ss FROM JACKIE KENNEDY’S PRIVATE SANCTUARY TO A NATIONAL TREASURE: In 1979, Jackie Kennedy Onassis paid just over $1 million for Red Gate Farm, a rugged 340-acre stretch of land on Martha’s Vineyard. It was a place chosen not for luxury, but for simplicity—no swimming pool, no tennis courts, only ocean swims, salty air, bike rides to the lighthouse, quiet runs along the beach, and afternoons spent reading on the deck. For three generations, the Kennedy family grew up on this land, building traditions and memories among the dunes, ponds, and stone walls. But in 2019, when Red Gate Farm was valued at $65 million and became a prime target for wealthy buyers, Caroline Kennedy faced a decision that stunned many. Instead of selling to the highest bidder, she chose to give up a massive fortune to preserve nearly all of the property, turning it into a permanent public conservation area

BREAKING NEWS: The $65 Million Fortune Caroline Kennedy Walked Away From — And the Land She Gave to the World

In 1979, Jackie Kennedy Onassis made a quiet purchase that would one day ignite national debate. For just over one million dollars, she bought Red Gate Farm in Aquinnah on Martha’s Vineyard — a sprawling 340-acre stretch of windswept dunes, salt-scorched heathlands, and still, reflective ponds. At the time, it was hardly the kind of estate associated with American royalty. There were no manicured lawns, no tennis courts, no luxury pools. That was exactly the point.

Jackie wasn’t looking for status. She was searching for peace.

She wanted to swim in the open ocean, feel fresh salt air fill her lungs, ride her bicycle to the lighthouse at dawn, run barefoot on the beach at low tide, and read quietly on her deck in the afternoons. Red Gate Farm was not an escape from the world — it was a return to something simpler, something real. And from the moment she stepped onto the land, she fell in love.

Years later, her daughter Caroline would write about Jackie’s deep affection for the old stone walls, the clay cliffs, and the blue heron that lived near the pond beyond the dunes. These weren’t just scenic details. They were part of a rhythm of life that shaped the Kennedy family for generations.

Jackie raised her children at Red Gate Farm. Then Caroline raised hers. Over three generations, the land became a living archive of family tradition. Lobster traps were set in Menemsha Pond. Vegetables were grown by hand. County fairs were entered. Seashells were collected daily along the shore. This was not a vacation property — it was home.

When Jackie Kennedy Onassis passed away in 1994, she left Red Gate Farm to Caroline. And with that inheritance came a question far larger than money: what should be done with land that had become both a family sanctuary and an ecological treasure?

In 2013, Caroline and her husband, Edwin Schlossberg, made a first move that raised eyebrows. They donated 30 acres along Moshup Trail to the Vineyard Conservation Society — land valued at $3.7 million. It was a gesture that hinted at a larger philosophy, but few could have predicted what came next.

By 2019, Caroline’s children had grown up. The family chapter at Red Gate Farm was shifting. That year, the estate was listed for sale at a staggering $65 million. With a mile of private beach, rare coastal heathlands, endangered species, and land considered one of the most important natural tracts in Massachusetts, the property immediately attracted attention. Tech billionaires and ultra-wealthy buyers circled.

Selling to the highest bidder would have been easy. Lucrative. Perfectly legal.

Instead, Caroline Kennedy made a decision that stunned many — and inspired just as many others.

Rather than handing Red Gate Farm to private ownership, she worked with the Martha’s Vineyard Land Bank and the Sheriff’s Meadow Foundation to protect the land permanently. In December 2020, the organizations purchased 304 acres for $27 million. In 2021, another 32 acres were acquired for $10 million. In total, 336 acres were preserved.

The land was transformed into the Squibnocket Pond Reservation — open to the public forever.

The Kennedy family kept only 95 acres for their homes and memories. Caroline could have walked away with $65 million by selling to a single buyer. Instead, she chose conservation over cash. She said the family wanted to be worthy stewards of a fragile and irreplaceable habitat.

Because of that choice, coastal heathlands remain untouched. Endangered arethusa orchids continue to bloom. Northern harrier hawks still circle above. Blue herons still stand quietly at the water’s edge.

Today, visitors can walk the same beaches where Jackie once ran, climb the hills where Caroline raised her children, and experience the wild beauty of a place safeguarded by one family for more than forty years.

Red Gate Farm is no longer private property.

It belongs to everyone.

And Caroline Kennedy’s decision leaves a provocative question echoing far beyond Martha’s Vineyard: in an age obsessed with wealth and ownership, what if the greatest legacy isn’t what you keep — but what you choose to give away?