Christopher George Kennedy (born July 4, 1963) is an American businessman.Until April 2012, Chris Kennedy was president of Merchandise Mart Properties, acommercial-property management firm based in Chicago, Illinois, which manages various properties including The Merchandise Mart in Chicago and the L.A. Mart in Los Angeles, California, and the Boston Design Center in Boston, Massachusetts.[2]He is the son of U.S. Senator Robert F. Kennedy and a member of the Kennedy family.

Early life and education
Christopher George Kennedy was born in Boston, Massachusetts, to Robert Francis Kennedy and Ethel (née Skakel) Kennedy, the eighth of their eleven children. He is one of four of the grandchildren of Joseph P. Kennedy, Sr. and Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy born during the administration of his uncle U.S. President John F. Kennedy. His siblings are:
He grew up at his family home, Hickory Hill, in McLean, Virginia, a suburb of Washington, D.C., and attended The Potomac Schoolin McLean through ninth grade. He transferred to Georgetown Preparatory School in North Bethesda, Maryland, also a suburb of Washington; he graduated in 1982. While in high school, he volunteered at a home for runaway youth.
Kennedy graduated from Boston College in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts, with a bachelor of arts degree in political science in 1986.^[3] In 1994, he graduated with a master of business administration degree from the Kellogg School of Management atNorthwestern University in Evanston, Illinois.
Kennedy worked to create hundreds of new jobs and economic opportunities by bringing manufacturers and retailers together. He also led The Mart’s efforts to become the world’s-largest Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED-EB)^{[clarification needed]}-certified building,^[4] and since earning LEED certification in 2007, The Mart has continued to be a leader and innovator in green practices.^[5]

Career
Kennedy has been the president of Merchandise Mart Properties in Chicago, Illinois, from 2000 until 2012. The property was originally owned by the Kennedy family until it was sold to Vornado Realty Trust, a real estate investment trust. The Merchandise Mart, one of the properties of Merchandise Mart Properties, is the largest commercial building in the world, serving as both a luxury wholesale design center and one of the leading international business locations in Chicago. The Mart spans two city blocks and rises twenty-five stories for a total of 4.2 million square feet (390,000 square metres) Three million people come through The Mart each year to visit its retail shops, permanent showrooms, and office space as well as attend the numerous trade, consumer and community events hosted there.

Personal life

Family
Kennedy met Sheila Sinclair Berner (born December 4, 1962), an Illinois native, while attending Boston College. After graduating from college in 1986, Kennedy moved to Illinois, and they were married in 1987^[1] in Illinois. They are raising their four children in the Chicago area. His wife earned a law degree and practiced at Sidley & Austin in Chicago before taking time off to take care of their children.

Politics
Kennedy's political activism began at an early age, and in 1979 and 1980 he worked on his uncle U.S. Senator Edward Moore Kennedy's bid for the 1980 Democratic Party's nomination for U.S. President. He was also treasurer of the campaign committee for his brother Joseph's reelection to the U.S. House in 1988. Over the years he has organized numerous fundraising events in Chicago for his uncle Ted, his sister Kathleen, his brother Joseph and his cousin Mark Shriver.
The National Journal once quoted Kennedy as saying, "I have a lot to keep up with: a brother who might run for Congress, a sister and a brother considering races for governor, a cousin who might run for Congress, another in Congress, an uncle in the Senate and a cousin-in-law, Arnold [Schwarzennegger], who is thinking of running for governor."
Beyond his family, Kennedy has served in a variety of capacities for numerous political campaigns, including hosting a fundraiser for Barack Obama in his bid for U.S. Senate.
In August 2009, after considering a run for the U.S. Senate,^[6] as did many others, Kennedy decided not to run.^[7] Also in August 2009, on the day after his uncle Ted's death on August 25, 2009, Kennedy was appointed to the University of Illinois board of trustees by Democratic Illinois Governor Pat Quinn.^[8] On September 10, 2009, Kennedy was elected by the trustees as their chairman.^[9]
Kennedy has never run for any elective office.