(1888 – 1969) Born to a political family in Boston, Massachusetts, Joseph P. Kennedy, Sr. was educated at Boston Latin School and Harvard University, and embarked on a career in finance, making a large fortune as a stock market and commodity investor and by investing in real estate and a wide range of industries.
On October 7, 1914, Kennedy married Rose Elizabeth Fitzgerald, the eldest daughter of John Francis “Honey Fitz” Fitzgerald, a Democratic mayor of Boston and probably the most recognized politician in the city.
The marriage joined two of the city’s most prominent Irish-American political families. The couple had nine children. As Kennedy’s business success expanded, he and his family kept homes in the Boston area, suburban New York City, Hyannis Port, Massachusetts, and Palm Beach, Florida.
During World War I, he was an assistant general manager of Bethlehem Steel and developed a friendship with Franklin D. Roosevelt, then Assistant Secretary of the Navy.
Kennedy made huge profits from reorganizing and refinancing several Hollywood studios, ultimately merging several acquisitions into Radio-Keith-Orpheum (RKO) studios.
After Prohibition ended in 1933, Kennedy consolidated an even larger fortune when he travelled to Scotland with FDR’s son, James Roosevelt, to buy distribution rights for Scotch whisky.
His company, Somerset Importers, became the exclusive American agent for Gordon’s Gin and Dewar’s Scotch. In addition, Kennedy purchased spirits-importation rights from Schenley Industries, a firm in Canada. He owned the largest office building in the country, Chicago’s Merchandise Mart, giving his family an important base in that city and an alliance with the Irish-American political leadership there.
His term as ambassador and his political ambitions ended abruptly during the Battle of Britain in November 1940, with the publishing of his controversial remarks suggesting that “Democracy is finished in England. It may be here, [in the US].” Kennedy resigned under pressure shortly afterwards.
In later years, Kennedy worked behind the scenes to continue building the financial and political fortunes of the Kennedy family.
After a disabling stroke on December 19, 1961, at the age of 73, Kennedy lost all power of speech, but remained mentally intact. He used a wheelchair after the stroke.
He died on November 18, 1969, two months after his 81st birthday.
