Three fathers whose sons have earned a lot of money since winning the election: US Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick, Secretary of Health Robert F. Kennedy and President Donald Trump.Image: keystone
The son of the US Secretary of Health and Human Services is entering the healthcare investment business. Like many others, he uses the political rise of a relative to make money. Three patterns stand out.
05/05/2026, 04:4905/05/2026, 04:49
Simon Maurer / ch media
Collecting money from private individuals for investment funds
Since last month, the world of investors has had a prominent name: William Finbar Kennedy, the third eldest son of US Secretary of Health Robert F. Kennedy, is raising money for the investment fund “Victura Ventures”. The 28-year-old “Finn” Kennedy wants to raise around $100 million in order to later invest the money in promising medical start-ups. In other words, in companies in exactly the industry that is regulated by his father.
According to documents from «Financial Times» the Kennedy son doesn’t just advertise with the usual promises of success in technological progress. One letter explicitly talks about opportunities arising from “government political initiatives”. The “Make America Healthy Again” movement, with which his father ran politically, is also highlighted as a driver of new markets.
Given this background, it is hardly surprising that many investors have already pulled out their wallets. Kennedy’s media-shy son is said to have already raised around $70 million (there are hardly any public pictures of him) – after all, the prospect of betting early on political trends in the healthcare market sounds like an attractive deal for many investors. However, critics speak of a “shameless” conflict of interest that the Kennedy scion is exploiting.
As long as Father Kennedy doesn’t give his son internal information about future government plans, it’s not illegal. The public still has the impression that someone is making money using his father’s name and political influence.
Just like Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner or the Trump sons Eric and Don Jr., who have increased their wealth in the millions to billions in recent years.
While Trump’s children make money primarily from real estate and crypto companies, Jared Kushner uses the same principle as Finn Kennedy: He also collects money for an investment fund – but on completely different dimensions. In recent years, his company Affinity Partners has secured around $2 billion from the Saudi sovereign wealth fund, and later a further $1.5 billion from Qatar and the United Arab Emirates. Overall, almost 99 percent of Kushner’s capital comes from foreign donors.
Uses his political contacts to be successful as a businessman: Trump son-in-law Jared Kushner (right) shaking hands with Vladimir Putin.Image: keystone
Get employed as a consultant or at banks
In theory, there should hardly be any cases of taking advantage. Finally, authorities and ethics committees monitor politicians’ financial transactions in order to prevent elected officials from using their position for personal gain. But in practice, other ways have also been established through which relatives of heads of state and ministers in particular can legally obtain financial advantages. Less strict rules apply to them than to elected officials.
This usually involves using the family’s prominent name. Hunter Biden, the son of former US President Joe Biden, was elected to the board of directors of the Ukrainian energy company Burisma in 2014 – even though he had no experience in the energy sector. At the time, anti-corruption organizations expressed suspicion that Biden only received the post because of his prominent father. However, there was never a conviction for this because each company can decide for itself to whom it offers lucrative mandates.
This principle is even more systematic in international banking. A research by the «New York Times» was able to prove that Deutsche Bank specifically hired children and relatives of top Chinese politicians over the years in order to secure access to the Chinese market.
In some cases, applicants were considered unsuitable internally – but were still hired because their family connections to decision-makers were considered more valuable than their qualifications. These so-called “relationship hires” helped generate hundreds of millions of dollars in revenue.
Collect government contracts for family companies
The third principle, with which relatives of heads of states can earn money, is much more striking. Trump’s sons, for example, are involved in a drone manufacturer that has just received a lucrative contract from the US Department of Defense. Viktor Orban’s son-in-law Istvan Tiborcz also invested early on in a company that specialized in LED street lighting. His company then received government contracts, many of which were financed with EU funds.
Tiborcz later “depoliticized” his profits by investing the capital he had built up in other areas. Today he owns real estate and hotels that generate money even without participation in state markets. After the end of the Orban government, the family’s property is well secured, even if a new political force ends the state money deals or even has them investigated.
The trick of “depoliticizing” money that was earned under controversial circumstances is also likely to become crucial for the Trumps and their colleagues. Democratic politicians have already announced that they want to investigate the billion-dollar investments from the Middle East in Jared Kushner’s company, while the Trump family’s businesses – for example in the crypto sector – are also coming under greater scrutiny by the regulatory authorities.
However, none of the dynasties need to worry about their future. The Trumps’ private assets are estimated at up to seven billion dollars, those of the Kennedys at a billion and those of the Kushners also at a billion. (aargauerzeitung.ch)