Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. received more than $250,000 worth of free flights to Fiji and Greece from a longtime security adviser and donor.
A financial ethics disclosure cited by The Wall Street Journal revealed that the gifts, from Gavin de Becker, included a nearly $45,000 round-trip airfare to Greece and almost $97,000 in flights to Fiji, where de Becker owns a sprawling private retreat and compound. De Becker also provided Kennedy with access to a vacation home in Washington, D.C., The Journal reported.
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services did not immediately respond to a request for comment. A spokesperson for Kennedy told the Journal he worked with ethics officials on his disclosures and complies with all federal ethics regulations.
De Becker, 71, is a security specialist with a list of high-profile clients including Jeff Bezos, Madonna and Cher. He also served as Kennedy’s security adviser during his 2024 presidential campaign.
OpenSecrets, a nonprofit organization tracking lobbying and political donations, lists de Becker as one of Kennedy’s biggest campaign contributors in 2024. De Becker donated around $14 million to a pro-Kennedy super PAC—which then refunded $9.65 million back to him.
De Becker and a PAC representative told POLITICO the donation was intended as “bridge funding.”
De Becker did not immediately respond to a request for comment. He told the Journal that the gifts were part of a personal friendship, describing Kennedy as “my closest friend in the world for many years.”
“I’m glad to be able to host him anytime, and I love the times our families spend together,” he was quoted saying.
According to The Wall Street Journal, Kennedy also disclosed smaller gifts, like a $900 flight to Aspen from Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and WWE box seats from Education Secretary Linda McMahon, along with more than $4 million in book advances and bitcoin holdings totaling between $1 and $5 million.
