Dr. Anthony Fauci and his wife’s net worth grew by $5 million during the COVID-19 pandemic as thousands of US residents struggled financially, according to a government spending watchdog group. The combined wealth of the 81-year-old retiring director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases and his bioethicist wife, Christine Grady, soared from $7.5 million in 2019 to $12.6 million at the end of 2021, according to a report from the non-profit OpenTheBooks.
“Despite becoming a figure of controversy, the system has rewarded Dr. Fauci handsomely,” the group’s CEO, Adam Andrzejewski, told Fox News Digital. “While Dr. Fauci has been a government bureaucrat for more than 55 years, his household net worth skyrocketed during the pandemic.”
The couple’s wealth boost was due in part to major salary increases, cash awards and royalties, according to the report. “Fauci’s soaring net worth was based on career-end salary spiking, lucrative cash prizes awarded by non-profit organizations around the world and an ever-larger investment portfolio,” Andrzejewski said. “He is the top-paid federal employee, his first-year golden parachute retirement pension is the largest in federal history, and he’s accepting $1 million prizes from foreign non-profits,” he added.