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Jonathan Kraft

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Jonathan Kraft
Born (1964-03-04) March 4, 1964 (age 60)
Brookline, Massachusetts
NationalityAmerican
Alma materB.A. Williams College
M.B.A. Harvard Business School
OccupationBusinessman
Known forPresident of The Kraft Group
President of the New England Patriots
SpousePatricia Lipoma
Parent(s)Robert Kraft
Myra Hiatt
AwardsSix-time Super Bowl champion

Jonathan A. Kraft (born March 4, 1964) is an American businessman. He is president of The Kraft Group, the holding company of the Kraft family's many business interests. He is also the president of the New England Patriots and investor-operator of the New England Revolution.[1][2]

Early life and education

Kraft was born in Brookline, Massachusetts, to a Jewish family, one of four children of New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft and his late wife Myra Kraft.[1][2] Robert Kraft is worth an estimated $4.8 billion, according to Forbes and ranks as 108th richest person in 2015.[3] Kraft attended the Belmont Hill School for high school. In 1986, Kraft graduated from Williams College with a bachelor's degree in history. He currently serves on Williams' board of trustees. After working as a consultant at Bain & Company for two years, Kraft earned his MBA from Harvard Business School in 1990.[4]

Professional career

New England Patriots

Since his family's purchase of the team in 1994, Kraft has held the titles of Vice President (1994–1999), Vice chairman (2000–2005) and President (2005–present), and thus has overseen the management of each department in the organization.

Role with the NFL

Within the National Football League, Kraft serves on two owners' committees. In March 2006, when the National Football League Players Association and the NFL were deadlocked in contract negotiations, Kraft designed the revenue sharing plan that was used for that version of the collective bargaining agreement.

New England Revolution

Since their inception in 1995 as one of the inaugural teams of Major League Soccer, Kraft has been the co-owner/investor of the Revolution, along with his father. Foxboro hosted its third MLS Cup in 2002, the first in Gillette Stadium and the first involving the Revolution as one of the teams vying for the MLS title. In front of an MLS-record crowd of 61,136, the Revolution would go on to lose the match, as well as their other four MLS Cup appearances in 2005, 2006, 2007, and 2014.

Other soccer involvements

The Krafts' interest in soccer has extended beyond the Revolution. Foxboro Stadium played host to six matches of the 1994 FIFA World Cup, five of the 1999 FIFA Women's World Cup, as well as the 2000 Founder's Cup. In November 2005, the Krafts expressed interest in purchasing the Liverpool F.C.,[5] but the team was eventually acquired by a pair including Tom Hicks, the owner of the Dallas Stars and Texas Rangers, in February 2007.[6]

Kraft also served as the owner/investor of the San Jose Earthquakes from 1999 to 2000, the two years which the Kraft Group owned the team.

Massachusetts General Hospital

Kraft has served on the Board of Trustees of Massachusetts General Hospital since 2010 and was named chair in 2019 after the departure of Cathy Minehan.[7]

COVID-19 pandemic

In March of 2020, Kraft and his father offered the use of the Patriots team airplane to the Commonwealth of Massachusetts to deliver more than a million N95 masks from Shenzhen, China for use by medical professionals mitigating the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States. Some of the supplies landed in Boston on April 2, 2020 after several weeks of preparation.[8]

Personal life

In 1995, Kraft married Patricia Lipoma in a Jewish ceremony at the Chestnut Hill home of his parents. She is a convert to Judaism.[9] He has 3 children, two sons and a daughter.

Awards and honors

  • Six-time Super Bowl champion – as an executive with the New England Patriots

References

  1. ^ a b Jspace Staf (February 4, 2012). "Jewish Owners Face Off in Super Bowl XLVI". Jspace. Archived from the original on January 25, 2013.
  2. ^ a b Andrew Gershman (January 23, 2012). "Bob Kraft: New England Patriots' Jewish owner". Jewish Journal. Archived from the original on April 1, 2012. Retrieved January 23, 2020.
  3. ^ "Robert Kraft". Forbes. Retrieved January 12, 2016.
  4. ^ "HighPoint Capital Team Members". HighPoint Capital. Retrieved June 3, 2007.
  5. ^ "Kraft admits Liverpool interest". BBC News. November 14, 2005. Retrieved June 5, 2007.
  6. ^ "US pair agree Liverpool takeover". BBC News. February 6, 2007. Retrieved June 5, 2007.
  7. ^ "Massachusetts General Hospital taps Jonathan Kraft as board of trustees chair". Becker's Hospital Review. September 4, 2019. Retrieved April 2, 2020.
  8. ^ "A Million N95 Masks Are Coming From China—on Board the New England Patriots' Plane". The Wall Street Journal. April 2, 2020. Retrieved April 2, 2020.
  9. ^ Bickelhaupt, Susan; O'Brien, Ellen (June 20, 1995). "A Patriotic wedding". Boston Globe. Archived from the original on March 29, 2015.


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