Dr. Anthony Fauci, the former head of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, saw his net worth double from approximately $7.6 million in early 2019 to around $15 million by the end of 2023, according to financial disclosure forms obtained by the watchdog group Open The Books. This increase in wealth occurred during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic and its associated lockdowns.
Fauci officially retired from his government position at the beginning of 2023, a date later than previously reported. His first year of retirement proved to be particularly profitable, with earnings exceeding $3.5 million. Open The Books CEO John Hart noted the contrast between Fauci’s financial success and the struggles faced by many families and small businesses during the pandemic.
Despite announcing his retirement at the end of 2022, Fauci’s official retirement date was January 6, 2023, as indicated by his “Application for Immediate Retirement.” This discrepancy is attributed to the often delayed processing of government retirements due to an outdated paper filing system.
The financial disclosures do not fully detail the sources of Fauci’s income, but they do reveal several six-figure payments received throughout 2023, totaling $1.15 million. These include payments of $100,000 in April, May, and June, $150,000 in September, and $700,000 in November. Fauci is known to have given speeches to various special interest groups during this time, including the National Association of Chain Drug Stores and the American Health Insurance Plans.
In addition to his speaking engagements, Fauci sold his book, “On Call: A Doctor’s Journey in Public Service,” to Penguin Random House for $5 million in March 2023. The book was released in June 2024. Fauci also accepted a position as a distinguished university professor at Georgetown University in July 2023.
Fauci’s earnings also included $50,000 from Columbia University’s Calderone Prize and $40,000 from the National Academy of Medicine’s Lienhard Prize. His wife, Dr. Christine Grady, who served in the NIH’s bioethics department until recently, earned a salary of about $243,749 in 2023.
Following his retirement, Fauci received taxpayer-funded security from the US marshals, a benefit that was later revoked by President Trump. The cost of this security amounted to approximately $15 million between January 2023 and September 2024.