Bob K. Kraft

Robert Kenneth Kraft (born June 5, 1941) is an American business magnate. He is the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of The Kraft Group, a diversified holding company with assets in paper and packaging, sports and entertainment, real estate development and a private equity portfolio. His sports holdings include the National Football League's New England Patriots, Major League Soccer's New England Revolution, and the stadium in which both teams play, Gillette Stadium.

Early life

Kraft was born in Brookline, Massachusetts. His father, Harry Kraft, a dress manufacturer in Boston's Chinatown, was a respected Jewish lay leader at Congregation Kehillath Israel in Brookline, and wanted his son to become a rabbi.The Krafts were an observant Orthodox Jewish family. Robert grew up in Brookline, where he attended the Edward Devotion School and in 1959, he graduated from Brookline High School, where he was senior class president. During high school, Kraft was unable to participate in most sports because it interfered with his after-school Hebrew studies and observance of the Sabbath.

Kraft attended Columbia University on scholarship, where he served as class president. While at Columbia, Kraft joined Zeta Beta Tau Fraternity and played running back and safety on the school's freshman and lightweight football teams. On February 2, 1962, Kraft met Myra Hiatt at a delicatessen in Boston's Back Bay. They married in June 1963. That same year, Kraft graduated from Columbia, and in 1965, he received an MBA from Harvard Business School.

At the age of 27, Kraft was elected chairman of the Newton Democratic City Committee. He considered running against Massachusetts's 3rd congressional district Representative Philip J. Philbin in 1970, but chose not to, citing the loss of privacy and strain on his family entering politics would have caused. He was further discouraged from entering politics by the suicide of his friend, State Representative H. James Shea, Jr.[2]

Business career[edit] Kraft began his professional career with the Rand-Whitney Group, a Worcester-based packaging company run by his father-in-law Jacob Hiatt.[5] In 1968, Kraft gained control of the company through a leveraged buyout.[2] He still serves as this company's chairman. In 1972, he founded International Forest Products, a trader of physical paper commodities. The two combined companies make up the largest privately held paper and packaging companies in the United States. Kraft has stated that he started the company out of a hunch that the increase in international communications and transportation would lead to an expansion of global trade in the late twentieth century.[11]

International Forest Products became a top 100 US exporters/importer in 1997 and in 2013 was No. 20 on the Journal of Commerce's list in that category.[12][13] Kraft said of the business in 1991 that, “We do things for a number of companies, including Avon, Kodak, cosmetics companies, candies, toys.” The company produced both corrugated and folding cartons, which he stated, “are used to package everything from the Patriot missile, to mints, to Estee Lauder, Indiana Glass and Polaroid.”[14] Kraft acquired interests in other areas, and ultimately formed the Kraft Group as an umbrella for them in 1998.[11]

Kraft was an investor in New England Television Corp., which gained control of WNAC-TV in 1982,[15] and Kraft became a director of the board in 1983. The station then became WNEV-TV. In 1986 he was named president of the corporation.[16] In 1991, Kraft exercised option to unload his shares for an estimated $25 million.[17]

Sports teams[edit] Boston Lobsters and early bids for sports teams[edit] In 1974, Kraft and five others purchased the Boston Lobsters of World Team Tennis (WTT).[18] The group spent heavily to lure a number of top players, including Martina Navratilova, and the Lobsters became one of the best teams in WTT. Following the 1978 season, Kraft announced that the franchise would fold.[19] The league itself folded soon thereafter.[2]

After the Lobsters folded, Kraft twice tried to purchase the New England Patriots, the first to try and purchase it from the bankrupt Sullivan family that owned the team before 1988,[20] and was mentioned as a bidder for the Boston Red Sox and the Boston Celtics.[2]

New England Patriots[edit] A Patriots fan since their American Football League days, Kraft has been a season ticket holder since 1971, when the team moved to the then-Schaefer Stadium.[5] In 1985, Kraft bought a 10-year option on Foxboro Raceway, a horse track adjacent to the stadium. The purchase prevented Patriots owner Billy Sullivan from holding non-Patriot events at Sullivan Stadium while races were being held.[21] Kraft took advantage of the fact that the Sullivans owned the stadium, but not the surrounding land. It was the beginning of a quest to not only buy the stadium, but the Patriots as well.[22] Sullivan's family was reeling from a series of bad investments, principally The Jackson Five 1984 Victory Tour, for which they had to pledge Sullivan Stadium as collateral.[23] Those problems ultimately forced Sullivan to sell controlling interest to Victor Kiam in 1988. However, the stadium lapsed into bankruptcy.[24]

In 1988, Kraft outbid several competitors, including Kiam, to buy the stadium out of bankruptcy court from Sullivan for $22 million. The stadium was considered to be outdated and nearly worthless, but the purchase included the stadium's lease to the Patriots, which ran through 2001.[25] The lease was ironclad enough to end Sullivan's three-decade involvement with the Patriots. When he and Kiam tried to move the team to Jacksonville, Kraft refused to let them break the lease. As a result, when Kiam was nearly brought down by bad investments of his own, he was forced to sell the Patriots to James Orthwein.[24]

In 1994, Orthwein offered Kraft $75 million to buy out the remainder of the team's lease at what was now Foxboro Stadium. Ever since Orthwein had bought the team in 1992, there had been constant rumors that he wanted to move the Patriots to St. Louis. Had Kraft accepted Orthwein's offer, it would have cleared the last significant hurdle to moving the team. However, Kraft turned it down.[26][27][28][29]

By this time, Orthwein was not interested in operating the team in New England long-term, and decided to sell the team. However, due to the terms of the operating covenant, any prospective buyers had to deal with Kraft. With this in mind, Kraft made an offer for an outright purchase of the team for $172 million, an offer which Orthwein accepted. No other sports team had ever sold for a price this high in any league at that time. Years later, Kraft said his passion for the Patriots led him to "break every one of my financial rules" in his pursuit of the team. To this day, Kraft has a Victory Tour poster among his mementos as a reminder of what allowed him to realize his longstanding dream of becoming a major league team owner.[22]

The Patriots sold out their season for the first time in franchise history. Every home game--preseason, regular season, and playoffs--has been sold out ever since.[30] In 1996 Kraft founded the New England Revolution, a charter member of Major League Soccer which began playing alongside the Patriots at Foxboro.[31]

Kraft (left), with President George W. Bush and Bill Belichick during the Patriots' visit to the White House in 2004 In 2002, a $350 million stadium for the Patriots was privately financed by Kraft, initially called the CMGI Field, (later renamed Gillette Stadium).[32] In 2007, Kraft began to develop the land around Gillette Stadium, creating a $375 million open-air shopping and entertainment center called Patriot Place. The development included "The Hall at Patriot Place presented by Raytheon", a multi-story museum attached to the stadium, and the "CBS Scene", a CBS-themed restaurant.[33][34]

The Patriots appeared in Super Bowl XX under their original owners, the Sullivans. Yet this was one of only six playoff appearances in 33 years. However, since Kraft bought the team, they have made the playoffs 16 times in 21 years. They won AFC East titles in 1996, 1997, 2001, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014 and 2015; they represented the AFC in the Super Bowl in 1996 (lost), 2001 (won), 2003 (won), 2004 (won), 2007 (lost), 2011 (lost), and 2014 (won). The Patriots finished the 2003, 2004, and 2010 seasons with identical 14–2 regular-season records after having never won more than 11 games prior to Kraft buying the team, and also finished the 2007 regular season undefeated before losing to the New York Giants in Super Bowl XLII.[35]

Kraft was principally involved in the 2011 NFL labor negotiations. NFLPA representative and Indianapolis Colts center Jeff Saturday praised Kraft for his role in the negotiations, stating, "without him, this deal does not get done... He is a man who helped us save football."[36]

Kraft again, with President Bush in 2005 In 2005, it was reported that Russian President Vladimir Putin had taken one of Kraft's three Super Bowl rings. Kraft quickly issued a statement saying that he had given Putin the ring out of "respect and admiration" he had for the Russian people and Putin's leadership.[37] Kraft later said his earlier statement was not true, and had been issued under pressure from the White House.[38][39][40][41] The ring is on display with state gifts at the Kremlin.[42]

Soccer[edit] In November 2005, Kraft met with Rick Parry, the Chief Executive of English Premier League team Liverpool. Kraft was rumored to be interested in investing money into the 2004–05 European Champions. Kraft told BBC Radio 5 Live: "Liverpool is a great brand and it's something our family respects a lot. We're always interested in opportunities and growing, so you never know what can happen." Eventually, however, the club was sold to American duo George Gillett and Tom Hicks.[43]

Philanthropy[edit] The Krafts have donated over $100 million to a variety of philanthropic causes including education, child and women issues, healthcare, youth sports and American and Israeli causes.[44] In 1990 Kraft, his wife, and his father-in-law funded a joint professorship between Brandeis University and Holy Cross College, forming the Kraft-Hiatt endowed chairs in comparative religion—the first inter-religious endowed chairs in the United States.[45]

In 2011, the Krafts pledged $20 million to Partners HealthCare to launch the Kraft Family National Center for Leadership and Training in Community Health,[46] an initiative designed to improve access to quality healthcare at community health centers throughout New England. Among the many institutions the Krafts have supported are Columbia University, Harvard Business School, Brandeis University, The College of the Holy Cross, Boston College, Tufts University, the Belmont Hill School, the Boys & Girls Clubs of Boston, and the Dana Farber Cancer Institute in Boston. One of their most distinctive projects is supporting American Football Israel, including Kraft Family Stadium in Jerusalem and the Kraft Family Israel Football League. In 2007, in recognition of a gift of $5 million in support of Columbia's intercollegiate athletics program, the playing field at Columbia's Lawrence A. Wien Stadium at the Baker Field Athletics Complex was named Robert K. Kraft Field.

He has received numerous honorary degrees from several colleges and universities and was awarded the NCAA's highest honor when he received the Theodore Roosevelt Award, "presented annually to a distinguished citizen of national reputation and outstanding accomplishments."

In 2011 Kraft was inducted into the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.[47]

In 2012, he became the first NFL owner in the 43-year history of the honor to be selected for the George Halas Award by the Pro Football Writers of America. The award is presented annually to the NFL player, coach or staff member who overcomes the most adversity to succeed.

Following the April 15, 2013, Boston Marathon bombings, Kraft announced he would match up to $100,000 in donations made for the victims through the New England Patriots Charitable Foundation.[48]

Personal life[edit] In June 1963, Kraft married Myra Nathalie Hiatt, a 1964 graduate of Brandeis University and the daughter of the late Worcester, Massachusetts businessman and philanthropist Jacob Hiatt. She died from cancer, aged 68, on July 20, 2011.[49] The Krafts were members of Temple Emanuel in Newton, Massachusetts.[50] In her memory, all Patriots players wore a patch on their uniforms bearing Kraft's initials (MHK) throughout the 2011–12 season.[51] They had four sons:[52]

Jonathan A. Kraft is president of The Kraft Group and the New England Patriots.[52] Daniel A. Kraft is president of International Forest Products founded in 1972 by his father.[52] Joshua Kraft is president and CEO of the Boys & Girls Clubs of Boston.[52][53] David Kraft Awards and honors[edit] 1987 Columbia University John Jay Award[54] Four-time Super Bowl winner - XXXVI, XXXVIII, XXXIX, XLIX (as owner of the New England Patriots) 2004 Columbia University Alexander Hamilton Medal[54] 2006 Theodore Roosevelt Award[54] 2012 George Halas Award[55] 2013 Carnegie Hall Medal of Excellence Award[56] Football field named "Robert Kraft Field" in his honor at Columbia University[54]

• Reference: Wikipedia

רוברט קראפט

''''''(באנגלית: Robert Kraft; נולד ב-5 ביוני 1941) הוא איש עסקים ונדבן יהודי-אמריקאי, בעלי קבוצת הפוטבול הניו אינגלנד פטריוטס מליגת ה-NFL, וקבוצת ניו אינגלנד רבולושן מליגת ה-MLS, אחד האנשים העשירים ביותר בעולם, הונו מוערך בכ-6.2 מיליארד דולר (2018).[1]

תוכן עניינים 1 השכלה 2 קריירה עסקית 3 ניו אינגלנד פטריוטס 4 פעילות נדבנית 5 קשר לישראל 6 חיים אישים 7 קישורים חיצוניים 8 הערות שוליים השכלה קראפט נולד בברוקליין שבמסצ'וסטס, בנו של חייט יהודי שומר מצוות, שייעד אותו ללימודי רבנות. הוא בוגר תואר ראשון באוניברסיטת קולומביה (1963) ומוסמך במנהל עסקים מטעם אוניברסיטת הרווארד (1965).

קריירה עסקית קראפט החל את הקריירה העסקית שלו בחברת האריזות רנדי-ויטני שהייתה בבעלות חמו, בשנת 1972 רכש את האחזקה בחברה, ובמקביל הקים את חברת פורסט, חברות אלו היוו את הבסיס לאימפריית מוצרי הנייר והאריזה שלו, שכיום משתרעת על פני למעלה מ-80 מדינות.

במהלך השנים היה מעורב ברכישות רבות בתחומי התקשורת והבידור, וכיום בבעלותו אחזקות במספר תחנות רדיו וטלוויזיה בעיקר באזור בוסטון. קראפט הוא חבר במועצת המנהלים של ענקית התקשורת ויאקום.

ניו אינגלנד פטריוטס

רוברט קראפט (משמאל) עם הנשיא ג'ורג' בוש ומאמן הפטריוטס ביל בליצ'יק קראפט התעניין ברכישת קבוצת ספורט באזור בוסטון במשך שנים, ב-1985 החל ליישם את תוכניתו כשרכש אופציות ל-300 אקר של מגרשי חניה בסמוך לאצטדיון קבוצת הפוטבול הניו אינגלנד פטריוטס, מתוך תקווה שבעתיד יוכל למנף השקעה זו לרכישת האצטדיון עצמו ובשלב הבא לרכישת הקבוצה.[2] קראפט ושותפו שילמו מיליון דולר מדי שנה על זכויות השימוש במגרשים עד לרכישתם תמורת 18 מיליון דולר. לאחר שמפעיל האצטדיון נקלע לקשיים ופשט את הרגל, רכש קראפט את האצטדיון תמורת 25 מיליון דולר ובשנת 1994 רכש את קבוצת הפוטבול עצמה, בסכום שיא באותה תקופה של 172 מיליון דולר. בזכות התפתחות מהירה של ליגת הפוטבול, ומספר צעדים ניהוליים נבונים כגון בניית אצטדיון חדש לקבוצה, תפח שווי אחזקתו, ונכון ל-2018 מוערך שווי הקבוצה על ידי מגזין פורבס, בכ-3.8 מיליארד דולר.[3]

תחת ניהולו של קראפט, הפכה ניו אינגלנד פטריוטס מקבוצה כושלת, לקבוצה המצליחה ביותר ב-NFL ואחת המצליחות ביותר בספורט האמריקאי.[4] מאז רכישת הקבוצה על ידי קראפט, היא בעלת מאזן הניצחונות הטוב ביותר, ומספר התארים הגבוה ביותר בליגת ה-NFL, כולל זכייה ב-6 סופרבולים (XXXVIII, XXXIX, XXXVI, XLIX, LI, LIII) והעפלה ל-3 נוספים (סופרבול XXXI, סופרבול XLII, סופרבול XLVI).

פעילות נדבנית קראפט ומשפחתו מעורבים בפעילויות רבות בעלות אופי נדבני, רובן בארצות הברית ובישראל. בין השאר תרמו לאוניברסיטאות קולומביה, הרווארד וברנדייס בהן למדו קראפט ואשתו מיירה, למוסדות השכלה נוספים באזור בוסטון, ולפעילויות צדקה מגוונות אחרות. על תרומתו לספורט המכללות האמריקאי זכה קראפט ב-2006 בפרס תאודור רוזוולט (המכונה פרס ה"תדי"), של ארגון ה-NCAA. ב-2011 נבחר לחבר באקדמיה האמריקאית לאמנויות ולמדעים.[5]

קשר לישראל לרוברט קראפט פעילות עסקית ופילנתרופית ענפה בישראל. קראפט הוא אחד מבעלי המניות העיקרים בחברת כרמל מערכות מיכלים מקיסריה, שנמנית עם החברות המובילות בישראל בתכנון, בייצור ובשיווק מוצרי אריזה מבוססי נייר. בישראל פועל קראפט באמצעות "קרן קראפט" המעורבת במיזמים ציוניים וחינוכיים רבים. קראפט הוא מתומכי הקמת ענף הפוטבול בישראל, בין השאר הוקם במימון הקרן אצטדיון "משפחת קראפט" בגן סאקר בירושלים שנחנך ב-2005. ב-2015 עמד בראש משלחת של 19 חברי היכל התהילה של הפוטבול המקצועני שהביא לביקור בישראל. הוא קיבל בביקור פרס על מפעל חיים מיד לאיש הספורט היהודי.[6][7]. יוזמה זו המשיכה גם בשנים הבאות, כשב-2017 ביקרו בישראל 18 חברי היכל התהילה, בהם ג'ו מונטנה וג'ים בראון.[8]

ב-2016 תרם קראפט 6 מיליון דולר למימון הקמת הספורטק החדש בירושלים בעמק הארזים ליד שכונת רמות, כולל מגרש פוטבול בגודל תקני.[9]

ב-2018 הוכרז כזוכה פרס בראשית בשל מחויבותו למאבק באנטישמיות, הקשר ההדוק שלו לשורשיו היהודיים ולמדינת ישראל, ותרומותיו הרבות בתחומי הבריאות, ההשכלה והספורט.[10]

חיים אישים קראפט היה נשוי למיירה מ-1963 עד מותה ב-2011. לזוג ארבעה בנים. בנו הבכור ג'ונתן מכהן כנשיא קבוצת קראפט ונשיא ניו אינגלנד פטריוטס.

בפברואר 2019 הוגש נגדו כתב אישום בגין שני מקרים של שידול לזנות, המקרים התרחשו במכון בפלורידה שהיה במעקב המשטרה בחשד לסחר בנשים.[11]

קישורים חיצוניים ויקישיתוף מדיה וקבצים בנושא רוברט קראפט בוויקישיתוף ביקור קראפט בישראל מתוך אתר משרד התמ"ת הביוגרפיה של קראפט מתוך אתר הניו אינגלנד פטריוטס ג'רוזלם פוסט, ‏"החזון שלי: לפעול לסיום האלימות נגד הקהילות היהודיות בעולם" , באתר מעריב אונליין, 28 ביוני 2019 https://he.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D7%A8%D7%95%D7%91%D7%A8%D7%98_%D7%A7...

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Kraft

Robert Kenneth Kraft[2] (born June 5, 1941) is an American business magnate. He is the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of The Kraft Group, a diversified holding company with assets in paper and packaging, sports and entertainment, real estate development and a private equity portfolio. His sports holdings include the National Football League's New England Patriots, Major League Soccer's New England Revolution, and the stadium in which both teams play, Gillette Stadium.

Contents [show] Early life[edit] Kraft was born in Brookline, Massachusetts. His father, Harry Kraft, a dress manufacturer in Boston's Chinatown, was a respected Jewish lay leader at Congregation Kehillath Israel in Brookline, and wanted his son to become a rabbi.[2] The Krafts were an observant Orthodox Jewish family. Robert grew up in Brookline, where he attended the Edward Devotion School[3] and in 1959, he graduated from Brookline High School, where he was senior class president.[4][5][6] During high school, Kraft was unable to participate in most sports because it interfered with his after-school Hebrew studies and observance of the Sabbath.[2]

Kraft attended Columbia University on scholarship, where he served as class president.[7] While at Columbia, Kraft joined Zeta Beta Tau Fraternity and played running back and safety on the school's freshman and lightweight football teams.[2][5][8][9] On February 2, 1962, Kraft met Myra Hiatt at a delicatessen in Boston's Back Bay.[2] They married in June 1963.[10] That same year, Kraft graduated from Columbia, and in 1965, he received an MBA from Harvard Business School.[2]

At the age of 27, Kraft was elected chairman of the Newton Democratic City Committee. He considered running against Massachusetts's 3rd congressional district Representative Philip J. Philbin in 1970, but chose not to, citing the loss of privacy and strain on his family entering politics would have caused. He was further discouraged from entering politics by the suicide of his friend, State Representative H. James Shea, Jr.[2]

Business career[edit] Kraft began his professional career with the Rand-Whitney Group, a Worcester-based packaging company run by his father-in-law Jacob Hiatt.[5] In 1968, Kraft gained control of the company through a leveraged buyout.[2] He still serves as this company's chairman. In 1972, he founded International Forest Products, a trader of physical paper commodities. The two combined companies make up the largest privately held paper and packaging companies in the United States. Kraft has stated that he started the company out of a hunch that the increase in international communications and transportation would lead to an expansion of global trade in the late twentieth century.[11]

International Forest Products became a top 100 US exporters/importer in 1997 and in 2013 was No. 20 on the Journal of Commerce's list in that category.[12][13] Kraft said of the business in 1991 that, “We do things for a number of companies, including Avon, Kodak, cosmetics companies, candies, toys.” The company produced both corrugated and folding cartons, which he stated, “are used to package everything from the Patriot missile, to mints, to Estee Lauder, Indiana Glass and Polaroid.”[14] Kraft acquired interests in other areas, and ultimately formed the Kraft Group as an umbrella for them in 1998.[11]

Kraft was an investor in New England Television Corp., which gained control of WNAC-TV in 1982,[15] and Kraft became a director of the board in 1983. The station then became WNEV-TV. In 1986 he was named president of the corporation.[16] In 1991, Kraft exercised option to unload his shares for an estimated $25 million.[17]

Sports teams[edit] Boston Lobsters and early bids for sports teams[edit] In 1974, Kraft and five others purchased the Boston Lobsters of World Team Tennis (WTT).[18] The group spent heavily to lure a number of top players, including Martina Navratilova, and the Lobsters became one of the best teams in WTT. Following the 1978 season, Kraft announced that the franchise would fold.[19] The league itself folded soon thereafter.[2]

After the Lobsters folded, Kraft twice tried to purchase the New England Patriots, the first to try and purchase it from the bankrupt Sullivan family that owned the team before 1988,[20] and was mentioned as a bidder for the Boston Red Sox and the Boston Celtics.[2]

New England Patriots[edit] A Patriots fan since their American Football League days, Kraft has been a season ticket holder since 1971, when the team moved to the then-Schaefer Stadium.[5] In 1985, Kraft bought a 10-year option on Foxboro Raceway, a horse track adjacent to the stadium. The purchase prevented Patriots owner Billy Sullivan from holding non-Patriot events at Sullivan Stadium while races were being held.[21] Kraft took advantage of the fact that the Sullivans owned the stadium, but not the surrounding land. It was the beginning of a quest to not only buy the stadium, but the Patriots as well.[22] Sullivan's family was reeling from a series of bad investments, principally The Jackson Five 1984 Victory Tour, for which they had to pledge Sullivan Stadium as collateral.[23] Those problems ultimately forced Sullivan to sell controlling interest to Victor Kiam in 1988. However, the stadium lapsed into bankruptcy.[24]

In 1988, Kraft outbid several competitors, including Kiam, to buy the stadium out of bankruptcy court from Sullivan for $22 million. The stadium was considered to be outdated and nearly worthless, but the purchase included the stadium's lease to the Patriots, which ran through 2001.[25] The lease was ironclad enough to end Sullivan's three-decade involvement with the Patriots. When he and Kiam tried to move the team to Jacksonville, Kraft refused to let them break the lease. As a result, when Kiam was nearly brought down by bad investments of his own, he was forced to sell the Patriots to James Orthwein.[24]

In 1994, Orthwein offered Kraft $75 million to buy out the remainder of the team's lease at what was now Foxboro Stadium. Ever since Orthwein had bought the team in 1992, there had been constant rumors that he wanted to move the Patriots to St. Louis. Had Kraft accepted Orthwein's offer, it would have cleared the last significant hurdle to moving the team. However, Kraft turned it down.[26][27][28][29]

By this time, Orthwein was not interested in operating the team in New England long-term, and decided to sell the team. However, due to the terms of the operating covenant, any prospective buyers had to deal with Kraft. With this in mind, Kraft made an offer for an outright purchase of the team for $172 million, an offer which Orthwein accepted. No other sports team had ever sold for a price this high in any league at that time. Years later, Kraft said his passion for the Patriots led him to "break every one of my financial rules" in his pursuit of the team. To this day, Kraft has a Victory Tour poster among his mementos as a reminder of what allowed him to realize his longstanding dream of becoming a major league team owner.[22]

The Patriots sold out their season for the first time in franchise history. Every home game--preseason, regular season, and playoffs--has been sold out ever since.[30] In 1996 Kraft founded the New England Revolution, a charter member of Major League Soccer which began playing alongside the Patriots at Foxboro.[31]

Kraft (left), with President George W. Bush and Bill Belichick during the Patriots' visit to the White House in 2004 In 2002, a $350 million stadium for the Patriots was privately financed by Kraft, initially called the CMGI Field, (later renamed Gillette Stadium).[32] In 2007, Kraft began to develop the land around Gillette Stadium, creating a $375 million open-air shopping and entertainment center called Patriot Place. The development included "The Hall at Patriot Place presented by Raytheon", a multi-story museum attached to the stadium, and the "CBS Scene", a CBS-themed restaurant.[33][34]

The Patriots appeared in Super Bowl XX under their original owners, the Sullivans. Yet this was one of only six playoff appearances in 33 years. However, since Kraft bought the team, they have made the playoffs 16 times in 21 years. They won AFC East titles in 1996, 1997, 2001, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014 and 2015; they represented the AFC in the Super Bowl in 1996 (lost), 2001 (won), 2003 (won), 2004 (won), 2007 (lost), 2011 (lost), and 2014 (won). The Patriots finished the 2003, 2004, and 2010 seasons with identical 14–2 regular-season records after having never won more than 11 games prior to Kraft buying the team, and also finished the 2007 regular season undefeated before losing to the New York Giants in Super Bowl XLII.[35]

Kraft was principally involved in the 2011 NFL labor negotiations. NFLPA representative and Indianapolis Colts center Jeff Saturday praised Kraft for his role in the negotiations, stating, "without him, this deal does not get done... He is a man who helped us save football."[36]

Kraft again, with President Bush in 2005 In 2005, it was reported that Russian President Vladimir Putin had taken one of Kraft's three Super Bowl rings. Kraft quickly issued a statement saying that he had given Putin the ring out of "respect and admiration" he had for the Russian people and Putin's leadership.[37] Kraft later said his earlier statement was not true, and had been issued under pressure from the White House.[38][39][40][41] The ring is on display with state gifts at the Kremlin.[42]

Soccer[edit] In November 2005, Kraft met with Rick Parry, the Chief Executive of English Premier League team Liverpool. Kraft was rumored to be interested in investing money into the 2004–05 European Champions. Kraft told BBC Radio 5 Live: "Liverpool is a great brand and it's something our family respects a lot. We're always interested in opportunities and growing, so you never know what can happen." Eventually, however, the club was sold to American duo George Gillett and Tom Hicks.[43]

Philanthropy[edit] The Krafts have donated over $100 million to a variety of philanthropic causes including education, child and women issues, healthcare, youth sports and American and Israeli causes.[44] In 1990 Kraft, his wife, and his father-in-law funded a joint professorship between Brandeis University and Holy Cross College, forming the Kraft-Hiatt endowed chairs in comparative religion—the first inter-religious endowed chairs in the United States.[45]

In 2011, the Krafts pledged $20 million to Partners HealthCare to launch the Kraft Family National Center for Leadership and Training in Community Health,[46] an initiative designed to improve access to quality healthcare at community health centers throughout New England. Among the many institutions the Krafts have supported are Columbia University, Harvard Business School, Brandeis University, The College of the Holy Cross, Boston College, Tufts University, the Belmont Hill School, the Boys & Girls Clubs of Boston, and the Dana Farber Cancer Institute in Boston. One of their most distinctive projects is supporting American Football Israel, including Kraft Family Stadium in Jerusalem and the Kraft Family Israel Football League. In 2007, in recognition of a gift of $5 million in support of Columbia's intercollegiate athletics program, the playing field at Columbia's Lawrence A. Wien Stadium at the Baker Field Athletics Complex was named Robert K. Kraft Field.

He has received numerous honorary degrees from several colleges and universities and was awarded the NCAA's highest honor when he received the Theodore Roosevelt Award, "presented annually to a distinguished citizen of national reputation and outstanding accomplishments."

In 2011 Kraft was inducted into the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.[47]

In 2012, he became the first NFL owner in the 43-year history of the honor to be selected for the George Halas Award by the Pro Football Writers of America. The award is presented annually to the NFL player, coach or staff member who overcomes the most adversity to succeed.

Following the April 15, 2013, Boston Marathon bombings, Kraft announced he would match up to $100,000 in donations made for the victims through the New England Patriots Charitable Foundation.[48]

Personal life[edit] In June 1963, Kraft married Myra Nathalie Hiatt, a 1964 graduate of Brandeis University and the daughter of the late Worcester, Massachusetts businessman and philanthropist Jacob Hiatt. She died from cancer, aged 68, on July 20, 2011.[49] The Krafts were members of Temple Emanuel in Newton, Massachusetts.[50] In her memory, all Patriots players wore a patch on their uniforms bearing Kraft's initials (MHK) throughout the 2011–12 season.[51] They had four sons:[52]

Jonathan A. Kraft is president of The Kraft Group and the New England Patriots.[52] Daniel A. Kraft is president of International Forest Products founded in 1972 by his father.[52] Joshua Kraft is president and CEO of the Boys & Girls Clubs of Boston.[52][53] David Kraft Awards and honors[edit] 1987 Columbia University John Jay Award[54] Four-time Super Bowl winner - XXXVI, XXXVIII, XXXIX, XLIX (as owner of the New England Patriots) 2004 Columbia University Alexander Hamilton Medal[54] 2006 Theodore Roosevelt Award[54] 2012 George Halas Award[55] 2013 Carnegie Hall Medal of Excellence Award[56] Football field named "Robert Kraft Field" in his honor at Columbia University[54]