Kennedy, Joseph Patrick (Sr.)

See also : Kennedy Family

Joseph Patrick Kennedy Sr., founder of the clan, an Irish descent, made his fortune in the illegal trade in Prohibition . After that, he bought and sold land and real estate, speculated on the stock exchange . At twenty-five, he already headed the bank, and at thirty-five he became a multi- millionaire . He was appointed US Ambassador to Britain. However, he was prevented by Irish descent, adherence to Catholicism and freedom-loving performances.

Joseph married according to the calculation of Rosa Fitzgerald, daughter of the first Irishman who became mayor of Boston .

Joseph Patrick Kennedy made millions on risky stock speculation and daring real estate transactions. He tried to engage in film production, but in 1928 he sold his studio FBO ( RKO Pictures was founded on its basis). Among his many mistresses was the silent movie star Gloria Svenson , and his property was estimated at $ 500 million. His sons should live according to his motto: “We do not want to have losers among us. Do not become second or third, this does not count. You must win. ”

During World War I, he was assistant general manager of the steel company Bethlehem Steel , and also maintained friendly relations with Franklin D. Roosevelt, at that time an assistant secretary of the United States Navy . Kennedy made huge profits from the reorganization and refinancing of several Hollywood movie studios, eventually combining them into Radio-Keith-Orpheum ( RKO Pictures ). After the repeal of Prohibition in 1933, Kennedy again significantly increased its capital when his company Somerset Importers received the right to be the exclusive representative in the United States of such brands of alcohol as Gordon's gin and Scottish whiskey John Dewar & Sons . He owned the largest office building in the country, the Chicago Merchandise Mart, which allowed him and his family to have significant influence and connection with the Irish-American political elite of the city.

The place of president has always been the cherished goal of Kennedy Sr. Thanks to the sponsorship of the Democratic Party in 1938 , he received a significant post as ambassador to Britain. Repeatedly advocated for " understanding " [1] with Hitler , adhered to anti - Semitic views, and at the beginning of World War II refused to issue visas to the USA to Jews who fled to Britain from Germany .

At the end of 1950, he opposed the creation of a military-political bloc of NATO and US intervention in the Korean War, calling for the return of a policy of isolationism ( Monroe Doctrine ).

On December 19, 1961, he suffered a stroke . Paralyzed, he sat in the last years of his life almost silently in a wheelchair. His wife Rose survived him for several decades. She died in 1995 , at the age of 104.

• In the Clan Kennedy series (2011), the role of Joseph Kennedy Sr. is played by Tom Wilkinson . In the movie Chappuckiddick - Bruce Dern .
• In the well-known 1992 Vaterland novel, Robert Harris , and the 1994 eponymous film of Alternative History, Joseph Kennedy is represented by the President of the United States, who in 1964 was ready to sign a peace treaty with the Third Reich after the establishment of a truce between the two superpowers in World War II and the subsequent gradual detente at nuclear parity. In the film, the revelation of the murder of millions of Jews concealed by the Nazis led to the cancellation of the signing of the peace treaty, the severance of relations and a new confrontation with the United States, which caused the subsequent fall of the Reich.
• In the book by Mark Weingartner, The Return of the Godfather, Joseph P. Kennedy is bred under the name Mickey Corbett Shea. Shi's biography reflects Kennedy’s main life milestones and habits, including the birth of two sons, James (according to the book, the new President of the United States ) and Daniel (Attorney General), respectively, John and Robert Kennedy .