With the death of his eldest, Joe Snr. turned his sights towards the next-oldest son John. With the help of the fortune, he had amassed as a stock market and commodity investor, real estate investor and, some would argue, a bootlegger with the Mafia.
With the help of that vast fortune, his youngest Edward would gain a Massachusetts Senate seat, Robert would rise to the office of U.S. Attorney General and of course, JFK would attain that highest office his big brother was born to sit in.
Those political ambitions would also tragically end for more of Joe Kennedy’s children, as both John and Robert died at the hands of an assassin, or assassins if you believe the countless conspiracy theories.
Edward Kennedy would continue the legacy of trying to get the top job when he challenged Jimmy Carter for the Democratic ticket in 1980 but would fail in his endeavor. Instead of spending the rest of his career in the U.S. Senate, 1962 to 2009, as an influential and respected legislator.
When Edwards son, Patrick, stepped down as a U.S. Representative of Rhode Island, it was the end of an era as for the first time since 1947, no Kennedy was working in the U.S. Capitol.
