Robert Kraft is an American businessman and chairman of the Kraft Group, a company with assets in paper, packaging, sports and entertainment, among other ventures. Kraft has especially become well known for his sports holdings, notably the National Football League’s New England Patriots and the Major League Soccer’s New England Revolution. Let’s take a look at his career over the years, starting with his net worth!
Robert Kraft Net Worth: $6.2 Billion
Robert Kraft’s net worth is estimated to be around $6.2 billion. Let’s look at his career over the years to see how he went so far!
The Early Years
Kraft was born and raised in Brookline, Massachusetts, the son of a dress manufacturer. Raised in an observant Orthodox Jewish family, his father originally wanted him to become a rabbi. Continuing his education, he attended the Edward Devotion School and Brookline High School, where he was senior class president; he later attended Columbia University, once again serving as a class president and joined the Zeta Beta Tau Fraternity, ultimately graduating in 1963. In 1965, he obtained an MBA from the Harvard Business School.
1963-1971
Kraft began his business career with the Rand-Whitney Group, a packaging company run by his father-in-law; by 1968, he gained control of the company through a leveraged buyout. Around this time, he was also elected chairman of the Newton Democratic City Committee, also toying with the idea of running himself.
1972-1981
In 1972, he founded International Forest Products, a physical paper commodities trader, which would become a top 100 US exporters/importer in 1997 and in 2013. In 1974, Kraft and five others purchased the Boston Lobster of World Team Tennis, marking his start into the world of sports holdings. After announcing the franchise would fold in 1978, he moved on to plans to purchase the New England Patriots.
1982-1993
In 1982, he became an investor in New England Television Corp., gaining control of WNAC-TV and becoming a director of the board in 1982. By 1986, he was named the president of the corporation. In 1987, he won the Columbia University John Jay Award. In 1988, Kraft bought out the bankrupt Schaefer Stadium, entitling him to the stadium’s lease to the Patriots, a lease that ran through 2001.
1994-2003
By 1994, Kraft was finally able to purchase the Patriots in a deal worth $172 million, considered the highest price ever paid for an NFL team. Under Kraft’s ownership, the Patriots flourished, making playoffs 18 times in a span of 23 years. In 1996, he moved on to ventures with soccer, founding the New England Revolution, a charter member of Major League Soccer.
2004-Present
In late 2005, Kraft seemed interested in he possibility of buying a Premier League football club, although the deal did not go through; in late 2017, he said that he was still interested in making a similar purchase, but was concerned about a salary cap in UK football. That same year, he was named the Honorary Chairman of the Board of Directors for the joint Canadian-Mexican-American bid for the 2026 FIFA World Cup. 2017 also saw him enter the world of eSports, with Blizzard Entertainment announcing Kraft bought ownership in the Boston Uprising, one of the Overwatch League’s first seven teams.