RFK Jr. Names Nicole Shanahan as his Vice-Presidential Running Mate

By Politico
Posted on 03/26/24 | News Source: Politico

Oakland, CA - Mar. 26, 2024  - RFK Jr. names Nicole Shanahan as his vice-presidential running mate.

Nicole Shanahan is a wild card.

Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s expected vice presidential pick doesn’t have the kind of public persona typically associated with politicians. She’s not a frequent-flier on cable news, barely has a social media presence and is interested in some niche policy issues, like reproductive senescence, regenerative agriculture and gut biomes.

But what Shanahan, 38, has is an abundance of wealth (which will come in handy as Kennedy mounts an expensive cross-country ballot access effort) and a powerful rags-to-riches story that many politicians would gleefully milk in advertisements.

Raised on welfare in a single-parent household in Oakland, California, the daughter of a Chinese immigrant, Shanahan went from a successful career as a patent lawyer and entrepreneur to marrying into uber-wealth after meeting Google co-founder Sergey Brin at a yoga festival. The two divorced in 2022, amid reports that she had had an affair with Brin’s friend and fellow tech titan, Elon Musk. (Shanahan and Musk deny the allegations.)

Like so many others who have amassed a fortune from the tech sector, Shanahan has become a philanthropic force but also a political player. She was the leading donor behind Kennedy’s unexpected Super Bowl ad in February and emerged as the top contender for Kennedy’s vice presidential pick after a few days of speculation that NFL quarterback Aaron Rodgers was in the running.

Here, compiled from her public remarks, profiles and her own philanthropic activity is the definitive primer on Nicole Shanahan.