Joe Kennedy, Sr.

Joe Kennedy was the patriarch of the wealthy and powerful Kennedy political family. I’ll probably catch flak for this, but we all know how Joe made a large share of his money. Internet sites like Wikipedia will surely dismiss the claims, but during Prohibition, Joe made his money bootlegging. He bought, distributed, and sold illegal alcohol. 

He wasn’t alone. Many people during the time did exactly the same thing. However, dealing in an illegal and highly lucrative activity required a lot of friends. Joe acquainted himself with many organized crime bosses. It’s speculated by many that Joe had dealings with people like Al Capone and Lucky Luciano. Joe used these dealings to establish strong ties to Mafia bosses. Names like Sam Giancana and others would become common when mentioning Joe Kennedy. (Mob boss Sam Giancana called Joe, “the biggest crook who ever lived”).

After Prohibition ended, Joe kept control of three large alcoholic beverage corporations. He also became heavily involved in the stock market. He became chair of the Securities and Exchange Commission under FDR, and was said to have used knowledge gained from his position to cash out big before the stock market crash of 1929.

At the start of WWII, Joe took criticism for his desire of appeasing the Nazis and trying to force non-intervention by the US. These desires would later come back to haunt him. Joe had been named by FDR as Ambassador to the Court of St. James. At first, the British welcomed him and openly supported his appointment. However, as word of his pro-Nazi sentiment spread, Joe was vilified and demonized by the British population. He was described by a British senior Foreign Office figure as “a very foul specimen of double-crosser and defeatist (who) thinks only of lining his own pocket”.

Joe had political aspirations. He had hoped to challenge FDR for the Presidency, but those hopes were thwarted when it was learned that confidential letters from Joe to FDR that expressed his pro-Nazi sentiments had actually been leaked to Germany itself.

Joe’s political aspirations, with the eventual goal of occupying the White House now fell upon his oldest son, Joseph Jr,. Joe Jr, however, was killed in action when he was shot down over Britain by the Germans after the US entered the war.

Joe Sr. didn’t give up. He had other sons. His next-in-line son was John Fitzgerald Kennedy. JFK was in the war, served in the Navy, and received heroic accolades after the PT-109 incident. The nation now knew who he was. 

Joe was determined to put JFK in the White House, and was willing to do anything in his power to make it happen!