Robert Kraft is the chairman and chief executive officer of The Kraft Group, which owns the New England Patriots and Major League Soccer’s New England Revolution.
Early Life and Career
Robert Kraft was born to a Jewish family on June 05, 1941, in Brookline, Massachusetts, a suburb of Boston. He is the son of Dorothy (née Abrams) and Robert Kraft, Sr.
His father was an executive at the Levitt and Sons Company, a leading real estate developer. His mother helped establish philanthropic foundations in New England.
As a boy, he attended the Brookline Jewish Religious School and was bar mitzvahed at Temple Israel in Brookline. He also attended Hebrew school there and had his first aliyah at 13. He graduated from Brookline High School in 1958, where he was a basketball team captain and earned All-Scholastic honors in soccer. He played soccer as a youth for the Brookline Falcons, winning four Massachusetts state championships.
Awards
Robert Kraft received many awards, including the Ellis Island Medal of Honor and the “Woodie” Award from the Anti-Defamation League. He was also honored by the American Jewish Congress, American Israel Public Affairs Committee, B’nai B’rith International, and many universities and synagogues across America.
He patronizes Federation Employment and Guidance Service, a Jewish vocational training organization. He is also an active board member for Combined Jewish Philanthropies of Greater Boston, The Andrea and Charles Bronfman Philanthropies, and the Life Sciences Research Foundation in Boston. He has also served on numerous philanthropic boards, including Brandeis University and New York University School of Law.
Philanthropy
Kraft and his wife Myra established The Kraft Family Foundation in 1993. They created the foundation to promote Jewish education and community development worldwide, focusing on the United States, Israel, and the former Soviet Union.
They support cultural and educational activities related to Israel through their work with Combined Jewish Philanthropies of Greater Boston. The Krafts also support research in brain-related medical studies at Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, and Boston Children’s Hospital.
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Learn more about Robert Kraft on https://www.forbes.com/profile/robert-kraft/