Philanthropist Profile: Myra Hiatt Kraft

Myra Hiatt Kraft—the wife of New England Patriots football-team owner Robert Kraft and chairwoman of the Combined Jewish Philanthropies, in Boston—talked to The Boston Globe about wealth and philanthropy, and her immersion in the often mundane business of overseeing nonprofit groups in Boston.

According to Forbes magazine, the Krafts are worth about $1.3-billion. In the past four decades, they have given away more than $100-million.

Ms. Kraft is best known within the larger philanthropic world for her six years as chairwoman of the Boys & Girls Clubs of Boston, a tenure so successful that the clubs waived the term limit for her. Last year she joined the board of the Boston Foundation, and she is on the boards of the United Way of Massachusetts Bay, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, and the American Repertory Theatre, among others.

“I don’t know how to play bridge, nor do I want to learn how to play bridge,” says Ms. Kraft. “This is what I do.”

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