As one of the most talked-about figures, Robert F. Kennedy has built a significant fortune. In this article, we dive deep into the assets and career highlights.
What was Robert F. Kennedy's Net Worth?
After graduating from Harvard, Kennedy went with a college friend on a six-month sailing tour of Europe and the Middle East. During this time, he was accredited as a correspondent for the Boston Post, filing stories about the ongoing tensions in Palestine. Following his admission to the Massachusetts Bar in 1951, Kennedy worked as a lawyer in the Internal Security Division of the US Department of Justice. In early 1952, he was transferred to the Criminal Division. By the middle of the year, he had resigned so he could manage his brother John's successful US Senate campaign in Massachusetts.
Robert Francis Kennedy was born on November 20, 1925 in Brookline, Massachusetts into the wealthy and politically prominent Kennedy family, headed by Joseph Kennedy Sr. andRose Kennedy. He was the seventh of their nine children, with his siblings being Joseph Jr., John, Rosemary, Kathleen, Eunice, Patricia, Jean, and Ted. As his father achieved greater and greater success with his businesses, Kennedy and his family lived in increasing affluence in Massachusetts, New York, Florida, and London.
In 1939, Kennedy began attending the elite Protestant prep school St. Paul's School in New Hampshire. However, his mother was displeased with the school's use of the Protestant Bible, and consequently withdrew Kennedy from St. Paul's. She then enrolled him in Portsmouth Priory School, a Benedictine Catholic boarding school in Rhode Island. In 1942, Kennedy transferred to a different boarding school, Milton Academy, from which he graduated in 1944. After serving in the US Naval Reserve for two years, he attended Harvard University, from which he earned a degree in political science. Kennedy went on to earn his law degree from the University of Virginia in 1951.
Among his other actions as attorney general, Kennedy played a key role in the events surrounding the Berlin Crisis of 1961, relaying important diplomatic communications between the US and Soviet governments. He later oversaw the CIA's anti-Castro activities in Cuba following the failed Bay of Pigs Invasion. Kennedy penned a memoir about the Cuban Missile Crisis, entitled "Thirteen Days," that was released posthumously in 1969. He endured more turmoil in late 1963 when his brother John was assassinated in Dallas, Texas, an event that reportedly made him more cynical about the political system he once relied on.
Robert F. Kennedy was an American politician and lawyer who had a net worth of $14 million at the time of his death. That's equal to around $100 million in today's dollars after adjusting for inflation. The brother of US presidentJohn F. Kennedy, he served as the US attorney general from 1961 to 1964, and then as a US senator from New York from 1965 until his assassination in 1968 during his presidential campaign. Among his many actions, Kennedy was known for promoting the civil rights movement, fighting organized crime, raising awareness of poverty, and opposing US involvement in the Vietnam War.
Following the victory of his brother John in the 1960 presidential election, Kennedy was appointed as US attorney general. At only 35 years of age, he became one of the youngest cabinet members in American history. During his tenure as attorney general through 1964, Kennedy continued his crusade against organized crime, including within the Teamsters and the Mafia. Convictions against organized-crime figures rose by 800% during Kennedy's tenure. In other actions, he fought against juvenile delinquency and advocated for the civil rights movement. However, he also caused controversy within the movement, largely due to his direction to the FBI to wiretapMartin Luther King Jr.and other leaders of his civil rights organization.
At the end of 1952, Kennedy was appointed by Senator Joseph McCarthy as one of 15 assistant counsel to the US Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations. However, he strongly disapproved of McCarthy's draconian methods, and resigned in the summer of 1953. Kennedy later achieved national attention as the chief counsel of the Senate Rackets Committee from 1957 to 1959. In that role, he publicly challenged Teamsters presidentJimmy Hoffaover the corrupt practices of the Teamsters union. Kennedy resigned from the committee so he could help manage his brother John's successful presidential campaign in 1960.
In summary, the total wealth of Robert F. Kennedy reflects strategic moves.
Disclaimer: All net worth figures are estimates based on public data.
