Robert Kraft

Kraft was born in Brookline, Massachusetts, the son of Sarah Bryna (Webber) and Harry Kraft, a dress manufacturer in Boston's Chinatown. His mother was born in Halifax, Nova Scotia; his father was a lay leader at Congregation Kehillath Israel in Brookline and wanted his son to become a rabbi. The Krafts were a Modern Orthodox Jewish family. Robert attended the Edward Devotion School and graduated from Brookline High School. As a child, he sold newspapers outside Braves Field in Boston. During high school, Kraft was unable to participate in most sports because it interfered with his after-school Hebrew studies and observance of the Sabbath. He played tennis and safety on the school's freshman and lightweight football teams. During that time, Kraft also lived in Carman Hall. He met Myra Hiatt at a delicatessen in Boston's Back Bay in 1962, Kraft graduated from Columbia that same year, and he received an MBA from Harvard Business School in 1965. Kraft was elected chairman of the Newton Democratic City Committee when he was 27. Kraft considered running against Representative Philip J. Philbin in 1970 but chose not to, citing the loss of privacy and strain on his family that politics would have caused. Kraft was further discouraged from entering politics by the 1970 suicide of his friend State Representative H. James Shea Jr. ==Business career==

Kraft began his professional career with the Rand-Whitney Group, a Worcester-based packaging company run by his father-in-law Jacob Hiatt. International Forest Products became a top 100 US exporter/importer in 1997 and in 2001 was ranked No. 7 on the Journal of Commerces list in that category. Kraft said of the business in 1991 that, "We do things for a number of companies, including Avon, Kodak, cosmetics companies, candies, toys." The company produced both corrugated and folding cartons, which he stated, "are used to package everything from the Patriot missile, to mints, to Estee Lauder, Indiana Glass and Polaroid." Kraft acquired interests in other areas, and ultimately formed the Kraft Group as an umbrella for them in 1998. and he became a director of the board a year later, after the newly licensed station, WNEV-TV, signed on, replacing the former WNAC-TV. In 1986, Kraft was named president of the corporation. In 1991, Kraft exercised his option to sell his shares for an estimated $25 million. ==Sports ownership==

Boston Lobsters In 1974, Kraft, Harold Bayne, Herbert Hoffman, Bob Mades, and Paul Slater purchased the Boston Lobsters of World TeamTennis (WTT). The group spent heavily to lure a number of top players, including Martina Navratilova, and the Lobsters became one of the best teams in WTT. Following the 1978 season, Kraft announced that the franchise would fold. The league itself folded soon thereafter. Kraft took advantage of the fact that the Sullivans owned the stadium but not the surrounding land, and it was the beginning of a quest to buy the stadium and the Patriots. Sullivan's family was reeling from a series of bad investments, principally The Jackson Five 1984 Victory Tour, for which they had to pledge Sullivan Stadium as collateral. Those problems ultimately forced Sullivan to sell controlling interest of the team in 1988, while the stadium lapsed into bankruptcy. In 1988, Kraft outbid several competitors to buy the stadium out of bankruptcy court from Sullivan for $22 million. The stadium was considered to be outdated and nearly worthless, but the purchase included the stadium's lease to the Patriots which ran through 2001. Kraft placed a bid on the Patriots franchise as well, but he lost the bidding to Victor Kiam. Sullivan and Kiam then tried to move the team to Jacksonville, but Kraft refused to let them break the lease. Kiam was nearly brought down by bad investments of his own and was forced to sell the Patriots to James Orthwein in 1992. Future St. Louis/Los Angeles Rams owner Stan Kroenke offered more money ($200 million) with intent to move to St. Louis. However, Orthwein would have not only been saddled with all relocation expenses, but any legal expenses from breaking the lease. When Kraft let it be known that he would go to court to enforce the covenant and force Kroenke to stay in Foxboro, Orthwein was in an untenable position. He had little choice but to accept Kraft's offer, the highest ever made for an NFL team at the time. In 2023, the Patriots were one of the most valuable franchises in the NFL, estimated by Forbes to be worth $7 billion. . In 1998, Kraft considered moving the Patriots to Hartford, Connecticut, based on an offer that the state of Connecticut would finance a new stadium, but he terminated the deal just before it became binding to instead build a new stadium in Foxborough with Massachusetts infrastructure funding. In 2002, Kraft financed a $350-million stadium for the Patriots initially called CMGI Field but renamed Gillette Stadium. In 2007, he began to develop the land around Gillette Stadium, creating a $375-million open-air shopping and entertainment center called Patriot Place. The development included "The Hall at Patriot Place presented by Raytheon," a multi-story museum and hall of fame attached to the stadium, and the "CBS Scene", a CBS-themed restaurant. On January 27, 2000, Kraft traded a first round draft pick to the New York Jets for the rights to hire Bill Belichick as head coach. The trade was met with criticism at the time, but proved to be successful after Belichick led the Patriots to win six Super Bowl championships, nine conference championships, and 16 division titles. In 2000, the Patriots drafted quarterback Tom Brady in the sixth round, who would be the team's starter from 2001 to 2019. The relationship between Kraft, Belichick, and Brady has been credited with producing one of the most successful sports dynasties in football, although in later years the personal relationship between the three grew strained. in 2012 Under Kraft's ownership, the Patriots experienced sustained success for the first time in franchise history. While they appeared in Super Bowl XX under the Sullivans, this was one of only six playoff appearances in 34 years. Indeed, that Super Bowl season saw only the second playoff victory in franchise history. However, the Patriots have made the playoffs 21 times in Kraft's 27 years as owner. They have won 19 AFC East titles, including all but three since 2001 and 11 in a row from 2009 to 2019. The Patriots 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), 2018 (won), and 2025 (lost). After having never won more than 11 games prior to Kraft's arrival, the Patriots have won at least 12 games 14 times, including finishing the 2007 regular season undefeated before losing to the New York Giants in Super Bowl XLII. In 2005, during a visit to Saint Petersburg, Kraft gave Russian President Vladimir Putin his third Super Bowl ring. Kraft released a statement some days after the visit claiming that it was a gift out of "respect and admiration" for the Russian people and Putin's leadership. Kraft later said that he did not originally intend to give the ring as a gift and that his statement had been issued under pressure from the White House after Putin had kept the ring. The ring is on display with state gifts at the Kremlin. Former Patriot Ryan O'Callaghan wrote in his book that Kraft supported him when he publicly came out as gay in 2017. According to O'Callaghan, Kraft invited him to a reception and said, "What you did took a lot of courage. I'm so proud of you" and that he would be "forever a Patriot." In June 2024, Kraft enshrined former Patriot Tom Brady into the Patriots Hall of Fame and announced that Brady's jersey number 12 would be retired and would not be worn by anyone else. Brady said "I am Tom Brady, and I am a Patriot." Over 60,000 Patriots fans attended the ceremony. Soccer at a 2018 New England Revolution game In 1996, Kraft founded the New England Revolution, a charter member of Major League Soccer which began playing alongside the Patriots at Foxboro Stadium. Kraft also owned the San Jose Clash (later San Jose Earthquakes) from 1998 to 2000. In November 2005, Kraft met with Rick Parry, the chief executive of English Premier League team Liverpool. Kraft was rumored to be interested in investing money into the 2004–05 Champions League winners. He told BBC Radio 5 Live: "Liverpool is a great brand and it's something our family respects a lot. We're always interested in opportunities and growing, so you never know what can happen." However, the club was eventually sold to American duo George Gillett and Tom Hicks. Liverpool is now owned by Fenway Sports Group, owners of fellow Boston-based sport team the Boston Red Sox. In October 2017, Kraft said that 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. that are scheduled to be held at Kraft's Gillette Stadium In 2017, Kraft was named the Honorary Chairman of the board of directors for the successful joint Canadian-Mexican-American bid for the 2026 FIFA World Cup. In 2019, Kraft hired Bruce Arena as head coach and sporting director of the New England Revolution. In 2020, the team had their first playoff win in six years. Esports 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. They played in Season 1 of the Overwatch League. Preseason for the league began December 6, 2017, and the regular season started on January 10, 2018. Boston Uprising finished third in the Overwatch League's inaugural season. ==Philanthropy==

The Krafts have donated hundreds of millions of dollars to philanthropic work including education, child- and women-related issues, healthcare, youth sports and American and Israeli causes. Among the institutions the Krafts have supported are Columbia University, Harvard Business School, Brandeis University, the College of the Holy Cross, Boston College, Tufts University, Rice University, Yeshiva University, One of their most distinctive projects is supporting American Football Israel, including Kraft Family Stadium in Jerusalem and the Kraft Family Israel Football League. In 1990, Kraft, his wife, and his father-in-law funded a joint professorship between Brandeis University and the College of the Holy Cross, forming the Kraft-Hiatt endowed chairs in comparative religion – the first inter-religious endowed chairs in the United States. In 2000, Kraft donated $11.5 million to construct the Columbia/Barnard Hillel which is made of the same white stone used in Jerusalem. In 2007, after a $5 million payment to Columbia's intercollegiate athletics program, the playing field at Columbia's Lawrence A. Wien Stadium at the Baker Field Athletics Complex was named Robert K. Kraft Field. In 2011, the Krafts pledged $20 million to Partners HealthCare to launch the Kraft Family National Center for Leadership and Training in Community Health, an initiative designed to improve access to quality healthcare at community health centers throughout New England. The Krafts supported the Dana–Farber Cancer Institute in Boston. Following the Boston Marathon bombing in 2013, Kraft announced he would match up to $100,000 in donations made for the victims through the New England Patriots Charitable Foundation. In 2017, Kraft announced a contribution of $6 million to build the first regulation-size American football field in Israel. In June 2017, Kraft, along with several NFL Hall of Famers, traveled to Israel for the grand opening of the new Kraft Family Sports Campus. He has led additional "Touchdown in Israel" trips to Israel, with Patriots and Hall of Famers, since that 2017 trip. That same year, Kraft funded a new van as part of the Kraft Center for Community Health at Massachusetts General Hospital in order to help combat the opioid crisis in Boston. The vans allow those with opioid addiction to seek health services in their own neighborhoods. In 2018, Kraft donated $10 million to Combined Jewish Philanthropies of Greater Boston for the renovation of its headquarters in downtown Boston. In 2019, Kraft, along with Chelsea Football Club owner Roman Abramovich, hosted a soccer match between the New England Revolution and Chelsea F.C., called Final Whistle on Hate, to raise money to combat antisemitism. The match raised an estimated $4 million, with Kraft personally contributing $1 million toward the fund. In June 2019, Kraft received Israel's Genesis Prize. While at the event in Jerusalem, Kraft pledged $20 million to establish a foundation that will fight antisemitism and combat the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) movement against Israel. The next month, he pledged $100,000 to the families of seven motorcyclists killed in a crash the month before. Kraft donated $20,000 and attended the memorial in Worcester to honor fallen firefighter Christopher Roy on the one-year anniversary of his death. Kraft teamed with recording artists Jay-Z and Meek Mill, as well as Michael G. Rubin, the executive chairman of Fanatics, among others to announce a foundation of criminal justice reform called REFORM Alliance. In coordination with the REFORM Alliance, Kraft invited more than 50 children (ages 5–17) to fly on the Patriots' team charter to attend the Patriots game against the Buffalo Bills at Gillette Stadium. The children attending the game each had parents who have been incarcerated for technical probation violations. As of 2019, Kraft had led 27 missions to Israel. s to Logan International Airport in April 2020 In 2020, Kraft partnered with Chinese company Tencent to purchase 1.2 million N95 masks to donate to medical workers in New York and Massachusetts to help combat the coronavirus pandemic, sending the Patriots' private team plane to China to pick up the supplies. Kraft initially negotiated for 1.7 million masks, but only 1.2 million fit on board. They were allowed three hours on the ground in China at Shenzhen Bao'an International Airport. The plane was used to deliver 500,000 vaccines to El Salvador in May 2021. Using the Patriots truck, they distributed 300,000 masks in New York City, 900,000 masks in Massachusetts and 100,000 in Rhode Island. In May 2020, Kraft put his Super Bowl LI ring up for auction with proceeds designated to help feed those facing food insecurity as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. Kraft lent the Patriots team plane to the University of Rhode Island Rams football team in October 2021 after the team's charter flight fell through. He covered all costs despite the URI Rams expecting to pay expenses through the team's budget. In April 2022, Harvard Business School announced the creation of the Robert K. Kraft Family Fellowship Fund, committing $24 million to benefit potential students with limited means to attend HBS. during a Jewish War Veterans event held at Gillette Stadium in February 2024 On October 30, 2022, the Foundation to Combat Antisemitism (FCAS), which was founded by Kraft, sponsored an ad encouraging people to denounce hate against Jewish people. The ad aired during NFL games and was titled "Stand Up to Jewish Hate." This action came in response to antisemitic comments made by Kanye West and later Kyrie Irving. Kraft invested $25 million in the "Stand Up to Jewish Hate" campaign which launched through the foundation in March 2023 to raise awareness concerning antisemitism found online. The foundation's executive director indicated that ads would air during the NFL draft, NBA and NHL playoffs as well as by social media influencers. In October 2025, the Foundation to Combat Antisemitism rebranded as Blue Square Alliance Against Hate. In April 2024, during the Columbia University pro-Palestinian campus protests and occupations during the Gaza War, Kraft stopped funding Columbia University because of its treatment of Jewish students and staff, citing "virulent hate." In January 2026, Kraft theorized that the NFL would expand to an 18-game regular season, reduce the preseason to two games, and have every NFL team play in the NFL International Series at least once per season. ==Personal life==

In June 1963, Kraft married Myra Nathalie Hiatt, a 1964 graduate of Brandeis University and the daughter of the late Worcester, Massachusetts, businessman and philanthropist Jacob Hiatt. She died on July 20, 2011, of ovarian cancer, at the age of 68. The Krafts were members of Temple Emanuel in Newton, Massachusetts. A patch bearing Kraft's initials (MHK) appeared on the Patriots' uniform jersey throughout the 2011 season. The couple had four sons: Jonathan Kraft, Daniel Kraft, Joshua Kraft, and David Kraft. In June 2012, Kraft began dating actress Ricki Noel Lander, who was 38 years his junior. In July 2012, Kraft assisted Lander in creating an audition video for a role in The Internship. The lines in the script were sexual in nature, and Kraft released a statement in which he stated that he regretted that the audition tape was made public. Lander and Kraft broke up in 2018. In 2019, Kraft was among 25 people facing first-degree misdemeanor charges for soliciting prostitution at a day spa. His attorney electronically entered a not-guilty plea, and later submitted a court filing where Kraft waived arraignment, pled not guilty to all charges and requested a jury trial. A memo filed by Kraft's attorneys revealed that hidden cameras had been installed when investigators entered the facility under the guise of suspected human trafficking. A Palm Beach County judge ruled that prosecutors could not use the videos in their case, citing privacy concerns. A Florida appeals court also ruled that Kraft's constitutional rights were violated, and all the charges were dropped. US District Judge Rodolfo Ruiz ordered the videos to be destroyed. In 2026, it was revealed that Kraft had kept a relationship with child sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein and that Epstein had recommended Kraft use his lawyer to defeat the charges. In early 2022, Kraft's engagement to New York City-based ophthalmologist Dana Blumberg was announced by Tommy Hilfiger at the inaugural amfAR Gala Palm Beach event. Kraft and Blumberg reportedly had begun dating in 2017. Kraft has had a longtime friendship with Donald Trump that dates back to the 1990s. In 2017, he donated $1 million to Trump's inauguration day celebrations. Kraft had made donations to Trump's presidential campaign as well. It was reported that Kraft had initially distanced himself from Trump in the years following the January 6, 2021 protests. However, in early 2025 reports emerged that the two had resumed speaking to each other. and they were once again being described by media as being allies. In February 2025, Trump named Kraft's wife, Dana Blumberg, to the board of the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. Blumberg was appointed to replace Carlos Elizondo on the board as part of a greater effort by Trump to purge members of the board and exert control over it. Kraft is a member of the Democratic Party, but has supported candidates of both parties financially. ==Awards and honors==

NFL • Six-time Super Bowl champion (as the owner of the Patriots: XXXVI, XXXVIII, XXXIX, XLIX, LI, LIII) • George Halas Award (2012) NCAA • Theodore Roosevelt Award (2006) • Alexander Hamilton Medal from Columbia University (2004) from Yeshiva University. MLS • New England Revolution (as the owner): 2021 Supporters Shield, 2007 U.S. Open Cup, 2008 North American SuperLiga Organizational • Inducted into the American Academy of Arts and Sciences (2011). • Carnegie Hall Medal of Excellence (2013) • Genesis Prize (2019) ==References==