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Robert Kraft is the owner of the New England Patriots and Chairman and CEO of the Kraft Group. He is an American entrepreneur, investor and philanthropist whose portfolio of businesses and brands range across many verticals, including paper and packaging, sports and entertainment, real estate and venture investing. His holdings include the New England Patriots, New England Revolution, Gillette Stadium, International Forest Products, Rand-Whitney Group, Rand-Whitney Containerboard and a portfolio of more than 100 venture and private-equity investments.

A lifelong football fan and 23-year New England Patriots season ticket holder before buying the team, Kraft became the Chairman and CEO of the Patriots when he took ownership on Jan. 21, 1994. That day he pledged, "My objective in buying the Patriots is to help bring a championship to New England." That seemed to be a tall order considering the team's prior success rate. Now, 32 years later, the Patriots boast six Lombardi Trophies, 11 Super Bowl appearances and the highest winning percentage in all of professional sports.

In the five years prior to Kraft's ownership, the team had only won 19 of 80 games (.238 winning percentage) with no playoff appearances. In fact, in the 34-year history of the franchise (1960-93), the Patriots had won just 229 games (including playoffs), averaging just 6.6 wins per season, and had qualified for the playoffs a mere six times.

The year Kraft bought the team (1994), the Patriots advanced to the playoffs for the first time in eight seasons. In his first five years of ownership, the Patriots won 49 games and qualified for the playoffs four times, even advancing to the Super Bowl in just his third season at the helm (1996). Over Kraft's 32 seasons (1994-2025), the Patriots won an unprecedented 374 games (including playoffs) for an average of 11.7 wins per season.

Playoff games offer another stark contrast. Prior to 1994, Patriots fans had only been treated to one home playoff game, which the Patriots lost to the Houston Oilers in 1978. Since 1994, the Patriots have qualified for the playoffs 23 times, including 20 as division champions, and hosted 29 home playoff games, in which they own a 25-4 (.862) record.

The worst-to-first ascent of the New England Patriots since Kraft purchased the team may be the greatest in sports history. Under Kraft's leadership, the Patriots have won more division titles (20) and conference crowns (11) than any other NFL team. In 2018, the Patriots claimed their sixth Super Bowl championship during Kraft's tenure. No other team has more in NFL history.

INSTALLING HIS VISION

It didn't take long for Kraft's vision to come into focus. His personal investment in the team restored the faith of Patriots fans and rejuvenated interest throughout New England. The year he bought the team, season ticket sales soared to new heights, eclipsing 40,000 for the first time in franchise history. By the start of his first season, every game was sold out, a feat that had never been accomplished in the franchise's previous 34 seasons. That achievement ensured local broadcast blackouts would be lifted and every Patriots game, home and away, would be televised throughout New England for the first time in team history. Entering the 2026 season, the Patriots have sold out every home game since he bought the team in 1994 (not including the COVID-19 2020 season).

ASCENSION

The transformation of the Patriots under Kraft's leadership constitutes one of the greatest franchise revivals in sports history. After winning back-to-back Super Bowls and three titles in four years, Forbes magazine named the Patriots "The Best Team in Sports" in 2005.

In 2007, the New England Patriots won a then-franchise record fifth consecutive division title. They also became the first NFL team to win 16 games during the regular season and the only team to ever win 18 consecutive games in one season. The undefeated regular season boosted the team's regular season record from 2003-07 to 66-14 for a remarkable .825 winning percentage. The 66 regular season wins in that span are tied with Kansas City for the most by any team over any five-year stretch in NFL history. Additionally, from Oct. 5, 2003, to Nov. 8, 2008, the Patriots won 81 games and lost only 19, matching the most successful 100-game stretch since the league was founded in 1920.

The Kraft-era Patriots also set three significant NFL records for consecutive wins. From 2003-04, the Patriots won 21 consecutive games, including playoffs. From 2006-08, the Patriots won 21 consecutive regular season games. Additionally, the Patriots established an NFL record by winning 10 consecutive playoff games (2001-05). During that time, the Patriots also won 21 consecutive games at Gillette Stadium, the longest home win streak in franchise history. The Patriots tied that home win streak after winning their 21st consecutive home game on Nov. 24, 2019.

The success the Patriots sustained during the first two decades of the new millennium is unrivaled. The Patriots' 126 total victories (including playoffs) from 2000-09 were, at the time, the most by any team in one decade in the history of the NFL. The decade of dominance featured more Super Bowl titles (3), conference titles (4), division titles (7), playoff wins (14), victories in a single season (18) and victories in a regular season (16) than any other team. In addition, no other NFL team hosted more playoff games (9) or played in more playoff games (18) than the New England Patriots. The sustained success earned the franchise "Team of the Decade" acclaim from many publications. The ensuing decade was even more productive with 141 total victories, 10 division titles, five conference crowns, 23 playoff games and three Super Bowl wins.

GETTING HIS START

Kraft launched his career in the paper and packaging industry with Rand-Whitney Group, Inc., of Worcester, Massachusetts, a company he later acquired. Under his leadership, the Kraft Group's paper and packaging division has grown into one of the largest privately-owned and fully-integrated  forest products companies in the world. The company consists of corrugated packaging facilities, paper mills, global paper and solid wood products distribution, and waste paper processing. International Forest Products, a global distributor and marketer founded by Kraft in 1972, annually does business in more than 120 countries, is the sixth-largest exporter in North America and has consistently been ranked among the top 10 in the annual rankings published by The Journal of Commerce. Within his companies, Kraft also built the first paper mill which produces product from 100% post-consumer fiber and waste water in the country. In doing so, he set a new industry standard for environmental responsibility, which he has modeled across his other businesses.

Throughout Kraft's professional career, many of his biggest risks have yielded the greatest rewards. That was true throughout his pursuit of Patriots ownership, beginning in 1985 when he first purchased an option on the land surrounding the old stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts. It was a large investment for an underdeveloped parcel of land, but proved to be an important first step in a long process toward buying the Patriots. In 1988, he took another step by purchasing the stadium out of bankruptcy court. With a binding lease through 2001, the acquisition of the old stadium proved to be an invaluable asset in Kraft's quest toward owning the team.

When his opportunity came to buy the team in January of 1994, Kraft faced a difficult business dilemma. He had to decide between committing over $172 million of family resources to purchase the Patriots or accept a lucrative $75 million buyout offer to void the final years of the team's stadium lease and allow the team to move out of New England. On Jan. 21, 1994, Kraft passed on the buyout offer, choosing instead to make an 11th-hour bid to buy the team. On Feb. 26, 1994, a day after Kraft earned league approval, season tickets for the 1994 season went on sale and Patriots fans showed their support for Kraft's decision in record numbers. By the end of the first business day, amidst a winter Nor'easter, 5,958 season ticket orders were processed, shattering the previous single-day sales record of 979. The show of support validated Kraft's decision to buy the team and gave him the confidence to focus on another long-term project with great financial risk: the private financing and construction of Gillette Stadium.

In his first year of ownership, the Patriots won their final seven regular season games to qualify for the postseason, ending an eight-year playoff drought. By his fifth anniversary as owner, under the direction of two different head coaches, the Patriots had already established themselves as perennial playoff contenders, qualifying for the postseason four times, twice as division champions. In 1996, the Patriots claimed their first division title in 10 years. After defeating Pittsburgh in the playoffs that year, the Patriots hosted their first conference championship game in franchise history and defeated Jacksonville, 20-6, to advance to Super Bowl XXXI.

BUILDING GILLETTE

From 2000-02, the Kraft Group's construction and real estate development team oversaw the on-time and on-budget construction of Gillette Stadium, a privately-financed facility and the only one of its kind to be financed without the burden of personal seat license fees charged to season ticket members. The financial commitment from Kraft provided a solid foundation on which to build for the first time in the franchise's nomadic history. Moving from Foxboro Stadium into the majestic Gillette Stadium marked another worst-to-first transformation for the Krafts, who now operate New England's premier entertainment venue. After opening Gillette Stadium, Kraft was recognized as the Sports Executive of the Year by a national publication, and he and Jonathan Kraft were named Sports Industrialists of the Year by another.

The construction of Gillette Stadium was the Kraft Group development team's first project. In 2007, the Kraft Group expanded the development of the site with the construction of Patriot Place, a mixed-use lifestyle center and entertainment destination.

LOVE OF SPORTS

Kraft is widely recognized as one of the most successful owners in professional sports. His long-standing support of soccer in the United States dates back to his efforts in the early 1990s to secure Foxborough as one of the nine host venues for the 1994 FIFA World Cup and become one of three principal investors in Major League Soccer when he founded the New England Revolution in 1995. In 2017, Kraft was named Honorary Chairman of the Board of the United Bid Committee of Canada, Mexico and the United States and a key principle in securing the 2026 FIFA World Cup for North America.

As owner of the New England Patriots, Investor/Operator of the New England Revolution and owner of Gillette Stadium and Patriot Place, Kraft has turned the underdeveloped parcel of land he purchased in 1985 in Foxborough into a world-class sports and entertainment destination in New England.

PERSONAL

A native of Brookline, Massachusetts, Kraft attended public schools before earning an academic scholarship to Columbia University. After graduating, he received a fellowship to Harvard Business School, where he earned a Master of Business Administration degree.

A devoted Patriots fan since the team's American Football League (AFL) days in the 1960s, Kraft attended games at each of the franchise's early Boston-area venues, including Boston University Field, Fenway Park, Boston College's Alumni Stadium and Harvard Stadium. When the Patriots moved to Schaefer Stadium in 1971, he purchased season tickets for his family. Kraft often credits the memories and experiences shared with his family and fellow Patriots fans during those years as the inspiration behind his pursuit of ownership of the franchise.

Throughout his life, Robert Kraft and his family have generously contributed their time, expertise, and resources to a wide range of charitable organizations, nonprofit initiatives, and community causes. Their lifetime philanthropic giving exceeds $1 billion. Kraft continues to champion efforts that expand access to opportunity, promote social and economic mobility, and strengthen support systems for underserved communities.
In 2019, Kraft was awarded the Genesis Prize, often referred to by Time magazine as the "Jewish Nobel." As a Genesis Prize laureate, he established a foundation dedicated to combating antisemitism and all forms of hate. Today, that organization is known as the Blue Square Alliance Against Hate. Since its founding, Kraft has committed $150 million to advance the Alliance's mission of raising global awareness and inspiring people everywhere to stand against antisemitism and hate in all its forms.

In 2023, Kraft launched the Blue Square as a universal symbol for standing up to hate through a nationwide multimedia campaign developed in partnership with industry leaders and faith communities. The award-winning initiative has reached hundreds of millions of Americans and has included television commercials broadcast during each of the past three Super Bowls. By combining compelling, empathy-driven storytelling with data that highlights the scale and urgency of rising hate across the United States, the Blue Square campaign is inspiring allyship, encouraging action and empowering individuals to stand with anyone who experiences hate.

Kraft is a founding partner of the REFORM Alliance, an organization dedicated to transforming the American criminal justice system by changing laws, policies and public perceptions to reduce unnecessary incarceration resulting from technical probation and parole violations. He was also a founding donor to the New Commonwealth Racial Equity and Social Justice Fund, the Black Leadership Institute at the Institute for Nonprofit Practice, and the Equity Leadership Initiative at the Rhode Island Foundation. In support of racial equity and educational opportunity, Kraft contributed $1 million to the National Museum of African American History and Culture and has provided millions more through the Kraft Family/Patriots Players Collaborative Fund to organizations advancing racial justice. Over the past decade, the Kraft Family Foundation has donated more than $125 million to nonprofits serving historically underserved communities.

Believing that access to quality education and healthcare is essential to thriving communities, the Kraft family has established more than three dozen permanent endowments supporting educational, healthcare and social service organizations. Kraft has also contributed more than $50 million to Mass General Brigham to advance cancer care and address healthcare disparities related to race, ethnicity, geography and economic status. His support includes the Robert K. Kraft Endowed Chair, which promotes inclusion, respect and fairness, and the Kraft Center for Community Health, whose innovative programs, including Community Care in Reach, deliver addiction treatment, vaccinations and other healthcare services to underserved communities across Massachusetts. Through endowments and fellowship programs totaling more than $70 million at Harvard Business School, Columbia University and Yeshiva University, Kraft has expanded access to higher education and leadership opportunities for promising students from diverse backgrounds, creating opportunities for talented students and advancing educational excellence.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, the Kraft family contributed more than $20 million to support relief efforts, including helping secure and distribute face masks to frontline workers, providing more than 6.5 million meals to military members, veterans and their families, and establishing the Northeast's first mass vaccination site, which administered more than 610,000 vaccines in less than five months.

In addition to serving on several NFL owner committees, Kraft has held leadership roles with numerous civic, educational and cultural institutions, including the Apollo Theater, the Massachusetts Competitive Partnership, The Paley Center for Media, the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston, Apollo Global Management and The Engine, an MIT-affiliated venture firm. A former distinguished trustee of Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, he established the Kraft Family Blood Donor Center. Kraft is a trustee emeritus of Columbia University, a trustee of Boston College, and the recipient of multiple honorary degrees.

His many honors include the Theodore Roosevelt Award, the Harvard Business School Alumni Achievement Award, induction into the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, the Pro Football Writers Association's George Halas Award, the Columbia University Athletic Hall of Fame, the Carnegie Hall Medal of Excellence, induction into the Broadcasting & Cable Hall of Fame, and the Sports Business Journal Lifetime Achievement Award.