Robert Kraft
- Net worth $13 billion
- Birthday June 5, 1941
- Status -
- Country United States
- Source(-s) of wealth Businessman, Investor
How much is Robert Kraft Worth? Robert Kraft Net Worth in 2026
Robert Kraft’s net worth is estimated at $13.8 billion as of October 2026. He chairs the Kraft Group, a family holding company with paper and packaging plants, real estate, private equity and sports teams, and he has owned the New England Patriots since 1994. The team, bought for $172 million, is now valued at roughly $9 billion, which makes it the single biggest line on his balance sheet.
| Net worth | $13.8 billion (our estimate; public estimates run from about $13 billion to $15 billion) |
| Estimated annual income | About $100 million a year in distributions and compensation (our estimate, not a disclosed figure) |
| Born | June 5, 1941, Brookline, Massachusetts (age 85) |
| Country | United States |
| Known for | Owning the New England Patriots and the New England Revolution; building Gillette Stadium |
| Main income sources | Kraft Group (paper and packaging, real estate, private equity), Patriots, Revolution, Gillette Stadium and Patriot Place |
How much is Robert Kraft worth in 2026?
We put Robert Kraft’s net worth at $13.8 billion. The number is built from three pieces: the Patriots, valued at about $9 billion in a 2025 stake sale; the Kraft Group’s industrial and real estate holdings, which include a paper and packaging business he has run since 1968; and the stadium and retail complex around Gillette Stadium. Public estimates differ because the Kraft Group is private, so analysts have to guess at the value of the packaging plants and the property portfolio, and because one team valuation covers the whole family rather than one person. Treat our figure as an estimate, not an audited balance sheet.
How Robert Kraft built it
- Ran a paper and packaging business. He has run the paper and packaging business since 1968, the base of the Kraft Group.
- Bought the Patriots in 1994. He paid $172 million for the team, now valued at about $9 billion.
- Built a stadium and retail complex. The land around Gillette Stadium became Patriot Place, adding real estate income.
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Get the Alux appRobert Kraft in 2026: what they have been working on
- September 2025: Kraft agreed to sell about 8% of the Patriots to investors Dean Metropoulos (5%) and Sixth Street (3%) at a valuation near $9 billion. It was the first time the family had sold any of the team since the 1994 purchase, and the family kept well over 90% and control of football and business decisions.
- The New England Revolution, the MLS club he founded in 1996, stayed outside that deal and remains fully in the family.
- 2026: the Kraft Group keeps running Gillette Stadium and the Patriot Place shopping and dining district next to it, which turn game days into a year-round business.
- One secondary report puts the Patriots at around $10.6 billion in a September 2026 ranking. We treat that as a single-source figure and have not built our estimate on it.
- His private equity arm keeps buying and selling stakes in other companies; the specific deals are not publicly itemised, so we do not count them line by line.
How Robert Kraft makes money
- Kraft Group, paper and packaging: Rand-Whitney, taken over in 1968, and International Forest Products, founded in 1972, are the industrial base that funded the Patriots purchase. Revenue is not published.
- New England Patriots: national TV money shared across the league, ticket and suite revenue, sponsorships and merchandise. A 2025 minority sale priced the whole team at about $9 billion.
- New England Revolution: an MLS club with its own ticketing and sponsorship income, valued far below the Patriots.
- Real estate: Gillette Stadium and Patriot Place in Foxborough, developed after a $350 million privately financed stadium opened in 2002.
- Private equity and investments: stakes held through the Kraft Group, with returns that are not disclosed.
What Robert Kraft teaches (and what to take from it)
Buy the asset nobody else is brave enough to price. In 1994 Kraft bid $172 million for a team that was in a bad stadium and a worse financial position, a record price at the time. He saw value where lenders saw risk. This week, list the one asset or skill in your field that others dismiss as too expensive or too dull, and write down what it would take to hold it for ten years.
Fund the thing you do not control first. Kraft built the stadium himself, so he never had to bargain for a lease on someone else’s terms. Ownership of the venue is why the team’s income grew after 2002. This week, pick one part of your work where you rent your position (a platform, a boss’s process, a client) and plan one small step toward owning it, such as a mailing list or a documented method.
Run the boring business that pays for the exciting one. Paper boxes are not glamorous, but they produced steady cash for decades. The Patriots purchase sat on top of that base. If you chase a big goal, set up a dependable income stream underneath it, and spend one hour this week improving the unglamorous one.
Let a good partner buy a little, keep the steering wheel. The 2025 stake sale gave outside investors 8% and no say on football decisions. You can borrow money or expertise without giving up direction. Before your next partnership, write the three decisions you refuse to share and say so in the first meeting.
Career timeline
- 1941: born in Brookline, Massachusetts.
- 1963: graduates from Columbia University; 1965: earns an MBA from Harvard Business School.
- 1968: takes control of Rand-Whitney, the packaging company that began his business career.
- 1972: founds International Forest Products.
- 1994: buys the New England Patriots for $172 million, a record price for an NFL team at the time.
- 1996: founds the New England Revolution, an MLS club.
- 1998: the Kraft Group is formed as the umbrella for his businesses.
- 2002: Gillette Stadium opens, financed at about $350 million; the Patriots had won their first Super Bowl under his ownership that February.
- 2007: Patriot Place opens beside the stadium.
- 2025: sells roughly 8% of the Patriots at about a $9 billion valuation.
Early life and background
Kraft grew up in Brookline, Massachusetts, in a Modern Orthodox Jewish family, and went to Brookline High School. He studied at Columbia University, graduating in 1963, then took an MBA at Harvard Business School in 1965. He took control of Rand-Whitney in 1968 and built the paper and packaging group over the next three decades.
Robert Kraft net worth FAQ
What is Robert Kraft’s net worth?
We estimate Robert Kraft’s net worth at $13.8 billion as of October 2026. Public estimates range from roughly $13 billion to $15 billion.
How does Robert Kraft make money?
Most of his wealth comes from the Kraft Group, which owns paper and packaging businesses, real estate and private equity holdings, plus the New England Patriots and New England Revolution.
How old is Robert Kraft?
Robert Kraft was born on June 5, 1941, so he is 85 years old.
What is Robert Kraft known for?
He is the owner of the New England Patriots, the team that won six Super Bowls from 2002 through 2019 under his ownership, and the founder of the New England Revolution.
How much did Robert Kraft pay for the Patriots, and what are they worth now?
He paid $172 million in 1994. A 2025 stake sale priced the team at about $9 billion, so the original price has grown by a factor of more than fifty.
How is Robert Kraft’s net worth estimated?
We combine the Patriots’ valuation, reported valuations for comparable teams, estimates of his packaging and real estate holdings, and deal figures such as the 2025 stake sale. Because the Kraft Group is private, the final number is approximate.
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How we estimate net worth
Our estimates are based on public reporting, company valuations, and deal and earnings figures all compiled in an internal valuation model. They are approximate, and figures change over time as new information emerges.
Last updated: October 2026.