Charles Runels Net Worth 2026: Vampire Facial Creator

No reputable outlet has published a net worth for Dr. Charles Runels, the Alabama physician who created and trademarked the Vampire Facial. The $32.3 million figure that used to lead this page had no source and has been removed. His money comes from an unusual model in medicine: instead of treating most patients himself, he licenses his trademarked procedure names to other doctors through the Cellular Medicine Association, which he runs from Fairhope, Alabama.

What is Charles Runels' net worth?

Forbes, Bloomberg, Celebrity Net Worth and major newspapers have not estimated his wealth, and the Cellular Medicine Association is private. We therefore give no figure. The only money numbers in the public record describe the licensing business, not his personal fortune:

• Kim Kardashian's 2019 lawsuit alleged that in late 2017 he was charging more than 650 medical providers nearly $200,000 a month in total to license the Vampire Facial and other names, The Hollywood Reporter reported. That was her lawyers' allegation, not an audited figure.
• In a May 2018 press release, Runels said he had about 2,000 licensees authorized to use his marks.
• Writing in Medscape in 2024, he said the association spends more than $1 million a year on lawyers and online tools to remove unlicensed advertising, and took down more than 457 websites and social accounts in 2023.

Licensing revenue, minus heavy legal and enforcement costs, does not translate into a net worth without the company's accounts, which are not public.

Charles Runels yearly earnings, monthly income and salary

The old page said "recent statistics" showed an income of $1.1 million a year, $92,000 a month and $3,050 a day. No statistics were cited, and we found none. We have removed the table. His income comes from license fees paid by providers, training, and his own small practice; his share of the association's revenue has not been disclosed.

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The Vampire Facial and the licensing model

Runels says he began working with platelet-rich plasma (PRP), a concentrate made from a patient's own blood, around 2010, and launched the Vampire Facelift and Vampire Facial that year. He trademarked the Vampire Facial name in 2013. In his Medscape essay he stresses that he did not invent microneedling or PRP; what he created was a specific protocol and a brand.

The Cellular Medicine Association is the group of physicians he formed to fund research on these procedures. Doctors who want to advertise under his names must show they understand the protocols and sign an agreement to follow them. Runels compares this to a restaurant brand: anyone can cook a burger, but only licensees can use the name. The association also holds trademarks for PRP procedures in other fields, including sexual health, according to the 2018 release.

Enforcement is a large part of the business. He employs staff to find providers using his names without a license and sends them cease-and-desist letters. By 2018 he said he had stopped about 400 unauthorized users. A former licensee petitioned the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office to cancel his trademarks, which he contested.

Kim Kardashian lawsuit (2019)

Kim Kardashian had a vampire facial on a 2013 episode of "Kourtney & Kim Take Miami". In 2019 she sued Runels and the Cellular Medicine Association, saying they used her name and photos in brochures, on a website and on his LinkedIn page without permission. Her claims included copyright and trademark infringement and violation of her right of publicity. Runels called the suit a shakedown and argued that she had used his trademarked name without paying.

The case settled about two months after it was filed. Under the settlement, Runels and the association agreed not to use her name or photos, and she kept the right to sue if they broke the agreement, E! News reported.

Safety debate (2024)

In 2024 new reports linked HIV infections to cosmetic microneedling. Runels responded in Medscape that the harm came from providers who falsely advertised a Vampire Facial and did something different, and that no one treated by a provider in his group had been harmed. He set out his protocol's safety rules and argued that the media's generic use of the name made it harder for patients to tell licensed providers apart.

Education and personal life

Runels is a medical doctor (MD) and is listed as medical director of the Cellular Medicine Association in Fairhope. The old page said he graduated from the University of Alabama School of Medicine and first worked as a research chemist; we could not confirm either in a reliable source, so both are left out. The paragraph about his wife, and his age, height and weight, had no source and have been removed. His Medscape disclosure lists roles with the Runels Research Institute and the Institute for Lichen Sclerosus and Vulvar Health.

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How this page was checked

Business facts come from Runels' own 2018 press release and 2024 Medscape essay, and are labeled as his statements. The lawsuit comes from The Hollywood Reporter and E! News. Without any published estimate of his wealth, we give none.