A portrait of the founder

In a way that goes deeper than ordinary parental pride, their success is his. For the achievements of Joseph P. Kennedy's three sons, centering on the high drama of the presidency, spring from the father's lifelong drive for money, and for power for his children. He has achieved both ambitions to

a fantastic degree. With the seating of his youngest son in the U.S. Senate this month, Joe Kennedy has seen the climax of a political success story without precedent in American history. The dynastic Adamses never did anything like it; neither did the Roosevelts. Inevitably Joe Kennedy's very success moves his own story into the background, and that, too, is the way he wants it. He deserves a more prominent place.

He made his fortune, as his 1908 yearbook at Boston Latin School forecast, "in a very roundabout way": stockmarket speculation, the movies, corporate reorganization, liquor importing, and real estate. He has protected his wealth in recent years by heavy investments in tax-sheltered oil ventures and municipal securities. Including the celebrated trust funds and the family charitable foundation, the Kennedy fortune stands in the neighborhood of $300 million, although some informed guesses put it as high as $500 million. In Joe's brusque public accounting, there is "enough"-- enough so that he confidently numbers himself among the 20 wealthiest men in the country.

Throughout his business career, Joe Kennedy was a smart, rough competitor who excelled in games without rules. A handsome six-footer exuding vitality and Irish charm, he also had a tight, dry mind that kept a running balance of hazards and advantages. Quick-tempered and mercurial, he could move from warmth to malice in the moment it took his blue eyes to turn the color of an icy lake. Friendships shattered under the sudden impact of brutal words and ruthless deeds, yet those who remained close to him were drawn into a fraternal bond. Restless at a desk, he was an instinctive speculator, moving into situations and moving out quickly when the possibilities were exhausted. He was a capitalist, yet one who stood apart from the system of finance, production, and distribution. He left to others the responsibility for enterprises demanding effort in good season and bad alike. He had no business, in the ordinary sense, and wanted none. As he moved from Boston to Wall Street to the chairmanship of the Securities and Exchange Commission and, on to the crowning ambassadorship to the Court of St. James's, his consuming ambition was the advancement of the Kennedy family.

"From the beginning, Joe knew what he wanted -- money and status for his family," says one who knew him intimately in Washington during the New Deal. "He had the progenitor's sense; to him, his children were an extension of himself. Therefore, what he did, he did with them always in mind. He played the game differently than if he had been after something entirely for himself."