A Dennis Kozlowski birthday party at the Kennedy family’s Hyannis Port compound has caused unrest among some well-connected New Yorkers, largely because the former Tyco chief is an ex-convict, a Republican and not, in any obvious sense, a Kennedy.
Invitations sent in July announced a joint celebration for Dennis Kozlowski and his wife, Kimberly Kozlowski. The event, billed as “An Evening in Camelot,” will mark his 80th birthday and her 60th, or “140 remarkable years” in the arithmetic preferred by expensive invitations.
An invited guest said members of both New York’s “old and new guard” were surprised that the couple had secured the famous location. The guest also described the arrangement as “a bit weird,” particularly given the Kozlowskis’ MAGA politics.
Why the Hyannis Port venue is controversial
The six-acre waterfront retreat occupies a central place in Kennedy family history. John F. Kennedy Jr., Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, Robert F. Kennedy, Edward “Ted” Kennedy and family patriarchs Joseph and Rose Kennedy all owned homes there.
The compound also became closely associated with the family’s carefully cultivated Camelot image, including the touch-football games played on its lawns. Ted Kennedy moved there permanently in 2008, one year before his death.
In 2012, his widow, Victoria Reggie Kennedy, donated his property at the compound to the Edward M. Kennedy Institute for the United States Senate. The transfer, made in accordance with her late husband’s wishes, triggered a dispute within the Kennedy family.
At the time, the institute said the property would host “educational seminars and forums” and was “not for rent by private individuals.” A private birthday celebration involving a marquee, donors and a former corporate executive was apparently not the first example people had in mind.
The institute did not respond to a request for comment about the event or explain how the party fits its stated purpose.
What Kimberly Kozlowski says about the arrangement
Kimberly rejected suggestions that she had manipulated her way onto the property to improve the couple’s social standing. She said the Kozlowskis were approached by someone connected to the Edward M. Kennedy Institute and began discussing possible uses for the site.
That conversation led to a donation to the nonprofit and plans for a party in a tent on the lawn. Kimberly insisted the couple had not rented the Kennedy property.
“We’re not renting the property,” she said. “They’re allowing us to put a tent up on this beautiful legacy property, so we’re just in a tent on the lawn, just like the old all-American family that you’ve seen in all the past Kennedy films.”
Guests have also been encouraged to donate to the institute through a barcode printed on the invitations. Kimberly declined to reveal how much the couple had contributed, saying only that the donation “wasn’t very big.”
As for the criticism, she appeared untroubled. “Just spell my last name right,” she said, before adding: “Listen, be a sweetheart, and I’ll invite you to the next party.”
Why Dennis Kozlowski remains a divisive guest
Dennis Kozlowski once ran Tyco International before his conviction on charges including grand larceny, securities fraud and conspiracy. Prosecutors accused him of taking more than $100 million from the company.
He spent six and a half years in prison and was released on parole in 2014. He later married Kimberly, his third wife.
According to people familiar with the couple’s social life, the Kozlowskis have spent years trying to regain a place in elite circles by hosting lavish events around Nantucket, where they spend their summers. Critics now suspect the Hyannis Port celebration is another step in that campaign.
Kimberly disputes that interpretation, presenting the party instead as a charitable arrangement offered by the institute itself. The essential facts remain unusually simple for a society dispute: the Kozlowskis made a donation, the institute approved a tent on one of America’s most recognisable political properties, and the invitations went out.
Whether that counts as supporting a nonprofit or borrowing a large amount of Kennedy prestige depends, apparently, on which guest list one is reading.
