Robert F. Kennedy Jr. invests $24,000 in GameStop in apparent play for ape vote

By Gordon Gottsegen

Is this the 2024 presidential election's 'Pokémon Go to the polls' moment or something bigger?

'I just invested $24,000 in GameStop from the fees I earned from suing Monsanto for their knowingly poisoning our soil and causing cancer. 'Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

Retail investors may have just gained an unlikely ally.

On Tuesday, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the independent candidate for the 2024 U.S. presidential election, posted on X pledging to bring greater transparency, stronger regulatory oversight and tougher penalties for misdeeds to Wall Street.

Perhaps in part to show that he's putting his money where his mouth is, Kennedy revealed that he just invested $24,000 in GameStop Corp. (GME) using legal fees racked up, he said, from a suit against agrochemical company Monsanto, owned since 2018 by Bayer AG (XE:BAYN) (DE:BAYA).

See: Bayer, maker of Roundup weed killer, steps up fight against cancer-related lawsuits

GME shares fell 4.4% Tuesday but saw a brief surge following RFK Jr.'s post. They opened some 3.5% lower on Wednesday.

See: GameStop and AMC see meme-stock frenzy ease after Roaring Kitty-fueled rally

Judging by his post, it looks as if RFK Jr. is trying to portray himself as a fellow "ape" to retail investors, notably in so-called meme stocks. He appears to have consciously adopted language popular among retail investor communities on Reddit and X, like "ape," "to the moon," "not leaving" and so on.

On top of that, he included a faux movie poster in the style of "Planet of the Apes" and tagged several X accounts belonging to popular retail investing influencers, like Roaring Kitty.

But is RFK Jr. actually well-versed in the plight of American retail investors, or is this the 2024 equivalent of Hillary Clinton's "Pokémon Go to the polls" speech?

Looking past the memes, RFK Jr. is hardly the first political candidate to run on tougher regulations for Wall Street. In 2016, progressive candidate Bernie Sanders, a Vermont independent who has run for the presidency as a Democrat, gained popularity for language promoting the good of common folk over the interests of billionaires on Wall Street.

And by calling out his role suing Monsanto, RFK Jr. is reminding people that his posture in regard to big businesses that skirt regulation and cause harm to the little guy is a combative one.

But regardless of whether RFK Jr. believes in the retail investor revolution or is merely clout-seeking, it may be worth keeping an eye on retail investors as an influential voting bloc. After all, 2024 will feature the first U.S. presidential election since the 2021 GameStop movement and subsequent push for fairer markets.

Read on: RFK Jr. taps California lawyer Nicole Shanahan as his running mate

-Gordon Gottsegen

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05-22-24 0939ET

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