The White House, Sept. 25, 2019 (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster, File)
Having a relative in the White House can be a financial boon. Lobbyist Jeff Ricchetti, brother of senior White House aide Steve Ricchetti, has seen his business quadruple.
Ricchetti’s lobbyist firm, Ricchetti Inc. raked in nearly $1.7 million in fees for the first half of 2021 — four times more than the same period in 2020, The Wall Street Journal reported. Steve Ricchetti is a senior counselor to Biden.
In 2019, Ricchetti Inc. earned $370,000.
Since Steve was hired by the White House, Ricchetti Inc. has attracted high-profile clients such as Amazon.com Inc., General Motors Co., and TC Energy Corp., the company behind the controversial Keystone Pipeline.
Amazon hired Ricchetti Inc. on Nov. 13 and has paid $240,000 for the firm to lobby Congress on “issues related to the regulation of online marketplaces” and “issues related to privacy from wearable devices,” The Wall Street Journal reported.
Ricchetti Inc. was registered as a lobbyist for nine or fewer clients and earned less than $300,000 in each quarter between 2014 and September 2020, according to records. But in the quarter ending June 30, the firm lobbied for 15 clients and earned $850,000, according to the recent filings.
Jeff and Steve Ricchetti launched the firm together in 2001 after Steve worked in the White House during President Bill Clinton’s presidency. In 2007, Ricchetti Inc. reported $3.4 million in lobbying revenue from a total of 25 clients, The Wall Street Journal reported.
Steve stopped lobbying in 2009, sold his stake in the lobbying firm in 2012, and went to work for then-Vice President Biden.
Steve became a top adviser when Biden was vice president and helped organize Biden’s 2020 presidential campaign.
Jeff Ricchetti isn’t the only person who has benefited from having a relative in the Biden White House.
Press secretary Jen Psaki, Secretary of State Antony Blinken, national security adviser Jake Sullivan, senior adviser Anita Dunn, White House counselor Steve Richetti, deputy chief of staff Bruce Reed, and presidential personnel office director Cathy Russell have at least one direct family member working for the Biden administration, Fox News reported.
“When it’s time to Blame Black voters for losses or things like DEFUND, ask yourself: When have you heard establishment Democrats blame themselves, for swamp/corrupt activities? Do you think Democrats become rich by ‘speaking truth to power?” The Moguldom Nation founder Jamarlin Martin tweeted @JamarlinMartin.
Biden’s administration isn’t the first to practice nepotism. It has happened time and time again. During Donald Trump’s term, he was often criticized for hiring family members such as daughter Ivanka Trump and her husband, Jared Kushner. Multiple members of at least 20 families got federal posts or appointment jobs in Trump’s administration, The Daily Beast reported.
Trump attorney Rudy Giuliani’s son, Trump Deputy Assistant Seb Gorka’s wife and Eric Trump’s brother-in-law were just a few.
Listen to GHOGH with Jamarlin Martin | Episode 74: Jamarlin Martin Jamarlin returns for a new season of the GHOGH podcast to discuss Bitcoin, bubbles, and Biden. He talks about the risk factors for Bitcoin as an investment asset including origin risk, speculative market structure, regulatory, and environment. Are broader financial markets in a massive speculative bubble?
