The multi-million dollar Kennedy Dynasty has always been beset by scandal. In the twenties, Joseph Kennedy Sr. followed the lead of gangsters like Al Capone who built their empires on bootlegging during the US government’s prohibition era. He ploughed profits into the stock market and became a multi millionaire by the age of 35. Joe Kennedy married Rose Fitzgerald and raised 9 children. This did not stop him from enjoying a string of affairs, the most notorious of which was with actress Gloria Swanson.
Of Joe Kennedy’s sons, three inherited his lust for power: John, Robert and Edward. They also inherited his other lusts. After his assassination in 1963, details emerged of John F Kennedys lifelong philandering.
Despite marriage to the beautiful Jacqueline Bouvier, the number of his mistresses topped the hundred mark. Both John Kennedy and his brother Robert had a relationship with Marilyn Monroe: theories about their role in her death are many but still speculative at best. In 1969, Edward Teddy Kennedy fell for the same curse of boozing and womanising with a scandal that cost him the presidency. Undoubtedly, the Kennedy men remained notorious.
Recently, the famous Kennedy tapes have been revealed. The famous iconic queen of US society Jackie Onassis, the former first lady married to John Kennedy and then to the greek shipping tycoon Aristotle Onassis who had ordered the tapes to be revealed 50 years after her death. Since 1963, the tapes were caged in secret vaults and now, are finally out in the open. Today, Caroline Kennedy, the daughter releases those tapes after 17 years of the death of her mother.
The sheer lust for power and passion continues to unravel, as the Kennedys reign supreme in the world of scandal. It is revealed that Jackie Kennedy had an affair with then actor William Holden, just to spite her husband and to offset his many affairs, during presidency.
Says one of ABC newsmen: “The actual content of the tapes provides unique and important insight into our recent past from one of the most fascinating and influential First Ladies in American history.”
There was another hidden side to Jackie Kennedy – her lust for money. Five years after playing the dignified widow of John Kennedy, her marriage to Onassis was considered nothing less than the Big Jackpot sending shockwaves across America and the world . The first lady of fashion, glamour, good taste and fine art was actually having her biggest love affair – with money.
Gradually, tales of her extravagance with taxpayers’ money while she was at the White House began to emerge.
Soon, Onassis would discover her breathtaking power to spend, spend and spend. Yet he was happy to have the most desirable woman in the world. Her love for hard currency was deeper than any other love of her life.
Onassis paid her twenty million dollars upfront before the marriage, then won her hand eventually with three million dollars in cash and one million dollars each as donation to each of her children. In 1975 , after the divorce, she was worth eighteen million dollars and died as one of the richest women in the world at the time with over a hundred million in fortunes.
Even as first lady, her income and spending topped 105,000 dollars a month, more than the president’s income. The Kennedy dynasty never ceases to amaze. The woman was more powerful than any of the Kennedy men that surrounded her – her biggest secret became her most powerful lust – her love for money.
The writer is a banker and a radio broadcaster.
To everyone – join me this time for the journey into the Kennedy s .
Feel free to comment .
Well written article on Jackie, the side usually not talked about. She was one woman who had many different aspects of her life some public, some private, some revealed and i think some still a mystery!!
the story of the woman – classic example of " from rags to riches " – its takes a lot to bear with fame – Jackie saw the best of it all and could not handle the glitter.
many things still hidden…i suppose..anyways good to read about Kennedy's…
perceptions versus reality – many more facts to come .
While much in this piece is true, it is slanted, a little imbalanced and biased, with many assumptions as to motive one could not know, etc, and with only part of a fact revealed which creates a misleading half-truth. For instance: Even if Jackie spent that much, a great deal was on public life and charities. Also I doubt that amount is accurate, because such was then required to be filed in public expense accounts. Her father had been "bankrupted" and thus it would have had to come from JFK's personal family money anyway. Also, I can certainly understand Jackie's drive to protect her children, and their future security. She had certainly lived through the trauma of the unexpected, and much betrayal of love. She had a right to be angry, as any human would be, as well as understandably untrusting. These factors, rather than greed, were just as likely to be at the emotionally compensatory core of her actions. Lastly, while affairs are hypocritical, they are certainly not limited to "bad" men nor to only men in power in the US…How many legal multiple-wives marriages or concubine contracts have been made with the same intent? We are all human and imperfect, with both Lightness and Darkness.
thank you for your thoughts – any variances – please add your feedback further
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