Most people come across the name George Skakel while searching genealogy records or reading about Kennedy family history. But the man behind the name built a real industrial fortune long before any Kennedy connection existed. He started with almost nothing and turned a small investment into a successful carbon-processing business.
This article covers who George Jordan Skakel Sr. actually was, how he built his wealth, who his family was, and how his daughter Ethel eventually connected the Skakel name to one of America’s most prominent political families. It also helps sort out the name confusion that comes up in genealogy searches, since more than one man named George Skakel appears in public records.
Who Was George Skakel?
George Jordan Skakel Sr. was born on July 16, 1892, in Chicago. He died on October 3, 1955, at the age of 63. His parents were James Curtis Skakel, a businessman, and Grace Mary Jordan. The family had partial Dutch ancestry and a Protestant background.
It is worth being clear about the name, because genealogy databases list more than one person named George Skakel. George Jordan Skakel Jr. was born in 1922 and was George Sr.’s son, not the same person. George Walter Skakel, born in 1946, was another descendant. If you are searching records and see a birth year of 1892 alongside the name Ann Brannack as a spouse, that record refers to George Jordan Skakel Sr. specifically.
His Early Life and Path Into Business
George Skakel did not inherit a fortune. He started his working life as a railway clerk — a practical, entry-level job with no obvious path to industrial wealth. His story is genuinely one of building something from the ground up.
In 1919, George and two business partners founded the Great Lakes Coal and Coke Company. Their starting capital was $1,000. That is not a typo — one thousand dollars was all they had to work with at the beginning.
The business model was straightforward but smart. The company would acquire coke from coal producers and reprocess it into cleaner carbon material. That carbon had real industrial value, particularly in aluminum manufacturing. As demand for aluminum grew through the 20th century, so did the business.
The company eventually became associated with Great Lakes Carbon Corporation, which went on to have its own corporate history across several decades. That lineage later connects, in a broader sense, to SGL Carbon — though it is important to note that SGL Carbon is a distinct company from a later era, not simply a renamed version of what George originally founded. These are related through corporate history, not through direct identity.
George’s arc from railway clerk to successful industrialist was real and earned. He became a wealthy man through the carbon business, and his family lived comfortably as a result.
George Skakel’s Marriage and Family Life
George married Ann Brannack on November 25, 1917. Ann had previously worked as his secretary. George was Protestant; Ann was Catholic. Together, they built a large family.
The couple had seven children. Their children included Ethel Skakel, George Jordan Skakel Jr., James Curtis Skakel III, Rushton Skakel, and several daughters. The family structure is well-documented in public biographical records and memorial databases.
By most accounts, George was not complacent about the wealth he had built. Family history describes him as someone who warned his children that financial security was never guaranteed. The general sense of that caution — that prosperity could disappear and the family could find itself without resources — was apparently something George passed along to his children. The exact wording of any statement he made on this should be treated as approximate, since no verified direct quotation exists in easily accessible primary sources.
That said, the underlying message fits the profile of someone who had actually built a business from scratch. He knew how quickly fortunes could shift because he had watched money grow from a very small start.
Ethel Skakel and the Kennedy Family Connection
Ethel Skakel was George and Ann’s daughter. She is the clearest reason most people search for George Skakel’s name today.
On June 17, 1950, Ethel Skakel married Robert F. Kennedy. Robert Kennedy would go on to serve as U.S. attorney general under President John F. Kennedy and later as a U.S. senator from New York. He was assassinated in 1968 while campaigning for the Democratic presidential nomination.
The family relationship is straightforward: George Skakel Sr. and Ann Brannack were Ethel’s parents. Ethel’s marriage to Robert F. Kennedy made George Skakel Sr. the father-in-law of Robert F. Kennedy. That is the full extent of George’s direct personal connection to the Kennedy family — it came through his daughter’s marriage, not through any independent relationship of his own.
A simple line helps clarify it: George Skakel Sr. + Ann Brannack → Ethel Skakel → married Robert F. Kennedy.
George’s primary identity was always as a businessman and family patriarch. The Kennedy connection is historically significant, but it was a product of the next generation, not something George himself cultivated or pursued.
Ethel Kennedy remained a public figure for decades after Robert’s death, raising their eleven children and staying connected to public life. She passed away in 2024, which has brought renewed interest in her background and the Skakel family history more broadly. That renewed interest is part of why George Skakel’s name continues to surface in searches today.
How George Skakel Died
George and Ann Skakel died together on October 3, 1955. Their private aircraft crashed near Union City, Oklahoma. George was 63 years old at the time of his death.
The loss was sudden and significant for the family. Their children, including Ethel, lost both parents in the same accident. At the time, Ethel had been married to Robert Kennedy for five years.
The Skakel Name in Later Public Records
One thing worth understanding is that the Skakel family received significant media attention in later decades, and not all of it was connected to George Sr. in any direct way.
His grandson Michael Skakel — the son of Rushton Skakel — was convicted in connection with the 1975 murder of Martha Moxley in Greenwich, Connecticut. That case drew considerable attention partly because of the family’s Kennedy connection through Ethel. Michael Skakel was George’s grandson, not his son, and George had been dead for twenty years before that crime occurred. Nothing about that case reflects on George Sr.’s own life or character.
For readers doing genealogy research, it helps to keep these generations clearly separated. George Jordan Skakel Sr. lived from 1892 to 1955. Events connected to later family members, however newsworthy, belong to a different generation entirely.
For broader context on business figures and family histories like this one, Click Business Mag covers a range of topics connecting business, careers, and public figures.
A Straightforward Legacy
George Jordan Skakel Sr. was not famous in his own lifetime the way politicians or entertainers are famous. He was a successful businessman who built something real from a very small beginning. He married, raised seven children, and ran a company that had genuine industrial significance.
His connection to American celebrity and political history came through his daughter’s marriage to Robert F. Kennedy. That connection has kept his name in circulation long after his death, even among people who know little else about him.
What the record shows is simple: a man born in Chicago in 1892, who started as a railway clerk, built a carbon-processing business from a $1,000 investment, raised a large family, and died in a plane crash at 63. The Kennedy connection came later, through Ethel. George himself was, above all, a self-made industrialist who built his family’s foundation well before any of those famous associations existed.
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