Kennedy's real strength wasn't his alleged criminal ties but his business smarts, notably an exquisite sense of timing. In the mid-1920s he became a movie mogul (taking time out for a celebrated dalliance with Gloria Swanson), then organized a merger and sold out just when the industry was consolidating, clearing five to six million dollars. He pulled out of stocks early in 1929 and sold short following the crash, actually making money while others got creamed. Just before Prohibition was repealed he lined up several lucrative liquor-importing deals.
By the 1930s Kennedy was rich, but it was said he didn't make the big money by today's standards until he got heavy into real estate during World War II, scooping up $100 million [mol]. In 1945 he made this deal that is the centerpiece of the Kennedy fortune: $12.5 million that had cost $30 million to build.. annual gross in rent exceeded the purchase price not long after. Source says.
Perhaps time to dump when in an economic slump. Thought the Kennedys historically dump prior a severe downturn.
Today’s hedge funds pull the same sh*t the Kennedy and other stock pools pulled.
Who the F would want an office in the s***hole known as a Chicago and in that old dump? Unreal.
One smart decision (buying that real estate) and he secured his entire family for a few generations.