Robert Sargent Shriver III (born April 28, 1954) is an American activist, attorney, and journalist. He was a member of the

Santa Monica Santa Monica (; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Santa Mónica'') is a city in Los Angeles County, California, Los Angeles County, situated along Santa Monica Bay on California's South Coast (California), South Coast. Santa Monica's 2020 United Sta ...

City Council A municipal council is the legislative body of a municipality or local government area. Depending on the location and classification of the municipality it may be known as a city council, town council, town board, community council, borough counc ...

from 2004 to 2012, serving as mayor pro tem in 2006 and as mayor during part of 2010. A member of the prominent Shriver and Kennedy families, he is a nephew of former U.S. President John F. Kennedy, and former U.S. senators Robert F. Kennedy and Edward M. "Ted" Kennedy.

Early life and education

Shriver was born in

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

, Illinois, to Sargent Shriver (1915—2011) and Eunice Kennedy Shriver (1921—2009), the first of their five children. His siblings are Maria (born 1955), Timothy (born 1959), Mark (born 1964) and Anthony (born 1965). Bobby attended

Yale University Yale University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701, Yale is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Stat ...

New Haven, Connecticut New Haven is a city of the U.S. state of Connecticut. It is located on New Haven Harbor on the northern shore of Long Island Sound. With a population of 135,081 as determined by the 2020 United States census, 2020 U.S. census, New Haven is List ...

, where he was a member of the Scroll and Key Society. He graduated with a B.A. in

American studies American studies or American civilization is an interdisciplinarity, interdisciplinary field of scholarship that examines American literature, History of the United States, history, Society of the United States, society, and Culture of the Unit ...

with ''

cum laude Latin honors are a system of Latin phrases used in some colleges and universities to indicate the level of distinction with which an academic degree has been earned. The system is primarily used in the United States. It is also used in some Sout ...

'' honors. He graduated from

Yale Law School Yale Law School (YLS) is the law school of Yale University, a Private university, private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. It was established in 1824. The 2020–21 acceptance rate was 4%, the lowest of any law school in the United ...

with a J.D. in 1981.

Business career and philanthropy

After graduating from law school, Shriver clerked for a year for

Judge A judge is a person who wiktionary:preside, presides over court proceedings, either alone or as a part of a judicial panel. In an adversarial system, the judge hears all the witnesses and any other Evidence (law), evidence presented by the barris ...

Stephen R. Reinhardt at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, which is headquartered in San Francisco, California. He then moved to New York City to work in a

venture capital Venture capital (VC) is a form of private equity financing provided by firms or funds to start-up company, startup, early-stage, and emerging companies, that have been deemed to have high growth potential or that have demonstrated high growth in ...

business at James D. Wolfensohn, Inc. Along with father Sarge, Eli Jacobs, and Larry Lucchino, Bobby was an investor from 1989 to 1993 in the

Baltimore Orioles The Baltimore Orioles (also known as the O's) are an American professional baseball team based in Baltimore. The Orioles compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East Division. As one of the America ...

, a professional-baseball team based in

Baltimore Baltimore is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland. With a population of 585,708 at the 2020 census and estimated at 568,271 in 2024, it is the 30th-most populous U.S. city. The Baltimore metropolitan area is the 20th-large ...

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It borders the states of Virginia to its south, West Virginia to its west, Pennsylvania to its north, and Delaware to its east ...

. Shriver is an attorney. He is also president of RSS Inc., a

Beverly Hills, California Beverly Hills is a city located in Los Angeles County, California, United States. A notable and historic suburb of Los Angeles, it is located just southwest of the Hollywood Hills, approximately northwest of downtown Los Angeles. Beverly Hills ...

music Music is the arrangement of sound to create some combination of Musical form, form, harmony, melody, rhythm, or otherwise Musical expression, expressive content. Music is generally agreed to be a cultural universal that is present in all hum ...

film A film, also known as a movie or motion picture, is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, emotions, or atmosphere through the use of moving images that are generally, sinc ...

and

philanthropic Philanthropy is a form of altruism that consists of "private initiatives for the public good, focusing on quality of life". Philanthropy contrasts with business initiatives, which are private initiatives for private good, focusing on material ...

company. (The letters RSS are Shriver's initials.) In 1987, he produced a prime-time television feature about the

Special Olympics Special Olympics is the world's largest sports organization for children and adults with intellectual disabilities, providing year-round training and activities to 5 million participants and Unified Sports partners in 172 countries. Special Ol ...

, an organization for disabled young people and founded by his mother in 1968. This and subsequent productions have raised in excess of

US$ The United States dollar (Currency symbol, symbol: Dollar sign, $; ISO 4217, currency code: USD) is the official currency of the United States and International use of the U.S. dollar, several other countries. The Coinage Act of 1792 introdu ...

55 million for the Special Olympics program. He has also produced several films, including ''

True Lies ''True Lies'' is a 1994 American action comedy film written and directed by James Cameron. It stars Arnold Schwarzenegger as Harry Tasker, a U.S. government agent, who struggles to balance his double life as a spy with his familial duties, ...

'' (1994), which starred

Arnold Schwarzenegger Arnold Alois Schwarzenegger (born July30, 1947) is an Austrian and American actor, businessman, former politician, and former professional bodybuilder, known for his roles in high-profile action films. Governorship of Arnold Schwarzenegger, ...

– his then brother-in-law. In 2002, Shriver was a co-founder – with U2 lead singer

Bono Paul David Hewson (born 10 May 1960), known by the nickname Bono ( ), is an Irish singer-songwriter and activist. He is a founding member, the lead vocalist, and primary lyricist of the rock band U2. Bono is known for his impassioned voca ...

– of

DATA Data ( , ) are a collection of discrete or continuous values that convey information, describing the quantity, quality, fact, statistics, other basic units of meaning, or simply sequences of symbols that may be further interpreted for ...

(Debt, AIDS, Trade in Africa), a multinational,

non-government organization A non-governmental organization (NGO) is an independent, typically nonprofit organization that operates outside government control, though it may get a significant percentage of its funding from government or corporate sources. NGOs often focus ...

whose purpose is to obtain

social equality Social equality is a state of affairs in which all individuals within society have equal rights, liberties, and status, possibly including civil rights, freedom of expression, autonomy, and equal access to certain public goods and social servi ...

and

justice In its broadest sense, justice is the idea that individuals should be treated fairly. According to the ''Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy'', the most plausible candidate for a core definition comes from the ''Institutes (Justinian), Inst ...

for

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent after Asia. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 20% of Earth's land area and 6% of its total surfac ...

through debt relief; adjust

trade Trade involves the transfer of goods and services from one person or entity to another, often in exchange for money. Economists refer to a system or network that allows trade as a market. Traders generally negotiate through a medium of cr ...

rules which burden Africa; eliminate the African AIDS epidemic; and strengthen

democracy Democracy (from , ''dēmos'' 'people' and ''kratos'' 'rule') is a form of government in which political power is vested in the people or the population of a state. Under a minimalist definition of democracy, rulers are elected through competitiv ...

with more

accountability In ethics and governance, accountability is equated with answerability, culpability, liability, and the expectation of account-giving. As in an aspect of governance, it has been central to discussions related to problems in the public secto ...

by the wealthiest nations and African leaders with transparency towards the people. With Shriver's involvement, DATA, in turn, was one of the founding organizations in 2004 of the ONE Campaign, a U.S.-based,

non-partisan Nonpartisanship, also known as nonpartisanism, is a lack of affiliation with a political party and a lack of political bias. While an ''Oxford English Dictionary'' definition of ''partisan'' includes adherents of a party, cause, person, etc., ...

non-profit organization A nonprofit organization (NPO), also known as a nonbusiness entity, nonprofit institution, not-for-profit organization, or simply a nonprofit, is a non-governmental (private) legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public, or so ...

which aims to increase U.S. government funding for and effectiveness of international-aid programs. In 2006, he and Bono also co-founded (RED) to bring the world's biggest companies into the fight against AIDS and generate money for The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria. To date, (RED) has generated over $700M and impacted over 245 million lives. Shriver also served as a producer of the 2023 film '' The Burial,'' starring Tommy Lee Jones, Jamie Foxx, and Jurnee Smollett.

Political career

California State Parks and Recreation Commission

After Schwarzenegger became the

Governor of California The governor of California is the head of government of the U.S. state of California. The Governor (United States), governor is the commander-in-chief of the California National Guard and the California State Guard. Established in the Constit ...

in 2003, he reappointed Shriver as

chairman The chair, also chairman, chairwoman, or chairperson, is the presiding officer of an organized group such as a board, committee, or deliberative assembly. The person holding the office, who is typically elected or appointed by members of the gro ...

of the California State Park and Recreation Commission overseeing the state's parks and gardens. He had first been appointed by prior California Governor Gray Davis. In 2005, Shriver, the commission chairman, and

Clint Eastwood Clinton Eastwood Jr. (born May 31, 1930) is an American actor and film director. After achieving success in the Western (genre), Western TV series ''Rawhide (TV series), Rawhide'', Eastwood rose to international fame with his role as the "Ma ...

, the commission vice chairman, led a commission panel in its unanimous opposition to a six-lane,

toll road A toll road, also known as a turnpike or tollway, is a public or private road for which a fee (or ''Toll (fee), toll'') is assessed for passage. It is a form of road pricing typically implemented to help recoup the costs of road construction and ...

that would cut through San Onofre State Beach (north of

San Diego San Diego ( , ) is a city on the Pacific coast of Southern California, adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a population of over 1.4 million, it is the List of United States cities by population, eighth-most populous city in t ...

) that includes Trestles, a collection of

surfing Surfing is a surface water sport in which an individual, a surfer (or two in tandem surfing), uses a board to ride on the forward section, or face, of a moving wave of water, which usually carries the surfer towards the shore. Waves suita ...

spots – one of

Southern California Southern California (commonly shortened to SoCal) is a geographic and Cultural area, cultural List of regions of California, region that generally comprises the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. Its densely populated coastal reg ...

's most-cherished. Shriver and Eastwood also supported a 2006

lawsuit A lawsuit is a proceeding by one or more parties (the plaintiff or claimant) against one or more parties (the defendant) in a civil court of law. The archaic term "suit in law" is found in only a small number of laws still in effect today ...

to block the toll road and urged the

California Coastal Commission The California Coastal Commission (CCC) is a state agency within the California Natural Resources Agency with quasi-judicial control of land and public access along the state's of coastline. Its mission as defined in the California Coastal Ac ...

to reject the project, which it did in February 2008.Young, Samantha.
"Schwarzenegger removes his brother-in-law and Clint Eastwood from Calif. parks panel"
. '' The Associated Press'' (via ''

The San Diego Union-Tribune ''The San Diego Union-Tribune'' is a metropolitan daily newspaper published in San Diego, California, that has run since 1868. Its name derives from a 1992 merger between the two major daily newspapers at the time, ''The San Diego Union'' and ...

''). March 20, 2008. Accessed May 28, 2008. In March 2008, Shriver and Eastwood, whose terms had expired, were not reappointed. The

Natural Resources Defense Council The Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) is a United States–based 501(c)(3) non-profit international environmental advocacy group, with its headquarters in New York City and offices in Washington, D.C., San Francisco, Los Angeles, Chicag ...

(NRDC) asked for a legislative investigation into the decision not to re-appoint Shriver and Eastwood, citing their opposition to the toll-road extension.Staff writer (March 22, 2008
"Group wants probe into governor's removal of Eastwood, Shriver"
. '' The Associated Press'' (via ''

''). Accessed May 28, 2008. Schwarzenegger's

press release A press release (also known as a media release) is an official statement delivered to members of the news media for the purpose of providing new information, creating an official statement, or making an announcement directed for public releas ...

appointing Alice Huffman and Lindy DeKoven to replace Shriver and Eastwood makes no mention of a reason for the commission change.Press Release: Press release (May 23, 2008).
"Governor Schwarzenegger Announces Appointments"
- Office of the Governor, State of California. Accessed May 28, 2008.(May 23, 2008)
"Schwarzenegger names replacements for parks panel"
- '' The Associated Press'' (via '' Yahoo! News''). Accessed May 28, 2008.

Santa Monica City Council

In November 2004 Shriver ran for, and was elected to, a seat on the Santa Monica City Council. He stated that he decided to run for the seat after a dispute with the city over the height of the hedges at his home. He was one of thirteen candidates for four at-large council seats and received 23,260 votes, or 16.5 percent, of the vote. The other three winning candidates received 16,710, 14,475, and 13,408 votes. He ran for re-election in 2008, again in a race in which thirteen candidates were running for four open seats. He again received the most votes, although he won by a smaller margin over the candidate receiving the second-most votes. Shriver received 24,298 votes, or 18.56 percent of the vote. The other three winning candidates received 20,232, 19,145, and 17,202 votes. Shriver's second term ended November 2012. In March 2009 Shriver was reported to be considering becoming a candidate in the

2010 California Attorney General election The 2010 California Attorney General election was held on November 2, 2010, to choose the California Attorney General, Attorney General of California. The primary election was held on June 8, 2010. Incumbent California Attorney General, Attor ...

. He did not run, and

Kamala Harris Kamala Devi Harris ( ; born October 20, 1964) is an American politician and attorney who served as the 49th vice president of the United States from 2021 to 2025 under President Joe Biden. She is the first female, first African American, and ...

, the Democratic candidate, was elected Attorney General.

Candidacy for Los Angeles County Supervisor

On January 21, 2014, the ''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' is an American Newspaper#Daily, daily newspaper that began publishing in Los Angeles, California, in 1881. Based in the Greater Los Angeles city of El Segundo, California, El Segundo since 2018, it is the List of new ...

'' reported that Shriver launched his campaign for Los Angeles County supervisor. Shriver was defeated by former state senator Sheila Kuehl.

Personal life

Shriver was romantically linked to Princess Caroline of Monaco in the 1970s. In 1989 he had an affair with married director Sondra Locke, who was 10 years his senior. He was dating Lauren Bessette, older sister of Carolyn Bessette Kennedy, the wife of his cousin

John F. Kennedy Jr. John Fitzgerald Kennedy Jr. (November 25, 1960 – July 16, 1999), often referred to as John-John or JFK Jr., was an American socialite, attorney, magazine publisher, and journalist. He was a son of 35th United States president John F. K ...

, at the time of their

deaths Death is the end of life; the irreversible cessation of all biological functions that sustain a living organism. Death eventually and inevitably occurs in all organisms. The remains of a former organism normally begin to decompose sho ...

. Lauren had joined JFK Jr. and Carolyn in his private plane to spend time with Bobby Shriver, along with other friends, on Martha's Vineyard that weekend. He married Malissa Feruzzi on May 7, 2005. They have one daughter, born in 2009. Shriver has a stepdaughter from his wife's previous marriage.

Awards

In 2007, Shriver receive

The Advertising Club's ''Silver Medal Award''—also known as the Advertising Person of the Year Award—for his work with (RED). The annual award recognizes those who have made outstanding contributions to the advertising industry, furthering industry standards, demonstrating creative excellence and responsibility in areas of social concern. In February 2008, he was honored with amfAR, amfAR, The Foundation for AIDS's Award of Courage for his outstanding contribution to

HIV/AIDS The HIV, human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is a retrovirus that attacks the immune system. Without treatment, it can lead to a spectrum of conditions including acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). It is a Preventive healthcare, pr ...

research and awareness.

References

External links

Santa Monica City Council
, Santa Monica City Council official website
Shriver biography
on Santa Monica City Council official website
"#17 President - Product Red"
portal to

podcast A podcast is a Radio program, program made available in digital format for download over the Internet. Typically, a podcast is an Episode, episodic series of digital audio Computer file, files that users can download to a personal device or str ...

of February 25, 2007, presentation by Tasmin Smith, (Product) Red's President (hosted at USF MBA Podcast's website) * {{DEFAULTSORT:Shriver, Bobby 1954 births Living people 20th-century American businesspeople 20th-century American lawyers 21st-century American businesspeople 21st-century American lawyers 21st-century mayors of places in California American HIV/AIDS activists American male journalists American people of German descent American people of Irish descent American sports businesspeople American venture capitalists Baltimore Orioles owners California lawyers Candidates in the 2014 United States elections Democratic Party mayors in California Film producers from California Film producers from Illinois Journalists from California Kennedy family Lawyers from Chicago Mayors of Santa Monica, California People from Potomac, Maryland Phillips Exeter Academy alumni Politicians from Chicago Record producers from California Record producers from Illinois Santa Monica City Council members Shriver family Television producers from California Television producers from Illinois Yale College alumni Yale Law School alumni