Robert Kraft is a businessman with a $7 billion fortune. He was born in Massachusetts. Robert Kraft is the richest man in the world since he is the Chairman and CEO of The Kraft Group. As the primary owner of the New England Patriots, the New England Revolution, and Gillette Stadium, he has gained widespread recognition.
Some people believe that Robert Kraft got rich through his ownership of the Kraft Foods manufacturing firm. In no way is this accurate. Robert Kraft has absolutely no connection to Kraft Foods, which is known for products like Grey Poupon, A1, Gevalia, Planters, Jell-O, Kraft Singles, Velveeta, Kool-Aid, Cadburys, Oscar Mayer, and Maxwell House.
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What is Robert Kraft’s Net Worth?
| Net Worth: | $7 Billion |
| Date of Birth: | Jun 5, 1941 (81 years old) |
| Place of Birth: | Brookline |
| Gender: | Male |
| Profession: | Businessperson, Entrepreneur |
| Nationality: | United States of America |
Robert Kraft’s Early Life
Robert K. Kraft was born to Sarah and Harry Kraft on June 5, 1941, in Brookline, Massachusetts. He was raised by a family of working-class Jews who practiced Modern Orthodoxy. When he graduated from Brookline High School in 1959, he was elected as the school’s senior class president.
Fining Robert Kraft the maximum allowable NFL owner fine of $500,000, based on median net worth in America and Kraft’s net worth of $6.6B, is the equivalent of fining the average fan $2.87. pic.twitter.com/78Xu8iqRA9
— Darren Rovell (@darrenrovell) February 23, 2019
When Kraft enrolled at Columbia University, he ran for student body president once again. He participated in both freshman and lightweight football and was a member of the Zeta Beta Tau fraternity. Following his graduation from Columbia in 1963, Kraft enrolled in Harvard Business School and earned an MBA there in 1965.
When Kraft was 27 and very fresh out of Harvard, he was chosen chairman of the Newton Democratic City Committee. He briefly pondered running for Massachusetts’s 3rd congressional district seat in 1970, but ultimately opted not to as he was concerned about the burden it would place on his family as well the loss of privacy.
Robert Kraft’s Paper Wealth
His father-in-law Jacob Hiatt ran the packaging company Rand-Whitney Group, where Kraft got his start in the business world. With the help of a leveraged buyout, Kraft took ownership of the company in 1968.
He still serves as chairman of the Rand-Whitney Group today. Formed in 1972, International Forest Products is Kraft’s attempt to capitalize on the global demand for paper by trading real stock. Both of these firms are the largest privately held U.S. paper and packaging companies.
In 1982, New England Television Corp. (of which Kraft was an investor) purchased WNAC-TV and thereafter became the station’s owner. Since joining the board of directors in 1983, he has had a long and successful career there. In 1986, he was promoted to president of the company and the station was rebranded as WNEV-TV. He sold his shares for $25 million after exercising his option in 1991. The Boston radio stations owned by Kraft were also purchased. At last, in 1998, he established the Kraft Group, a paper business that today spans 90 countries and generates over $2 billion annually in revenue.
New England Patriots
From their days in the American Football League, Robert Kraft has been a fan and season ticket holder for the Patriots. He made the purchase of the land next to the New England Patriots’ stadium in 1985.
This was the first move in what is now widely believed to be Kraft’s multi-year plan to acquire full ownership of the New England Patriots. Second, in 1988, when the stadium was in bankruptcy court, Kraft outbid numerous competitors to purchase it for $25 million. Kraft bought the stadium and the lease to the Patriots along with it. This is crucial because it is a part of Kraft’s grand scheme to buy the team in the future.
It was widely known at the time that Patriots owner James Orthwein wanted the NFL to return to his hometown of St. Louis, so rumors spread quickly that the team was planning to uproot and relocate there.
Since the Cardinals left for Arizona in 1988, St. Louis has not had an NFL team. Even the team’s new name, the St. Louis Stallions, was chosen by him. The only catch was that the team couldn’t leave Massachusetts unless Robert Kraft agreed to sell them out of the remaining years of their stadium lease.
In 1994, James Orthwein offered Robert Kraft $75 million to purchase the remaining years of the team’s lease at Foxboro Stadium. Unless Kraft said no, the Patriots couldn’t have relocated to St. Louis. Robert Kraft, however, saw an opening and ran with it.
Robert Kraft’s Personal Life
He first laid eyes on the future, Mrs. Hiatt, in a Boston deli in February of 1962. In June of 1963, they tied the knot. Their four children were named Jonathan, Daniel, Joshua, and David.
During their time in Newton, Massachusetts, the Krafts were actively involved in the Temple Emanual community. On July 20, 2011, Myra Kraft lost her fight against ovarian cancer. A 68-year-old woman, she was.
Kraft began dating the 39-years-younger actress Ricki Noel Lander in June 2012. After months of pregnancy, Lander finally gave birth in the fall of 2017. When the birth was announced in May 2018, there were rumors that Kraft was the father, but he denied the rumors. When Kraft and Lander split up in 2018, it was a big deal.
Controversies
The chief of police in Jupiter, Florida, issued misdemeanor charges against Kraft on February 22, 2019, for “soliciting another to commit prostitution.”
Orchids of Asia Day Spa was the site of a human trafficking sweep that led to the accusations. Spa owners and managers were accused by authorities of being involved in a sex trafficking ring that exploited its female employees by forcing them to engage in s*xual acts for paying customers.
It has been claimed that Kraft was caught on camera engaging in sexual activity at the Orchids of Asia Day Spa. A plea bargain was presented to Kraft on March 19, 2019, but he declined it because doing so would have been an admission of guilt. On March 26, Kraft’s attorneys submitted court filings in which Kraft pled not guilty to all counts and asked for a trial by jury.
A Florida judge found in August of 2020 that Kraft’s constitutional rights had been violated when police had seized the alleged sex videos. The court ruled that the prosecution could not use the videos as evidence. Due to a lack of evidence, the charges against Kraft were dismissed on September 24, 2020.
Real Estate
Kraft and his wife, Myra, sold their 7,500 square foot Cape Cod home to their son, Jonathan, for $3.8 million in 2010. A total of seven bedrooms and six bathrooms can be found in this 2006 construction.
