Business mogul Robert Kenneth Kraft was born in the United States on June 5, 1941. He heads up the Kraft Group, a conglomerate that has interests in areas such as paper and packaging, professional sports, real estate development, and private equity, and where he serves as both chairman and chief executive officer (CEO). He has owned the NFL’s New England Patriots franchise since 1994. (NFL).
As of 2017, Kraft also owned the Boston Uprising, an esports team, and in 1996 he created the New England Revolution of Major League Soccer (MLS). In the year 2022, his wealth had amassed to $10.6 billion.
Early Life and Age
Sarah Bryna (Webber) Kraft and Harry Kraft, a clothing manufacturer in Boston’s Chinatown, had their son, Kraft, in Brookline. As of now, he is 81 years old. His father was a lay leader at Congregation Kehillath Israel in Brookline, and he wanted his son to follow in his footsteps and become a rabbi.
His mother was a native of Halifax, Nova Scotia. Modern Orthodox Jews, the Krafts represented that tradition. After finishing high school in Brookline, Massachusetts, Robert enrolled at the Edward Devotion School.
He used to sell newspapers by the entrance to Braves Field when he was a kid. He was barred from playing most sports during high school because they conflicted with his commitment to his Hebrew studies and Sabbath observance outside of school hours.
With the help of an academic scholarship, Kraft was able to attend Columbia University, where he eventually became class president.
He was a member of the tennis team and the safety unit for both the freshmen and lightweight football squads. He was another resident of Carman Hall at the time. Myra Hiatt, whom he would later marry, and he first met in a Boston Back Bay delicatessen in 1962. He earned his bachelor’s degree from Columbia University in 1964 and his master’s in business administration (MBA) from Harvard University in 1965.
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Career Path of Robert Kraft
Though Robert Kraft’s wealth has grown to impressive proportions, it all began with a fascination with paper money. The businessman’s first job was with his father-in-packaging law’s company, the Randy-Whitney Group. Jacob Hiatt was the company’s CEO.
Robert Kraft led a leveraged buyout to gain control of the company in 1968. He has maintained his position as chairman of Rand-Whitney Group till the present day. In 1972, he went on to start International Forest Products, a paper commodity trading firm.
At the time, they were the largest privately held firms of their kind in the United States. The vast majority of Robert Kraft’s fortune derives from his business holdings. In 1982, he invested in New England Television Corp and became the station’s owner.
He joined the board of directors the next year, and by year four, he was the company’s president. After selling his stake for $25 million in 1991, he bought up additional radio stations in and around Boston. At some point, Kraft Group’s paper division was established, and it now generates over $2 billion in annual revenue from exports to 90 countries.
Robert Kraft’s wealth also stems from his several side projects. He has followed the Patriots since their inception and has been a season ticket holder since 1971. A piece of land he purchased in 1985 next to the old stadium would become the foundation for the current home of the New England Patriots. To take things a step further, he went ahead and bought the whole team.
Robert Kraft’s Personal Life
Robert Kraft met his future wife, Myra Hiatt, in 1962, and the couple wed in June 1963. Today, Robert Kraft has an impressive net worth. Myra Kraft died at age 68 from ovarian cancer; she and Robert Kraft had four boys together.
He began dating the 39-years-younger actress Ricki Noel lander in June 2012. Robert Kraft dismissed the rumors that they were expecting a kid in 2018 and ended their relationship. Kraft recently wed Dr. Dana Blumberg on the 14th of October, 2022, in midtown Manhattan. After six years together as a couple, they tied the knot in a surprise ceremony.
The Kraft Foundation
The Kraft family has given hundreds of millions of dollars to many charitable causes, such as those dealing with children and women, as well as those dealing with healthcare, youth sports, and American and Israeli affairs.
The Kraft family has donated to numerous local organizations, including the Boys & Girls Clubs of Boston, the Belmont Hill School, Columbia University, Harvard Business School, Brandeis University, The College of the Holy Cross, Boston College, Tufts University, Yeshiva University, and Boston University.
Center for Jewish Progress of Greater Boston (CJ) and Myra and Robert Kraft established the Passport to Israel Fund in 1989 to assist families in affording trips for their high school-aged children to Israel.
Their sponsorship of the Kraft Family Stadium in Jerusalem and the Kraft Family Israel Football League is one of their most recognizable endeavors. In 1990, Kraft, his wife, and his father-in-law established the Kraft-Hiatt endowed chairs in comparative religion at Brandeis University and Holy Cross College. These chairs were the first of their kind in the United States.
The Kraft family donated $20 million to Partners HealthCare in 2011 to establish the Kraft Family National Center for Leadership and Training in Community Health, an effort to increase people’s access to high-quality medical care through community health centers across New England. The Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston received funding from the Kraft family.
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How Rich Is Robert Kraft?
As of the month of October 2022, Robert Kraft is estimated by Forbes to be worth over $10.6 billion.
It is speculated that he amassed his fortune through his ownership of the New England Patriots and the New England Revolution.