Big Money Moguls Behind RFK’s Quest to Unseat Biden

Robert Kennedy Jr.’s independent presidential campaign is being boosted by deep-pocketed supporters of Donald Trump, venture capitalists, conservative Hollywood types, and other celebrities. 

Democrats worry the Kennedy campaign could help tank President Joe Biden’s reelection bid and make Trump president again. He is also a danger to public health: Kennedy has spread false conspiracy theories about Covid-19 vaccines and claimed vaccines cause autism.


American Values 2024, a super PAC backing Kennedy, is the most important funding vehicle for his longshot bid for president. The group spent $7 million on a 30-second Super Bowl ad hyping Kennedy’s bid, which used recycled jingles and footage from the late President John F. Kennedy’s campaign, prompting outrage from the Kennedy clan and an apology from RFK. 

More importantly, the super PAC is funding efforts to secure Kennedy’s line on ballots, pledging to spend $15 million to gather signatures. The centrist Democratic group Third Way has pressed state officials to reject signatures collected by American Values 2024, on the grounds that super PACs must operate independently from candidates under federal election rules. 

American Values 2024 has so far raised $38 million, and its most important donor is longtime Republican financier Timothy Mellon. Mellon, the scion of the famous banking magnate Andrew Mellon, has contributed millions of dollars to conservative candidates over the years, including $15 million in donations to MAGA Inc, the premiere pro-Trump super PAC, this election cycle.

For American Values 2024, Mellon is a financial linchpin. He’s given $20 million to the group, or more than half of what it’s raised, helping the super PAC outstrip the Kennedy campaign’s own fundraising of nearly $25 million so far. Mellon previously drew criticism for using racist stereotypes in his autobiography. 

Mellon is not the only big-dollar MAGA donor propping up what many Democrats see as a spoiler candidate. Financier Omeed Malik, who has donated to both Republicans and Democrats over the years, leads an “anti-woke” investment firm financing former Fox News host Tucker Carlson’s new media venture. 

Malik gave the $6,600 maximum to Kennedy’s campaign committee, Team Kennedy, last year. After a brief flirtation with Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ doomed Republican presidential campaign, this month Malik committed to raising $3 million for Trump’s 2024 bid. 

Former Papa John’s Pizza CEO John Schnatter has given $6,600 to Team Kennedy. Schattner, who resigned as chairman of the pizza conglomerate in 2018 after apologizing for using a racist slur during a conference call, has long supported Republican candidates and causes. During the Obama era, Schattner opposed the Affordable Care Act and hosted Mitt Romney for a fundraiser during his 2012 presidential run. 

More recently, Schattner has become a vocal Trump supporter, criticizing Biden’s economic policies and praising Trump during a 2022 appearance at the Conservative Political Action Conference. 

Gavin de Becker, a security consultant to tech titans like Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, followed Mellon, offering American Values its second largest source of revenue in the form of $10 million worth of donations. Oddly, the super PAC has returned most of de Becker’s cash — with the explanation given that he has been providing “bridge funding” to the group. He has pledged to give more. 

Venture capitalists like Yext CEO Michael Walrath and former PayPal president David Marcus both contributed the maximum to Team Kennedy. 

Kennedy, who is married to actress Cheryl Hines, has tried to recruit celebrities to his campaign, including at a Los Angeles fundraiser last week. The event featured right-wing shock jock Adam Carolla, actors Jeremy Piven and Mike Binder, comedian Rob Schneider, who appeared on stage to tepid reviews. It’s unclear yet how much the event raised — tickets ranged from $150 to $1,500 — but a handful of Camelot-vintage and conspiracy enthusiast celebs have ponied up to Kennedy’s personal committee so far.

Oliver Stone, the director of the 1991 conspiracy flick “JFK” about the assassination of Kennedy’s uncle, also maxed out his contribution to Team Kennedy. Stone says he voted for Biden in 2020 but has soured on the incumbent following the Biden administration’s support for Ukraine amid the Russian invasion. Stone admires and has hailed Russian President Vladimir Putin as a “a great leader.”

Similarly, in the summer of 2023, rock guitarist Eric Clapton, donated $5,000 to Kennedy, his first campaign contribution in federal election records. As Rolling Stone reported, Clapton has embraced conspiracy theories about Covid-19 and vaccines, and has donated to a number of anti-vaccine groups since the start of the global pandemic.

More Stories

RFK Jr. Suspends Campaign, Endorses Trump

RFK Jr. Suspends Campaign, Endorses Trump

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has suspended his 2024 presidential campaign, and according to a court filing in Pennsylvania on Friday will throw his weight behind former President Donald Trump.

Multiple news outlets reported on Wednesday that independent presidential candidate Robert Kennedy Jr. was planning to drop out of the race and endorse Trump. He clarified at an event in Arizona on Friday that he is not terminating his campaign, only suspending it, and that his name will remain on the ballot in non-battleground states. He said that if enough people still vote for him and Trump and Kamala Harris tie in the Electoral College, he could still wind up in the White House.

Keep ReadingShow less
Cops Who Falsified Warrant Used in Breonna Taylor Raid Didn’t Cause Her Death, Judge Rules

Cops Who Falsified Warrant Used in Breonna Taylor Raid Didn’t Cause Her Death, Judge Rules

A federal judge in Kentucky ruled that two police officers accused of falsifying a warrant ahead of the deadly raid that killed Breonna Taylor were not responsible for her death, The Associated Press reports. And rather than the phony warrant, U.S. District Judge Charles Simpson said Taylor’s boyfriend, Kenneth Walker, was responsible for her death because he fired upon the police officers first — even though he had no idea they were police officers.

The ruling was handed down earlier this week in the civil rights violation case against former Louisville Police Detective Joshua Jaynes and former Sgt. Kyle Meany. The two were not present at the March 2020 raid when Taylor was killed. Instead, in 2022, Attorney General Merrick Garland accused the pair (along with another detective, Kelly Goodlett) of submitting a false affidavit to search Taylor’s home before the raid and then conspiring to create a “false cover story… to escape responsibility” for preparing the phony warrant. 

Keep ReadingShow less
Queens of the Stone Age Cancel Remaining 2024 Shows After Josh Homme Surgery

Queens of the Stone Age Cancel Remaining 2024 Shows After Josh Homme Surgery

Queens of the Stone Age have canceled the remainder of their 2024 tour dates — including a string of North American shows and festival gigs scheduled for the fall — as Josh Homme continues his recovery from an unspecified surgery he underwent in July.

“QOTSA regret to announce the cancellation and/or postponement of all remaining 2024 shows. Josh has been given no choice but to prioritize his health and to receive essential medical care through the remainder of the year,” the band wrote on social media.

Keep ReadingShow less
Sabrina Carpenter Is Viscously Clever and Done With Love Triangles on ‘Short N’ Sweet’: 5 Takeaways

Sabrina Carpenter Is Viscously Clever and Done With Love Triangles on ‘Short N’ Sweet’: 5 Takeaways

After Sabrina Carpenter’s summer takeover with “Espresso” and “Please Please Please,” the anticipation for Short n’ Sweet was at an all-time high. On her sixth album, the pop singer keeps the surprises coming as she delivers a masterclass in clever songwriting and hops between R&B and folk-pop with ease. Carpenter writes about the frustration of modern-day romance, all the while cementing herself as a pop classic. Here’s everything we gathered from the new project.

Please Please Please Don’t Underestimate Her Humor 

Carpenter gave us a glimpse of her humor on singles “Espresso” and “Please Please Please” — she’s working late because she’s a singer; ceiling fans are a pretty great invention! But no one could have guessed how downright hilarious she is on Short n’ Sweet, delivering sugary quips like “The Lord forgot my gay awakenin’” (“Slim Pickins”) and “How’s the weather in your mother’s basement?” (“Needless to Say”). She’s also adorably nerdy, fretting about grammar (“This boy doesn’t even know/The difference between ‘there,’ ‘their’ and ‘they are!’”) and getting Shakespearian (“Where art thou? Why not uponeth me?”). On “Juno,” she even takes a subject as serious as pregnancy and twists it into a charming pop culture reference for the ages: “If you love me right, then who knows?/I might let you make me Juno.” It’s official: Do not underestimate Ms. Carpenter’s pen. — A.M.

Keep ReadingShow less
The Chicks’ ‘Not Ready to Make Nice’ Has Somehow Become a MAGA Anthem on TikTok

The Chicks’ ‘Not Ready to Make Nice’ Has Somehow Become a MAGA Anthem on TikTok

One little funny/bizarre/horrifying thing about the internet is the way it offers up everything and, in doing so, makes it possible to strip anything of its history. But to paraphrase Kamala Harris, you didn’t just fall out of the coconut tree. “You exist in the context of all in which you live and what came before you” — wise words worth heeding, especially for all the Trump voters and conservatives making TikToks with the Chicks’ “Not Ready to Make Nice.”

Over the past month or so, “Not Ready to Make Nice” has become an unexpected MAGA anthem of sorts, meant to express a certain rage at liberals supposedly telling conservatives what to do all the time (the past few Supreme Court terms notwithstanding, apparently). Young women especially have taken the song as a way to push back against the possibility of Harris becoming the first female president. 

Keep ReadingShow less