Robert Kraft is an American businessman who was born on June 5, 1941, in Brookline, Massachusetts, in the United States. Kraft grew up in a Conservative Jewish family. His mother Sarah Bryna was born in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, and his father was a dress manufacturer in Chinatown in Boston. Kraft attended Edward Devotion School and Brookline High School where he graduated in 1959. His involvement with the Jewish religion made participation in sports difficult but he was senior class president. He went on to attend Columbia University where he joined Zeta Beta Tau Fraternity and played running back and safety for the universities football team. Kraft went on to become elected chairman of the Newton Democratic City Committee when he was 27.

His success in business led to him becoming the chairman and chief executive officer of the diversified holding company known as the Kraft Group. Kraft is also known for being the owner of the National Football League's New England Patriots who have won several Superbowls. He met his wife Myra Hiatt in 1962 and the pair married a year later in 1963. Kraft and Hiatt had four children together, all sons named Jonathan, Daniel, Joshua, and David.