President Donald Trump nominated Casey Means four months ago for U.S. surgeon general, a post that still remains open. Now Means, a Stanford University-trained physician and wellness influencer who focuses on functional medicine, is disclosing “steps that I will take to avoid any actual or apparent conflict of interest.”

In an ethics agreement posted Sept. 13, she said she would divest family holdings that include shares in technology companies and Philip Morris International Inc. and Altria Group Inc., two of the world’s largest tobacco companies. The other companies include Baidu Inc., a leading Chinese technology company, and Chevron Corp.

The shares belong to Means’ husband, according to her financial disclosures. The shares were purchased before Means and her husband were married, according to a spokesperson from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The investments were part of a diversified portfolio designed by an outside financial adviser, the spokesperson said. Means acknowledged in the ethics agreement that the interests of her spouse are imputed to her.

She also said she would divest her equity in health startups. She will resign from her position as an adviser to Levels Health Inc., a technology startup she co-founded that helps users track glucose monitoring data. She said she will divest from Levels as well as the health company her brother Calley Means co-founded, True Medicine Inc., and the testing company Function Health Inc.

Casey Means, who has focused on entrepreneurial endeavors and wrote a book after dropping out of her surgical residency, has never owned individual, publicly traded stocks, a person familiar with the matter who wasn’t authorized to speak publicly said. She does own equity in the three closely held companies, the person said.

Her disclosures show fees from corporate sponsorships and partnerships, including from Amazon.com Inc. and numerous small companies in the wellness space.

Means had employment income of at least $1.2 million over roughly the last 18 months, the filing shows. Nominees use broad ranges for the value of their assets and some types of income. Royalties from her book, Good Energy: The Surprising Connection Between Metabolism and Limitless Health, were worth between $100,000 and $1 million.

Her nomination hasn’t been taken up yet in the Senate, though she is expected to meet with lawmakers this week, according to other people familiar with the discussions who weren’t authorized to speak publicly.

Means and her brother Calley are key health advisers to the White House and Robert F. Kennedy Jr., helping popularize the Make America Healthy Again movement that’s aimed at addressing the causes of chronic disease.

During their breakout appearance on conservative podcaster Joe Rogan’s show last year, Calley Means attributed a surge in chronic disease in the U.S. on food companies being purchased by tobacco companies, including Philip Morris and Reynolds American Inc.

“They have got us addicted and weaponized this food and all chronic conditions have just shot up,” Calley Means said during an October 2024 episode of the Joe Rogan Experience.

Casey and Calley Means declined to comment for this article. The tobacco companies didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment sent outside of normal business hours.

The other family holdings include:

•Airbnb Inc.

•Alphabet Inc.

•Apple Inc.

•Berkshire Hathaway Inc.

•Duke Energy Corp.

•Graco Inc.

•JPMorgan Chase & Co.

•Snap Inc.

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(With assistance from Bill Allison.)

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