Jack Schlossberg

Last updated

Jack Schlossberg
Jack Schlossberg in 2024.jpg
Schlossberg in 2024
Born
John Bouvier Kennedy Schlossberg

(1993-01-19) January 19, 1993 (age 32)
Education Yale University (BA)
Harvard University (JD, MBA)
OccupationWriter
Political party Democratic
Parents
Family Kennedy family
Bouvier family
Website https://jackuno.com/

John Bouvier Kennedy Schlossberg (born January 19, 1993) is an American writer. He has written about politics for several publications and news outlets. He is the only grandson of the 35th president of the United States John F. Kennedy and First Lady Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy.

Contents

Early life and education

John Bouvier Kennedy Schlossberg [1] was born in New York City on January 19, 1993. [2] Known as “Jack”, he is the youngest of three children of designer and artist Edwin Schlossberg and author and diplomat Caroline Kennedy. He is named after his maternal grandfather, the 35th U.S. president John F. Kennedy, and matrilineal great-grandfather, the Wall Street stockbroker John Vernou Bouvier III. Senator Ted Kennedy was his grand-uncle as well as godfather, [3] and he served as ringbearer in his uncle John F. Kennedy Jr.'s wedding. [4]

Schlossberg and his two older sisters, Rose and Tatiana, were primarily raised in Manhattan's Upper East Side, [5] and have also spent significant time at the Martha's Vineyard estate of their maternal grandmother, the First Lady Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy Onassis, while growing up. [2] During the summers, he worked on a charter fishing boat. [6] He also played in baseball and basketball leagues in Manhattan. [7] His father comes from an Orthodox Jewish family of Ashkenazi Jewish descent from Ukraine, and his mother is a Catholic of Irish, French, Scottish, and English descent. He was raised Catholic, but his mother would also "incorporate Hanukkah" in the family's holiday celebrations. [8] Schlossberg has been the subject of media coverage throughout his life but was largely kept out of the public eye growing up. [9] [10]

Schlossberg attended Collegiate School. In eighth grade, he co-founded ReLight New York, a nonprofit organization that installed energy-efficient compact fluorescent lights in low-income housing developments. [11] In 2010, Schlossberg worked in Washington, D.C. as a senate page and the following year, as a senate intern. [12] He then attended Yale University, graduating in 2015 with a degree in history, with a focus on Japanese history. [13] While at Yale, Schlossberg was known to perform stand-up comedy, [1] was a member of the Sigma Phi Epsilon fraternity, [14] and wrote for the Yale Daily News, and the Yale Herald where he was an editor-in-chief. [15] Schlossberg lived and worked in Japan before enrolling at Harvard University where he graduated from the joint Juris Doctor – Master of Business Administration program at Harvard Law School and Harvard Business School in 2022. [16] In February 2023, he passed the New York State bar exam. [17]

Career

Since 2011, Schlossberg has written for numerous publications and news outlets, including Time , The Washington Post , New York Magazine, Politico , and CNN. He has also written op-eds for The New York Times , USA Today , and HuffPost . [18]

In 2015, Schlossberg started working at Rakuten, a Japanese internet and e-commerce company, in Tokyo. [19] [12] He also worked at the Japanese distillery Suntory. [12] He met Hiroshi Mikitani, the CEO of Rakuten, while visiting Sendai accompanying his mother on her duties as US ambassador to Japan. [20] Schlossberg returned to the United States in 2016 to work as a staff assistant in the State Department's Bureau of Oceans and International Environmental and Scientific Affairs. [21] He had a cameo role in the eighth-season finale of the television show Blue Bloods in 2018. [22] [23]

Schlossberg began working for Vogue as a political correspondent in 2024 after graduating from Harvard Law School and passing the bar exam. [24] [25]

Politics

Schlossberg first became interested in politics in 2007, when then-Illinois senator Barack Obama began his presidential primary campaign. [24] He recalled that he was never forced to enter politics but Obama's campaign inspired him to learn about it and to study the legacy of his grandfather, John F. Kennedy. [26] In 2012, when asked about his interest in entering politics, Schlossberg stated: "Politics definitely interests me. I'm most interested in public service. I think that's something that I got from being part of my family, which is such an honor." [27] He has accompanied his mother Caroline in her duties as ambassador of Japan and Australia. [28] [29]

Schlossberg with 46th U.S. President Joe Biden and mother Caroline in Boston in 2022 Biden with Caroline Kennedy and Jack Schlossberg.jpg
Schlossberg with 46th U.S. President Joe Biden and mother Caroline in Boston in 2022

In the succeeding years, Schlossberg took an increasingly active role in the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum where he served as chair of the selection committee for the New Frontier Award until its last and 20th ceremony in 2023. [30] [31] Schlossberg has also served as event host, presenter and member of the annual Profile in Courage Award selection committee. [10] [32]

In August 2020, Schlossberg gave a virtual address on the second night of the 2020 Democratic National Convention with his mother, Caroline, and endorsed Joe Biden's run for presidency. [33] In 2023, Schlossberg publicly criticized the presidential campaign of his first cousin once removed, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., and supported Biden’s re-election. [34]

Schlossberg gave his first in-person speech on the second night of the 2024 Democratic National Convention in Chicago, where he endorsed Kamala Harris. [35] In September 2024, Schlossberg became co-chair of the environmental organization Climate Power's campaign "Too Hot Not to Vote", an initiative designed to "engage, educate and motivate people to vote for climate and clean energy champions” in the 2024 presidential election. [36] Media outlets have portrayed Schlossberg as a "new face" of the Kennedy family, and a "new hope" of the Democratic party. [37] [38]

References

  1. 1 2 McNeil, Liz (May 6, 2015). "Jack Schlossberg, President John F. Kennedy's Grandson". People . Retrieved August 30, 2024.
  2. 1 2 Andersen, Christopher P. (2014). The Good Son: JFK Jr. and the Mother He Loved. Gallery Books. p. 269. ISBN   978-1-4767-7556-2.
  3. Kennedy, Caroline; Schlossberg, Jack; Crowley, Candy. "Caroline Kennedy and her son, talk with CNN's Candy Crowley". Archived from the original on September 9, 2012. Retrieved August 24, 2024.
  4. Gliatto, Tom (October 7, 1996). "Bridal Sweet". People . Retrieved September 8, 2024.
  5. Quinn, Dave. "How JFK's Grandson Stepped into the Spotlight". People . Retrieved August 30, 2024.
  6. Gillette, Sam (September 5, 2019). "All About JFK Granddaughter Tatiana Schlossberg's Next Project". People . Retrieved September 17, 2024.
  7. Heymann, C. David (July 1, 2008). American Legacy: The Story of John & Caroline Kennedy. New York: Atria Books. p. 515. ISBN   9780743497398.
  8. Jacobson, Aileen (December 5, 2007). "A Kennedy Christmas". Newsday . Melville, New York. Archived from the original on November 16, 2013. Retrieved December 5, 2007.
  9. D'Addario, Daniel (July 5, 2023). "The Kennedy Family's Strange 2023 Has Echoes of Classic Camelot". Variety. Retrieved September 30, 2024.
  10. 1 2 Gurley, Alex (November 8, 2023). "Caroline Kennedy's 3 Children: All About Rose, Tatiana and Jack". People. Retrieved September 20, 2024.
  11. DiBlasio, Natalie. "Who is the hot new Kennedy?". USA Today. Retrieved September 16, 2024.
  12. 1 2 3 Kaloi, Stephanie (July 22, 2024). "All About JFK's Grandson Jack Schlossberg". People . Retrieved August 26, 2024.
  13. McNeil, Liz (May 6, 2015). "JFK's Grandson Jack Schlossberg: 5 Things to Know About Him". People . Archived from the original on April 22, 2023. Retrieved July 12, 2015.
  14. "Prominent Alumni". SigEp. Retrieved August 28, 2024.
  15. Brennan, Danielle (November 21, 2013). "JFK's grandson takes center stage: 9 things we know about Jack". Today . Archived from the original on February 5, 2023. Retrieved February 8, 2014.
  16. Slane, Kevin (November 17, 2017). "JFK's grandson on Harvard Law School: 'I don't have a life, but that's what I signed up for.'". The Boston Globe . Archived from the original on April 23, 2024. Retrieved August 4, 2023.
  17. McRady, Rachel (December 6, 2024). "Jack Schlossberg Says It's 'Not Unlikely' He Passed the N.Y. Bar in the Top 1% on His First Try". People . Retrieved September 9, 2024.
  18. "Jack Schlossberg, l'unique petit-fils de JFK et la politique dans le sang" (in French). September 11, 2024. Retrieved September 22, 2024.
  19. "ケネディ駐日米大使の息子が楽天入社 営業など担当" [Son of U.S. Ambassador to Japan Kennedy Joins Rakuten and Responsible for Sales and Others]. The Nikkei (in Japanese). Tokyo. December 16, 2015. Archived from the original on August 2, 2022. Retrieved August 4, 2023.
  20. "ケネディ駐日米大使の息子が楽天入社 営業など担当". The Nikkei . December 16, 2015. Retrieved September 3, 2016.
  21. Kimble, Lindsay (December 14, 2016). "JFK's Grandson Jack Schlossberg Talks Trump and LSAT". People. Retrieved September 27, 2024.
  22. Haas, Mariah (May 12, 2018). "John F. Kennedy's Only Grandson, Jack Schlossberg, Makes His Acting Debut on Blue Bloods". People . Archived from the original on August 2, 2022. Retrieved May 12, 2018.
  23. Schlossberg, Jack (August 20, 2024). "You Don't Know Jack!". Town & Country. Retrieved August 27, 2024.
  24. 1 2 Fisher, Hannah; Jackson, Peter (July 10, 2024). "Jack Schlossberg Is Just Being Himself". Vogue . Archived from the original on July 13, 2024. Retrieved July 10, 2024.
  25. Garcia, Sandra E. (July 12, 2024). "Jack Schlossberg Is Named a Political Correspondent for Vogue". The New York Times . Retrieved July 15, 2024.
  26. Yoshimura, Marina; Schlossberg, Jack (February 25, 2018). "Talking Politics and the Future with John Schlossberg'15". The Yale Globalist. Retrieved September 16, 2024.
  27. Crowley, Candy; Schlossberg, Jack (September 6, 2012). "Caroline Kennedy and her son, talk with CNN's Candy Crowley". CNN. Retrieved September 16, 2024.
  28. "FLOTUS ASIA 0006". The White House. April 2015. Retrieved September 3, 2024.
  29. Squires, Nick (August 3, 2023). "John F Kennedy's daughter and grandson recreate his heroic swim". The Daily Telegraph. ISSN   0307-1235 . Retrieved September 3, 2024.
  30. "Award Committee". Harvard Institute of Politics . Retrieved September 16, 2024.
  31. "John F. Kennedy New Frontier Awards". John F. Kennedy Library . Retrieved September 16, 2024.
  32. McNeil, Liz (May 7, 2014). "Lauren Bush Lauren Raves About Jack Kennedy Schlossberg". People . Retrieved January 19, 2015.
  33. Storey, Kate (August 18, 2020). "Why Jack Schlossberg, President John F. Kennedy's Only Grandson, is Speaking at the 2020 DNC". Esquire . Archived from the original on October 5, 2020. Retrieved August 19, 2020.
  34. Epstein, Reid J. (July 21, 2023). "J.F.K.'s Grandson Calls Robert Kennedy's Campaign 'an Embarrassment'". The New York Times . Retrieved September 2, 2024.
  35. Jaclyn, Diaz (August 20, 2024). "WATCH: Jack Schlossberg, grandson of President John F. Kennedy, addresses the DNC". NPR . Retrieved October 1, 2024.
  36. Gardner, Chris (September 12, 2024). "Climate Power's "Too Hot Not to Vote" Campaign". The Hollywood Reporter . Retrieved September 13, 2024.
  37. Moran, Sharir. "Meet JFK's Grandson Jack Schlossberg, the Democrats' New Hope". Haaretz .
  38. Shanahan, Mark. "Is this the new face of the Kennedy clan?". The Boston Globe . Retrieved September 2, 2024.