Robert Kraft is an American billionaire businessman who is the chairman and chief executive officer (CEO) of the “Kraft Group”. Since 1994, he has owned the New England Patriots of the National Football League (NFL). He also owns the New England Revolution of Major League Soccer (MLS), which he founded in 1996, and the esport-based Boston Uprising, which he founded in 2017. Initially, he began working with his father-in-law in the Rand-Whitney Group before founding International Forest Products. He eventually founded the Kraft Group as a holding company to control his myriad business holdings. In addition, he is also a well-known philanthropist.
What is Robert Kraft Known For?
- Robert Kraft is a well-known billionaire businessman in the United States.
- He is the current CEO and Chairman of the Kraft Group. This company specializes in paper products, packaging, entertainment, and real estate development.
- He is also the owner of the New England Patriots of the National Football League and the Gillette Stadium.
Who are Robert Kraft’s Parents?
Robert Kraft was born on June 5, 1941, in Brookline, Massachusetts, the USA with the full name of Robert Kenneth Kraft. He is the son of Sarah Bryna (Webber) and Harry Kraft. His father was a dress manufacturer. His parents wanted Robert to become a rabbi. He has two siblings, Avram Rachmiel Kraft & Elizabeth Rachel Kraft. He holds American nationality and his ethnicity is Mixed. He was born into an Orthodox Jewish family. His present age is 81 as of 2022.
Regarding his education, he attended Edward Devotion School and later, Brookline High School from where he graduated in 1959. He received a scholarship to attend Columbia University. There, he joined Zeta Beta Tau Fraternity and played running back and safety for the school’s freshman and lightweight football teams. He graduated from Columbia later the same year and went on to pursue an MBA from Harvard Business School, earning the degree in 1965.
How was the Career of Robert Kraft?
- Robert Kraft started working with the Rand-Whitney Group, a Worcester-based packaging company run by his father-in-law.
- In 1968, he gained control of the company through a leveraged buyout.
- In 1972, he founded International Forest Products, a trader of physical paper commodities.
- In 1974, Kraft and five others purchased the Boston Lobsters of World TeamTennis (WTT).
- He invested in ‘New England Television Corp,’ which gained control over WNAC-TV, and became director of the board in 1983. The station was then renamed ‘WNEV-TV’ and he was named president of the corporation in 1986.
- In 1985, he bought a 10-year option on Foxboro Raceway, a horse track adjacent to the stadium, and the purchase prevented Patriots owner Billy Sullivan from holding non-Patriot events at the stadium while races were being held.
- He purchased the professional American football team New England Patriots in 1994 for $175 million. In 2007, he began to develop the land around Gillette Stadium, creating a $375-million open-air shopping and entertainment center called Patriot Place.
- On January 27, 2000, he traded a first-round draft pick to the New York Jets for the rights to hire Bill Belichick as head coach.
- Under his ownership, the team won 19 AFC East titles, including all but three since 2001 and 11 in a row from 2009 to 2019. They represented the AFC in the Super Bowl in 1996 (lost), 2001 (won), 2003 (won), 2004 (won), 2007 (lost), 2011 (lost), 2014 (won), 2016 (won), 2017 (lost) and 2018 (won).
- Back in 1996, he founded the New England Revolution, a charter member of Major League Soccer which began playing alongside the Patriots at Foxboro Stadium.
- In 1998, he founded the Kraft Group LLC as the holding company to own and operate his several business ventures in professional sports, manufacturing, and real estate development industries. It is based in Massachusetts.
- He also owned the San Jose Clash (later San Jose Earthquakes) from 1998 to 2000.
- In October 2017, he said he was “still intrigued” by the possibility of buying a Premier League football club, but that he was concerned about the lack of a salary cap in British football.
- In 2019, he hired Bruce Arena as head coach and sporting director of the New England Revolution.
- Blizzard Entertainment announced in July 2017 that Kraft bought ownership in the Boston Uprising, one of the first seven teams for the professional esports Overwatch League.
Robert Kraft Awards and Achievements
- 6× Super Bowl champion (XXXVI, XXXVIII, XXXIX, XLIX, LI, LIII)
- Theodore Roosevelt Award
- George Halas Award (2012)
- Awarded the Columbia University, Alexander Hamilton Medal, in 2004
- Was inducted into the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 2011
- Was presented with the Carnegie Hall Medal of Excellence Award in 2013.
- Received the honorary doctorate in humane letters from Yeshiva University in 2015
- Received Israel’s prestigious “Genesis Prize” in 2019; it is a $1 million award given to individuals committed to Jewish values
Who is Robert Kraft married to?
Robert Kraft is a married man. Recently, he married his beautiful wife, Dana Blumberg on 14th October 2022 on Friday. They wed in front of over 200 guests during a surprise wedding ceremony on Friday night at the Hall des Lumières in New York City. According to Page Six, Kraft invited a slew of star-studded guests to a “Kickoff and a Touchdown” party, though he did not reveal he and Blumberg would be tying the knot during the event. “Most of the people didn’t know it was a wedding celebration. We thought it was a party and then when we went upstairs — and [a] screen opened and Robert and Dana came out. She was in a wedding dress, and Elton John announced them as ‘husband and wife.’ Then Meek Mill wrote a song for them — which he sang with Ed Sheeran as backup,” as per the source.
Page Six said that the couple shared a 10-minute video with guests before NFL commentator Al Michaels introduced them to the crowd as husband and wife. It is unclear, however, when exactly Kraft and Blumberg officially said “I do” to one another. During Kraft and Blumberg’s special evening, they were joined by a series of stars, including Tom Brady, Jon Bon Jovi, Kenny Chesney, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell, and NBA Commissioner Adam Silver, among others, Page Six reported. Kraft and Blumberg reportedly began dating in 2019. In June of that year, they made their public debut as a couple at the French Open and later appeared at several other events over the summer.
It is unknown how or when the couple first met, but they were first seen together in 2017 at an Elton John AIDS Foundation event, where Blumberg posed with one of Kraft’s Super Bowl rings. Dr. Dana Blumberg is an associate professor of ophthalmology at New York-Presbyterian Hospital – Columbia. The happily married couple is enjoying their present life a lot. His sexual orientaiton is straight.
Previously, he was married to Myra Hiatt with whom he fell in love while he was at the university. They got married in June 1963. Myra was the daughter of businessman and philanthropist Jacob Hiatt. They had a happy marriage that produced four sons.
Who are Robert Kraft Kids?
Jonathan Kraft came into this world in 1964, 4 March, and is the current president of the New England Patriots and the Kraft Group. Their second son is Daniel A Kraft, who works as the president of International Forest Products. Joshua M Kraft is his third son serving the Boys & Girls Clubs of Boston as the CEO and President. Their last-born kid is the former director of the Kraft Group. Unfortunately, Myra died of cancer in 2011 at 68, leaving Robert devastated. A year later, he began dating actress Ricki Noel Lander. In 2017, Lander gave birth to a child, but Kraft denied the paternity of the child. The couple broke up in 2018.
How Rich is Robert Kraft?
Robert Kraft is a renowned businessman who owns the Kraft Group, which comprises different business ventures in sectors such as real estate development, sports and entertainment, and a private equity portfolio. He is the owner of the NFL team, New England Patriots, the owner of the MLS team, New England Revolution, and the e-sports team, Boston Uprising. He bought the New England Patriots for $172 million in 1994; the team is now worth about $6 billion and has won six Super Bowl rings. Over the years, the business mogul has diversified his portfolio and seen an increase in his net worth.
As of 2022, Robert Kraft has a net worth of $10.6 billion. His source of wealth is said to be from his sports teams, New England Patriots, and New England Revolution. He also makes a lot of money from his other businesses in real estate, private equity, and other business ventures. In 2010 Kraft and his wife, Myra, sold their 7,500 square foot Cape Cod home to their son Jonathan for $3.8M. The home was built in 2006 and features seven bedrooms and six baths.
Is Robert Kraft a philanthropist?
Robert Kraft is a well-known philanthropist. Along with his other family members, he has donated over $100 million to a variety of philanthropic causes in areas related to education, child and women issues, healthcare, youth sports, and American and Israeli causes. The Krafts have supported several institutions, including ‘Columbia University,’ ‘Harvard Business School,’ ‘Brandeis University,’ ‘College of the Holy Cross,’ and ‘Boston College.’
He also serves on the Board of Directors for ‘Viacom,’ the Executive Committee of the ‘Federal Reserve Bank of Boston,’ and the Executive Committee of the ‘Dana-Farber Cancer Institute.’ In 2019, $100,000 was pledged to the families of seven motorcyclists who were killed in a crash.
How tall is Robert Kraft?
Robert Kraft is a handsome man with a tall height of 5 feet 5 inches or 1.70 m. His body weight consists of 67 Kg or 165 lbs. His eye color is green and his hair color is white. His body type is average. He has got a healthy body with a charming smile on his face.
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