Joseph P. Kennedy Sr. Joseph Patrick Kennedy
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Joseph P. Kennedy, born in Boston in 1888, built a fortune in Hollywood by creating RKO Pictures in 1928 through financial engineering of several film companies. He later served as the first chairman of the SEC and as U.S. ambassador to the UK from 1938 to 1940. After World War II, he steered his sons John, Robert, and Edward into politics, financing their campaigns. He died in 1969 at age 81 from complications of a stroke.
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Joseph P. Kennedy by the numbers — life, work, and family.
Joseph P. Kennedy — early life, career, personal life, and legacy.
On September 6, 1888, in Boston, Massachusetts, Mary Augusta Hickey and Patrick Joseph Kennedy had a son, Joseph Patrick Kennedy. His grandparents were all Irish immigrants from County Wexford, County Clare, and County Cork. Growing up in modest East Boston, where his father was a barkeeper and politician, Kennedy attended the Boston Latin School and later Harvard University. He married Rose Fitzgerald in 1914, the daughter of Boston’s mayor, John Francis Fitzgerald.
In 1926, Kennedy became the chief executive of Film Booking Office, a distributor of low-budget films, and soon took over Pathe and the Keith-Albee-Orpheum theater chain. Through financial engineering, he merged these companies with RCA’s Photophone Division in October 1928 to create RKO Pictures, a major Hollywood studio. Kennedy made over $5 million from his Hollywood investments. He also had a business and sexual relationship with actress Gloria Swanson during this period.
In the 1930s, he turned to politics, becoming an early fundraiser for Franklin D. Roosevelt. He was appointed the first chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission and later served as U.S. ambassador to the United Kingdom from 1938 to 1940. Kennedy’s pessimistic statements about Britain’s chances in World War II alienated Roosevelt and made him unpopular in America.
After the war, Kennedy used his wealth to support the political careers of his sons. He financed John F. Kennedy’s successful Senate and presidential campaigns and also backed Robert and Edward’s political ambitions. His influence on American politics was profound.
Kennedy married Rose Fitzgerald on October 7, 1914; she was the daughter of Boston mayor John Francis Fitzgerald. They had nine children: Joseph Jr., John, Rosemary, Kathleen, Eunice, Patricia, Robert, Ted, and Jean. Four of his children died before him: Joseph Jr. in a WWII plane crash in 1944, Kathleen in a plane crash in 1948, John assassinated in 1963, and Robert assassinated in 1968. Kennedy suffered a stroke in 1961 that left him unable to speak, but he was aware of the family tragedies. He died on November 18, 1969, in Hyannis Port, Massachusetts, from complications of that stroke.
Joseph P. Kennedy built a fortune estimated at $400 million at his death, equivalent to about $2.5 billion in 2012 dollars. His creation of RKO Pictures in 1928 reshaped the Hollywood studio system. As a political patriarch, he financed the campaigns of his sons John, Robert, and Edward, who became U.S. presidents and senators. The Kennedy family’s political dynasty continues through his grandchildren, including Maria Shriver, Caroline Kennedy, and Joseph Kennedy III. Historians also note his aggressive financial tactics and controversial statements during WWII as part of his complex legacy. He is most remembered as the founding father of the Kennedy political dynasty.
Browse the complete filmography of Joseph P. Kennedy — every film, TV show, and documentary credit, ranked by popularity.
Joseph P. Kennedy's bibliography — every authored, edited, and co-written book, ranked by edition count.
A wall of memorable lines from Joseph P. Kennedy — lyrics, interviews, and off-the-cuff remarks captured over a lifetime.
If You Want to Make Money, Go Where the Money Is.
There Are Only Two Pursuits That Get in Your Blood: Politics and the Motion Picture Business.
Don’t Get Mad, Get Even.
Little-known facts about Joseph P. Kennedy — origins, oddities, and behind-the-scenes details from a public life.
By combining his Keith-Albee-Orpheum theater chains, Film Booking Office of America, and American Pathé with RCA’s Photophone Division, Kennedy created RKO Pictures in October 1928. The move aimed to break Western Electric’s monopoly on sound-film technology. Kennedy made over $5 million from his Hollywood investments, equivalent to $75.5 million in 2012 dollars.
President Franklin D. Roosevelt, believing that Kennedy knew all the goings on of the stock market, made him head of the Securities and Exchange Commission.
As early as 1926, Kennedy set up a trust fund for his wife Rose and their children. He added two more funds in 1936 and 1949. The 1949 trust began setting portions of his wealth to his grandchildren. By 1968, the Joseph P. Kennedy Jr. foundation had assets of $22.1 million approximately $145.7 million in 2012 dollars, dispersed to mental retardation research.
UK Prime Minister Winston Churchill threatened to have Kennedy arrested in 1940.
Four of Kennedy’s nine children died before him: Joseph Jr. was killed in a WWII plane crash in 1944, Kathleen died in a plane crash in 1948, John was assassinated in 1963, and Robert was assassinated in 1968.
During Prohibition, Kennedy’s company Somerset Importers became the exclusive U.S. agent for Gordon’s Dry Gin and Dewar’s Scotch. Anticipating the end of Prohibition, he assembled a large inventory that he sold for millions of dollars in profit when Prohibition was repealed in 1933. One partner in the deal was Franklin D. Roosevelt’s son, James Roosevelt. He invested the money in real estate, the Merchandise Mart in Chicago, and Hialeah Race Track in Hialeah, Florida. Rumors of bootlegging activity with the Bronfman family and the Mafia have never been proven.
In 1925, Kennedy was retained by the financially troubled owner of Film Booking Office of America FBO to help find a new owner. Instead, Kennedy formed his own investor group and bought FBO for $1.5 million approximately $20 million in 2012 dollars. He moved to California in March 1926 to run the studio.
Remarks Kennedy made before and during World War II led to accusations of anti-Semitism.
When Kennedy died in 1969, his estate was estimated at $400 million approximately $2.5 billion in 2012 dollars. His fortune was unusual in that he was not heavily invested in oil; he made over $100 million in retirement as a real estate speculator, and another $100 million was in tax-exempt securities. The only corporation tied to the money was the family itself.
Kennedy was the grandfather of Maria Shriver, Tim Shriver, Robert Shriver, Mark Shriver, Anthony Shriver, Rory Kennedy, John Kennedy Jr., Christopher Lawford, Kathleen Kennedy Townsend, Joseph Kennedy, Patrick Joseph Kennedy II, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Kerry Kennedy, Michael LeMoyne Kennedy, Maxwell Kennedy, William Kennedy Smith, Kara Kennedy, Ted Kennedy Jr., and Caroline Kennedy.
Kennedy served as U.S. ambassador to the Court of St. James the United Kingdom.
His sons were Joseph P. Kennedy Jr. b. 1915, John F. Kennedy b. 1917, Robert F. Kennedy b. 1925, and Edward b. 1932, Senator Ted Kennedy.
Kennedy had 30 grandchildren, 26 of whom were alive at his death.
He was the father-in-law of Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, Joan Bennett Kennedy, Sargent Shriver, Stephen Smith, Victoria Kennedy, and Ethel Kennedy.
RKO Pictures, under Kennedy’s management, made an $8 million offer approximately $107 million in 2012 dollars to Alexander Pantages for his theater chain of 63 premier theaters. After Pantages declined, Kennedy stopped distributing RKO films to Pantages. A year later, Pantages was charged with rape of a 17-year-old usher; he was convicted but overturned on appeal. He eventually accepted Kennedy’s revised offer of $3.5 million approximately $47 million in 2012 dollars. A rumor that RKO paid the usher to frame Pantages has only anecdotal evidence.
Kennedy was a distant cousin of his wife, Rose Kennedy, whom he married in 1914. Rose was the daughter of John Francis Fitzgerald, the Democratic mayor of Boston, who was known as Honey Fitz.
He was the father of Joseph P. Kennedy Jr., John F. Kennedy, Robert F. Kennedy, Ted Kennedy, Rosemary Kennedy, Kathleen Kick Kennedy, Eunice Kennedy Shriver, Patricia Kennedy, and Jean Kennedy Smith.
His uncle, Charles M. Hickey, was mayor of Brockton, Massachusetts.
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