The distinguished Kennedy clan is often regarded as the closest thing America has to a royal family. 

Patriarch Joseph P. Kennedy (1888-1969) began to build the family’s fortune on the stock market, later dipping a toe into the world of politics.

But it was his son, John F. Kennedy (perhaps better known as JFK), who would go on to make history – not once but twice. In 1961, at the age of 43, JFK became America's youngest president. Just two years later, he became the youngest US president to die in office after being assassinated in Dallas.

The ill-fated JFK is far from the only well-known member of the family and, according to Forbes, the various members of the Kennedy clan are worth a collective $1.2 billion (£1bn). 

Read on to take a look at some of the key members of the modern-day dynasty, and discover how they make and spend their money. All dollar amounts are in US dollars.

Caroline Kennedy is the only surviving child of JFK and his wife Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis.

Caroline’s younger brother, the lawyer and journalist John Fitzgerald Kennedy Jr., died in a plane crash in 1999. Her youngest brother Patrick tragically passed away from infantile respiratory distress syndrome shortly after his birth in 1963. 

Personal financial disclosure records from 2013 suggest that Caroline and her husband, American designer Edwin Schlossberg, have a net worth that sits somewhere between $67 million and $278 million. In today's money, that's between around $86.7 million (£73.8m) and $359.8 million (£306.4m).

Their wealth consists of family trusts, government and public authority bonds, property, and holdings in the Cayman Islands. Now, let's take a closer look at how Caroline earns money outside of her family's fortune...

Caroline has a degree from Columbia Law School. Having spent her early childhood living in the White House during her father’s administration, she's also always had a passion for politics. 

She first officially stepped onto the political scene when she spoke at the 2000 Democratic National Convention in support of Al Gore's presidential bid.

She later endorsed Barack Obama during his 2008 election campaign and was sworn in as his United States Ambassador to Japan in 2013, making history as the first woman to hold the post.

Caroline is currently serving in the Biden administration as the United States Ambassador to Australia.

In addition to her political career, Caroline Kennedy is a successful author, having co-written two books on civil liberties: In Our Defense: The Bill of Rights in Action (1991) and The Right to Privacy (1995).

She then went on to pen children's book A Family of Poems: My Favorite Poetry for Children in 2005. 

Capitalising on the Kennedy name, she published A Family Christmas, a collection of poems, prose, and personal notes from her family history, in 2007. 

Caroline has also edited several tomes, including the 2016 New York Times best-seller A Patriot's Handbook.

In 1994, Caroline inherited her late mother's 340-acre Red Gate Farm estate on Martha's Vineyard island near Cape Cod, Massachusetts (pictured).  

Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis had snapped up the oceanfront property in 1979 for a cool $1.1 million – $4.8 million (£4m) today – and it features a family residence, a guest house, a pool, a tennis court, and over a mile of private beachfront.

Caroline and her family frequently vacation at the sprawling estate, and her daughter Tatiana even held her wedding there in 2017. However, after four decades in the Kennedy family, the lavish property was listed for a staggering $65 million (£55.5m) in 2019. 

According to financial disclosure records from 2013, Caroline and husband Edwin also own commercial real estate in New York, Chicago, and Washington, though little information is available about these properties.

Robert F Kennedy Jr is the son of JFK's brother Robert 'Bobby' Kennedy, who was also tragically assassinated, in 1968. Robert was just 14 years old at the time of his father's death and his adolescence was shaped by heavy drug use, although he did gain a place at Harvard University where he graduated with a degree in American history and literature.

Despite being a member of the famous Kennedy clan, Robert didn't have a lot of wealth growing up. His father reportedly spent a large portion of his inheritance on his ill-fated 1968 presidential campaign, while the rest after Bobby's death was divided between Robert's mother Ethel and his 10 siblings. 

Today, Robert's finances are in better shape, with online sources estimating he's worth around $50 million (£39.2m). So how has he amassed this fortune?

In his first job out of college, Robert was hired as an assistant district attorney for Manhattan in 1982. His yearly salary was $20,000, the equivalent of $63,000 (£49.5k) today. He married his first wife the same year and the pair went on to have two children together, but it wasn't a case of 'happy families' for long...

After failing the New York bar exam twice, Robert overdosed on a plane to South Dakota and was arrested for possession of drugs. He checked into rehab and served a suspended prison sentence, during which he completed community service at two non-profits that aimed to protect the Hudson River. This proved to be a turning point. By 1968, Robert had been awarded the position of senior attorney at both chariities and – at last – successfully passed the bar.

As an attorney, Robert has launched (and won) numerous lawsuits to protect the natural world, disadvantaged communities, and the rights of Indigenous people. In 1987, he founded the Environmental Litigation Clinic at Pace Law School in New York.

Robert quickly made a name for himself as a successful lawyer and environmental activist, forming various non-profits to protect global waterways. In 2000 he even co-founded his own environmental law firm, Kennedy & Madonna, with fellow legal eagle Kevin Madonna.

But Robert's career was also breaking new ground. In the early 2000s he published his first book, Crimes Against Nature, and also started work as a co-host of political radio show Ring of Fire, which is still on air today. He's now written, or contributed to, at least 13 books, including three books for children: St. Francis of Assisi; Robert F Kennedy Jr's American Heroes: The Story Of Joshua Chamberlain And The American Civil War, and Robert Smalls: The Boat Thief.

Robert is pictured here with Curb Your Enthusiasm star Cheryl Hines, who he married in 2014. Hines is Robert's third wife; he divorced his first wife Emily Black in 1994, while his second wife Mary Richardson tragically took her own life shortly after Robert met Hines.

Online sources suggest Hines has her own fortune of around $10 million (£7.86m).

Already a high-profile lawyer and writer, Robert hit headlines again when he announced his 2024 presidential bid on 19 April this year. He's reportedly been mulling a White House campaign since 2000, but according to a New York Times interview with Hines published in June, he told his wife he wouldn't run if she didn't want him to. 

And many of Robert's political views have proved controversial. A staunch vaccine sceptic, Robert campaigned against COVID-19 vaccine mandates during the pandemic, and has reportedly earned millions of dollars from his work with the anti-vaxx non-profit Children's Health Defense and the publication of his 2021 book The Real Anthony Fauci: Bill Gates, Big Pharma, and the Global War on Democracy and Public Health. 

His rhetoric has repeatedly landed him in hot water, securing him a ban from social media sites Instagram, YouTube, and Facebook. Hines has claimed her husband has her love and support but remains diplomatic when discussing his politics.

Rose Kennedy Schlossberg is the oldest child of Caroline Kennedy and Edwin Schlossberg. 

The 35-year-old keeps a low profile, though she has unintentionally hit the headlines in recent years thanks to her striking resemblance to her late grandmother Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis.

Rose's net worth is unknown but, given her pedigree, it’s safe to assume that she has inherited a slice of the family fortune. Let’s take a look at other ways the young scion makes and spends her money…

Rose has primarily worked in the entertainment industry since graduating from Harvard in 2010, kickstarting her career in the camera and electrical department for the 2011 sports documentary Prayer for a Perfect Season.

Schlossberg then transitioned into acting in 2015, featuring in the dramatic-comedy flick Houses. The following year, she co-created and starred in the YouTube web series End Times Girls Club. 

In 2017, she co-wrote and produced the Netflix true crime miniseries Time: The Kalief Browder Story.

Most recently, she wrote, directed, and starred in the short film Small Gay Tragedy #1, which was released in 2022.

Rose (pictured with her mother Caroline) shares the family’s passion for politics. 

She's a Democrat who donated to Barack Obama's campaign in 2008. 

In 2014, the then-President Obama appointed her to the board of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. Described as a "living memorial" to JFK, the venue stages over 2,200 performing arts shows and events each year.

Despite working in the entertainment industry, Rose prefers to keep her personal life strictly on the down-low.

However, we do know that she married filmmaker-turned-restaurateur Rory McAuliffe (pictured together) in 2022. The couple reportedly tied the knot at their $1.2 million (£1m) home in Ojai, California.

Details about their million-dollar property are scarce but we imagine it must be sizeable considering that 300 people attended the wedding, with David Letterman, Jimmy Buffett, and Jason Segal all on the star-studded guest list.

Tatiana Kennedy Schlossberg is the middle child of Caroline Kennedy and Edwin Schlossberg.

Much like her older sister Rose, Tatiana keeps her private life tightly under wraps and has no social media presence. 

Her exact net worth is unknown, though it's probably safe to assume that she has access to the Kennedy fortune. However, this young heiress is also successful in her own right...

The Yale graduate is an accomplished environmental journalist who has worked as a climate change reporter for The New York Times. Additionally, she's worked as a columnist for Bloomberg View and as a reporter at New Jersey newspaper Bergen County Record.

The environment was a topic that her grandfather JFK was also passionate about, and he was the first US President to warn of climate change in 1962. 

Though she never met him, Tatiana claims she was able to "connect" with JFK through his speeches and the lessons that he passed down via her mother Caroline (they're pictured together here). 

In 2019, Tatiana released Inconspicuous Consumption: The Environmental Impact You Don't Know You Have. The title went on to win the 2020 Rachel Carson Environmental Book Award. 

Schlossberg told Vogue that she penned the book because she "wants people to comprehend the depth and scale" of environmental issues. 

As mentioned, Tatiana is notoriously private. We do know that she married her college sweetheart George Moran in an intimate ceremony held at the Kennedy family's Martha's Vineyard estate in 2017 (pictured).

The couple, who welcomed their first child in April 2022, live in a $2.5 million (£2m) home in New York's affluent Upper West Side.

John "Jack" Kennedy Schlossberg is the youngest child of Caroline Kennedy and Edwin Schlossberg.

Like his sisters, Jack’s precise net worth is currently unknown. However, as JFK's only grandson, we imagine he's seen his fair share of the Kennedy fortune. 

Let's take a look at the other ways Jack makes his money...

Jack graduated from Harvard Law School and Harvard Business School last year, having already graduated from Yale back in 2015. 

The impressive Ivy League alum has tried his hand at various careers. This includes working for the Japanese brewing, distilling, and beverage company Suntory Holdings Limited, as well as at the Tokyo-based e-commerce company Rakuten.

Jack has also worked for former Secretary of State John Kerry and, back in 2012, expressed a potential interest in a political career.

He told CNN at the time: "Politics definitely interests me. I’m most interested in public service. I think that’s something that I got from being part of my family, which is such an honour."

In 2018, Jack made his acting debut on the CBS cop drama Blue Bloods (pictured). He played a police officer named Jack Hammer and briefly appeared in the season eight finale.

His small-screen outing was a pivot from politics. However, while appearing on Today with his mother Caroline Kennedy in 2017, he admitted that he wasn't totally set on his career path. "I'm still trying to make my own way, figure things out, so stay tuned," he said at the time. "I don't know what I'm going to do."

For now, it looks like we'll just have to wait and see if the 30-year-old Kennedy scion will follow in his family's political footsteps or carve out a new niche for himself...

Much like his sisters, Jack keeps his personal life private and prefers to use his social media platforms to post about politics.

It's thought that Jack lives in the prestigious Park Avenue neighbourhood of New York City.

He's passionate about paddle-boarding and occasionally shares Instagram posts of himself partaking in the hobby around the rivers of Manhattan.

Maria Shriver is the niece of John F. Kennedy. Her mother was the philanthropist and socialite Eunice Kennedy Shriver, while her father was the American politician Sargent Shriver Jr.

According to sources, Maria Shriver is worth an incredible $200 million (£157.3m), with much of her wealth reportedly derived from inheritance and Kennedy trusts.

Then there's also the small matter of her divorce settlement from actor-turned-politician Arnold Schwarzenegger...

Once a Hollywood power couple, Shriver and Schwarzenegger married in 1986. It all came crashing down when Shriver filed for divorce in 2011 after discovering that her husband had secretly fathered a child in 1997 with the family's housekeeper Mildred Baena.

After a decade of negotiations, the divorce was finalised in 2021. Court filings revealed that Shriver was entitled to 50% of Arnold’s Screen Actors Guild Producers Pension Plan, as well as half of the money that he had made during their marriage.

Schwarzenegger's net worth is currently estimated to be $450 million (£353.8m).

Wealthy family aside, Shriver is also super successful in her own right. 

She is a multi-award-winning journalist and first rose to prominence as the co-anchor of the CBS Morning News. She later went on to present shows including Sunday Today, NBC Nightly News, and Dateline NBC.

Shriver has also authored a number of books, including the best-selling self-help guide I've Been Thinking…: Reflections Prayers and Meditations for a Meaningful Life, which was published in 2018.

Shriver has also produced several film and TV projects. Among them are the 2014 drama movie Still Alice, which starred Julianne Moore and Alec Baldwin, and the 2018 documentary Take Your Pills.

She even tried her hand at acting back in the 90s, making a quick cameo in the movie Last Action Hero, which starred her then-husband Arnold Schwarzenegger.

Shriver also appeared as herself in an episode of Disney Channel's That's So Raven in 2006. 

After her separation from Schwarzenegger in 2011, Shriver moved out of their shared home and snapped up her own mansion in the affluent Brentwood area of California (pictured).

The lavish abode reportedly boasts 11,000 square feet of living space, a three-car garage, a gym, a home cinema, and a wine cellar. It cost Shriver $12.2 million, which is around $16.5 million (£12.9m) today.

Shriver recently bought a more modest 4,154-square-foot property next door to her mansion for a not-so modest $12 million (£9.4m). The mid-century ranch-style home was built in 1947 and features four bedrooms and four bathrooms.

And now on to Maria's children...

Katherine Schwarzenegger is the eldest child of Shriver and Arnold Schwarzenegger, making her the great-niece of John F. Kennedy. 

The young Kennedy heiress is estimated to be worth a cool $3 million (£2.4m). 

Following in her mother's footsteps, Katherine is an author who has so far published four books. 

Her first self-help tome, Rock What You've Got: Secrets to Loving Your Inner and Outer Beauty from Someone Who's Been There and Back, was published in 2010 while she was still a student at the University of Southern California. 

Her second offering, a survival guide titled I Just Graduated . . . Now What? was released in 2014. She followed this up with the children's book Maverick and Me in 2017. 

Her most recent self-help book, The Gift of Forgiveness: Inspiring Stories from Those Who Have Overcome the Unforgivable, was published in 2020.

In 2019, Katherine married Hollywood movie star Chris Pratt. Pratt is perhaps best known for starring in the Guardians of the Galaxy and Jurassic World movie franchises, and is reportedly worth $80 million (£62.9m).

The couple tied the knot at the luxurious San Ysidro Ranch in Montecito, California. As well as being a popular location for celebrity weddings, the venue also has Kennedy connections; JFK and his bride Jacqueline honeymooned at the spot after their 1953 nuptials.

Katherine stunned on her big day in a custom-made Armani wedding gown, and the loved-up couple later jetted off to Hawaii for their honeymoon.

Katherine and Chris have two daughters: Lyla was born in 2020 and Eloise arrived in May 2022. Pratt also shares a son Jack with his ex-wife, actress Anna Faris.

The family moved into a mansion in the affluent Pacific Palisades neighbourhood of California in 2021.

The $15.6 million (£12.3m) property boasts 10,000 square feet of living space, and features five bedrooms, six bathrooms, an infinity edge pool, a home gym, and a wine cellar.

Let's move on to Katherine's younger brother. 

Patrick Schwarzenegger is the eldest son of Maria and Arnold, making him the great-nephew of John F. Kennedy.

The 29-year-old is a rising star on the Hollywood scene and reportedly has a cool $6 million (£4.7m) in the bank.

Patrick is signed to LA Models and has appeared in campaigns for luxury fashion brands such as Armani and Ralph Lauren.

More than just a pretty face, the entrepreneurial Patrick says he got into modelling to promote his own clothing company Project360, which donates a percentage of its profits to charity.

Stars including X-Men: Apocalypse actress Olivia Munn and The Vampire Diaries star Nina Dobrev have been spotted wearing Project360 hoodies in the past. In 2014, the brand was acquired for an undisclosed sum by Kimberly Barth.

Following in the footsteps of his famous father, Patrick has dabbled in acting over the years. His credits include a cameo as "Frat Boy Cooper" in the 2013 comedy film Grown Ups 2, as well as the lead role in 2018 romance film Midnight Sun with Disney Channel alum Bella Thorne. Most recently, he appeared in 2022's The Staircase, an HBO true crime series that stars Colin Firth and Sophie Turner.

Patrick can also be seen in Ariana Grande's music video Right There, in which he plays Romeo. 

The star is no stranger to mingling with the rich and famous, and even dated Miley Cyrus (pictured together) back in 2015. He's currently in a relationship with the model Abby Champion, according to Business Insider.

Patrick's a bit of a property mogul, and in 2018 he snapped up several houses with the intent of turning a profit. 

This includes two West Hollywood homes that he paid $1.9 million (£1.5m) for and flipped for $2.25 million (£1.8m); a $3.1 million (£2.5m) Santa Monica abode from which he made a profit of $100,000 (£78.6k); and a $3 million (£2.4m) Hollywood home that he listed for $3.25 million (£2.6m) in 2020.

According to the latest sources, Patrick resides in a bachelor pad in the Beverly Grove area of Los Angeles. He paid $4.4 million (£3.5m) for the smart abode, which boasts five bedrooms, five-and-a-half bathrooms, and a swimming pool (pictured).

Maria Shriver and Arnold Schwarzenegger also have two other children, Christina and Christopher, who are pictured here with Katherine and Patrick. The private pair largely stay out of the spotlight. 

Christopher is a former student at the University of Michigan. He has no visible social media presence and little is known about his career. 

Christina, meanwhile, is a producer who has worked on the Take Your Pills documentary on Netflix, as well as its 2022 sequel Take Your Pills: Xanax. She previously spent three years as an editor for Gwyneth Paltrow's lifestyle brand Goop and, according to Business Insider, serves on the council for the sports organisation Special Olympics, which was founded by her grandmother in 1968.

Time will tell what the future holds for the next generation of the Kennedys...

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