# How much of the Kennedy fortune came from bootlegging?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-of-the-kennedy-fortune-came-from-bootlegging/507834>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [August 26, 2009, 11:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-of-the-kennedy-fortune-came-from-bootlegging/507834 "2009-08-26T23:05:36Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 2\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Mangosteen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Mangosteen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangosteen)\
**Post date:** [August 26, 2009, 11:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-of-the-kennedy-fortune-came-from-bootlegging/507834/1 "2009-08-26T23:05:36Z")

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How much of the Kennedy fortune came from Joe’s bootlegging?

(Maybe there isn’t a clear factual answer to this, so if it needs to be moved to the IMHO section, please do so, Mr. Moderator.)

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**Author:** ![rowrrbazzle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rowrrbazzle/32/414_2.png) [@rowrrbazzle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rowrrbazzle)\
**Post date:** [August 26, 2009, 11:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-of-the-kennedy-fortune-came-from-bootlegging/507834/2 "2009-08-26T23:37:26Z")

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Cecil’s column: [What is the true source of the Kennedy family’s wealth?](http://www.straightdope.com/columns/read/716/what-is-the-true-source-of-the-kennedy-familys-wealth)

> [@](#):
>
> At 30 [Joe Kennedy] became a stockbroker and made a fortune through insider trading and stock manipulation. He was a master of the stock pool, a then-legal stunt in which a few traders conspired to inflate a stock’s price, selling out just before the bubble burst.
> 
> Kennedy may also have traded in illegal booze, although the evidence is circumstantial.