Attorney Nicole Shanahan, Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s running mate, has a staggering wealth that would make her one of the wealthiest vice presidents in history if their long shot campaign were successful this November.
According to The New York Times, Shanahan’s largess is largely due to her divorce settlement with Google founder Sergey Brin. Shanahan received more than $1 billion from the divorce, three people with knowledge of her finances told The Times. Brin, one of the wealthiest people in the world, is worth an estimated $139.5 billion, according to Forbes.
Forbes previously estimated in March that Shanahan received roughly $390 million in Alphabet shares from Brin based on the then-estimated value of shares that were likely transferred to her. Their divorce records are not public. Forbes tried to piece together what Shanahan may have received from her husband of three years based on Brin’s public disclosures about his stake in Alphabet.
The Wall Street Journal reported last year on rumors that Shanahan had an affair with Tesla CEO Elon Musk, a claim both have denied. The Times, citing three sources, reported that the affair happened after both of them took ketamine at a Miami party in late 2021 and that she told Brin about it.
Brin and Shanahan reportedly separated weeks later, and Brin filed for divorce in early 2022.
Shanahan has used her wealth to help Kennedy’s campaign, donating $10 million to a pro-Kennedy super PAC. Her $2 million donation helped the group, American Values 2024, secure a Super Bowl ad that compared Kennedy to his father, RFK, and his presidential uncle, JFK. Other Kennedys did not appreciate his allies blatantly using the family’s image to boost his campaign.
Kennedy, according to The Times, initially eyed Jets Quarterback Aaron Rodgers and former Minnesota Gov. Jesse Ventura before settling on Shanahan as his running mate. Former Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard has also claimed to have had conversations with Kennedy about being his vice president but has said to shift her focus to trying to join former President Donald Trump’s ticket.
Rodgers told reporters on Tuesday that he wasn’t quite ready to retire from the NFL to enter politics.
“I love Bobby,” Rodgers said. “We had a couple of really nice conversations. But there were really two options: It was retire and be his VP or keep playing.”
Kennedy’s largest focus at the moment is trying to make next month’s debate between President Joe Biden and Trump. The unprecedented early debate does offer him a narrow path to get on the stage, but it’s unclear if he can meet both the polling and ballot access thresholds in time. A third-party presidential candidate hasn’t debated alongside the two major nominees since Texas businessman Ross Perot in 1992.