JFK Jr.’s Inheritance from JFK & Jackie Kennedy Revealed—Including the Family Heirloom Eventually Passed Down to Jack Schlossberg
The Kennedy dynasty is a rich one. Hulu’s Love Story takes us back and examines the life of JFK Jr and his wife Carolyn Bessette, but lest we forget that he comes from one of the most powerful families in America.
Their real-life love story was tragically cut short. The couple, alongside her sister Lauren, were killed in a plane crash off the coast of Martha’s Vineyard on July 16, 1999, on their way to a wedding. While JFK Jr. often kept quiet about his father, he did inherit a lot from his parents.
What did JFK Jr inherit from John F. Kennedy and Jackie Kennedy?
When John F. Kennedy died, his will stated that most of his assets would be inherited by his wife, Jacqueline. At the time of John F. Kennedy’s death, Jacqueline was bequeathed $25,000.00 from her late husband.
Jackie Kennedy Onassis died in 1994, and she left her two children Caroline and JFK Jr., in valuable properties, ranging from a Martha’s Vineyard retreat to stocks. But it also gave them the option of letting some or all of these properties pass to a charitable trust, which would have made annual donations to charities for 24 years and then dissolved, passing the money on to their grandchildren. Executors estimated her estate to be around $43.7 million.
JFK Jr. and Caroline auctioned most of their property at Sotheby’s for $34.5 million. Earlier, those items were valued at less than $6 million, according to an informal accounting document made available to The New York Times.
When JFK Jr. died, he left most of his will and $100 million estate to his wife, Carolyn Bessette, who died in the plane crash with him. His sister Caroline ended up inheriting most of his estate, but he left some mementos for his nieces and nephew: Rose, Tatiana, and Jack Schlossberg. Those items expected to be distributed among the Schlossberg children were “Kennedy’s clothing, furniture, and mementos from his father, including a rocking chair, a “PT-109” tie clip, gold Cartier watch, and a silver money clip.” The only item that was explicitly stated in his will was his beloved scrimshaw set—sailor’s carvings made from whales’ teeth—that belonged to John F. Kennedy. His nephew, Jack Schlossberg, received this.
Schlossberg has been a vocal critic of Ryan Murphy’s show, writing in Instagram stories: “For the record, I think admiration for my Uncle John is great. What I don’t think is great is profiting off of it in a grotesque way.”
