The independent candidate and his super PAC have raised a staggering $50 million — including $25 million from two people.

Timothy Mellon, a Republican megadonor who has also backed former President Donald Trump, has donated another $10 million to the pro-Kennedy super PAC, American Values 2024. Mellon, an heir to the Mellon banking fortune, gave a total of $15 million to the group in 2023. He separately donated $10 million to Make America Great Again Inc., a pro-Trump super PAC, in the second half of 2023.

Gavin de Becker, who leads Kennedy’s private security team, donated $5.5 million to American Values 2024 in October; he has given a total of $10 million to the pro-Kennedy super PAC. His security firm, Gavin de Becker and Associates, has been paid $1.5 million by Kennedy’s campaign. De Becker has reportedly provided security for A-list celebrities like Cher and John Travolta as well as Amazon founder Jeff Bezos.

    • skhayfa@lemmy.worldOP
      623·
      9 months ago

      Those donors are investing into something meaningful to them. Even if he has no chance of winning, he can still shape the public discourse and orientate debates to the right. When everyone talks only about the border, you talk about the border and not healthcare.

      • MagicShel@programming.dev
        16·
        9 months ago

        I think, when you’re taking about rich people, they tend to make investments they expect to be lucrative. That’s my own little razor in the sense of Occam’s Razor: in the absence of any other clear motivation, the most likely reason for a rich person to do anything is to make money.

        So I appreciate your optimistic appraisal of the situation, but I remain steadfastly cynical about their motivations.

        • minibyte@sh.itjust.works
          61·
          9 months ago

          One does not seek power out of benevolence, but I absolutely agree the whole charade has been bought and paid for.

      • prole@sh.itjust.worksEnglish
        11·
        9 months ago

        Weird that you would post an article that makes RFK Jr. look bad, and then show up in the comments to defend him. What’s up with that

        • skhayfa@lemmy.worldOP
          44·
          9 months ago

          I’m not defending him, I’m trying to understand why those billionaires are sinking millions into a lost cause. There is no chance for him to win but still he could influence the campaign by forcing talk and debate onto subjects that matter to them and not other that matter more.