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Joe Craft is Kelly Craft’s husband. Craft, whose full name is Kelly Knight Craft, has been nominated by Trump to be the next UN Ambassador.
Joe is the president and CEO of Alliance Resource Partners, the third largest coal producer in the country.
Here’s what you need to know:
1. Joe Craft Was Worth an Estimated $1.4 Billion, as of 2012
Happy birthday to my sweetheart!
According to a Forbes profile of Joe Craft, his net worth was estimated to be $1.4 billion in 2012.
Craft has used his massive worth to donate to a number of conservative politicians in the past. He donated half a million dollars to Mitt Romney’s presidential campaign in 2012, per The Lexington Herald-Leader, and donated over $2 million to Trump’s campaign and inauguration fund in 2016.
It’s worth noting that Craft has also donated to democratic candidates; The Lexington Herald-Leader asserts that Craft has actually given more to Democratic candidates at the state level of office since 2008. You can see some of Craft’s donation receipts here and here.
2. Joe Craft Married Kelly Knight Craft in 2016; They Have Both Been Previously Married
Both Joe and Kelly have been married before, though they married one another in 2016. According to Matt Bevin, the governor of Kentucky, Joe and Kelly were married on April 29, 2016.
Kelly’s first marriage was to David Moross, the CEO of a private equity firm at the time, per Canadian publication Macleans. She had one daughter with Moross, named Mia. Kelly then had another daughter named Jane with her second husband, Judd Knight, the publication reports. Judd Knight is an orthodontist.
As for Joe Craft, he has three children and was divorced from his wife, Kathy, in 2011, according to Forbes.
3. Craft Has Been Called ‘Kentucky’s Most Powerful Non-Elected Individual’ in the Past
In a 2012 profile of Craft by The Lexington Herald-Leader, Craft was described as “Kentucky’s most powerful non-elected individual,” for his political influence, wealth, and power over various institutions like the University of Kentucky.
Though his company is based in Ohio, the majority of the company’s coal mines are in Kentucky, the publication notes. What’s more, he and his wife, Kelly, have been largely involved in political affairs of the state; for example, they were Kentucky’s finance co-chairs for Mitt Romney’s presidential campaign.
Craft did attend the University of Kentucky, himself.
4. Craft Is Considered One of the Leaders of the Coal Industry
Craft has long been a central figure and leader in the United States’ coal industry. To The Lexington Herald-Leader, Bill Bissett of the Kentucky Coal Association said, “He is considered a leader, not just in coal, but as a person who has created literally thousands of jobs.”
5. The Joe Craft Center at the University of Kentucky Is Named After Joe, For His Donation of $6 Million
Joe Craft has donated over $10 million to UK athletics in the last decade. He donated $6 million towards the $30 million fundraising goal to create the Joe Craft Basketball Center, and he donated another $4.5 million to build the Wildcat Coal Lodge for the men’s basketball team.
According to The Lexington Herald-Leader, Craft stipulated that the word “coal” be included in the name for that center, and that a tribute to the coal industry be included in the lobby.