Jack Schlossberg is the only grandson of the 35th president of the United States, John F Kennedy.
His family history is rooted in tragedy; assassinations, plane crashes, overdoses, accidental drownings, and a skiing accident have claimed the lives of 15 members of the Kennedy tree.
Not even his mother's hamsters would escape "the Kennedy curse" — the patriarch hamster of Caroline Kennedy once ate all of its children, White House housekeeper Anne Lincoln recounted.
But that doesn't mean he's unlucky.
In fact, it's quite the opposite.
The Kennedys have long stood as one of the most storied, recognisable and long-living political dynasties in America.
From US senators and attorneys-general to first lady and president of the United States — the descendants of Joseph P Kennedy Sr and his wife Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy had become synonymous with American public service.
"Ambition, wealth, compassion, power, sex, love, and death," began an analysis by Washington Post journalist David Von Drehle in 1998, just two days after John F. Kennedy Jr and his wife Carolyn Bessette Kennedy died in a plane crash.
"If America had a Shakespeare, he would write the Kennedy story," he said.
And whether he likes it or not, Jack Schlossberg is the heir.
He's the son of the current US Ambassador to Australia Caroline Kennedy — JFK's only surviving child — and designer Edwin Schlossberg.
That also makes him cousin to Democrat-turned independent candidate Robert F Kennedy Jr, who earlier in the year made comments that a worm "ate a portion" of his brain, before suspending his US presidential campaign and throwing his support behind Republican candidate Donald Trump.
At first glance, some may recognise Mr Schlossberg from his self-credited "goofy" online persona, where his viral TikTok videos amass millions of likes (and recently landed him in The Hollywood Reporter's inaugural top 50 list of the most influential influencers).
For others, it may be due to his striking resemblance to his uncle, John F Kennedy Jr, who died at just 38 years old.
And even more eyes have been on the 31-year-old recently as he spent the last few months on the Harris-Walz campaign train in the lead up to November's election.
In August he spoke at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago, drawing parallels between JFK and US Vice-President Kamala Harris.
"President John F Kennedy is my grandfather and he's my hero," Mr Schlossberg opened his speech with.
"Once again the torch has been passed to a new generation."
In June, Mr Schlossberg announced — while posing on a pile of his own head shots — his new role as Vogue’s political correspondent.
"Jack [Schlossberg] is exactly how you should nepo baby," reads the top comment on his Instagram post with Vogue.
While many fans are quick to come to his defence, others have argued both his popularity and his resume fall to his decorated family tree.
"One day people will not be able to get a job just because they're a Kennedy," said a user on X.
Nepotism — or "nepo babies" as they have become affectionately called — is defined by the Macquarie Dictionary as "patronage bestowed in consideration of family relationship and not on merit".
But can we really blame rising politicians for coming from a famous family? And is Jack Schlossberg a nepo baby?
Succession is part and parcel of democracy, experts say
Mr Schlossberg's appearance at the DNC sparked an online frenzy, with users quick claim him as the internet's new darling.
"Bringing a book to the DNC in hopes that Jack Schlossberg spots me in the crowd," one user wrote on social media platform X.
His popularity is no surprise, says comparative politics researcher at the University of Sydney James Loxton, despite the fact Mr Schlossberg may not be running for governor or senator (at least, for now).
Dr Loxton says that in an age in which so-called "nepo babies" are being "called out for their unfair advantages", people around the world "continue to throw their support to those with blood or marital ties to the powerful".
"It's just part and parcel of democracy," he said.
Presidential Studies Professor at the University of Virginia’s Miller Centre Barbara A Perry said name recognition could often serve as a "winning factor" in democracies.
"Succeeding [Kennedy] generations have likewise used their wealth, status, celebrity, and ambition to achieve success in their chosen fields," she said.
"The Kennedy name has served most of them well."
The children of the powerful are groomed for public life
The term "nepo baby" may have been recently coined, but being groomed for greatness has been rooted in the history of American presidential politics since the dawn of time.
The Massachusetts Adams family; the Roosevelts of New York; the Bush clan; Donald Trump and Ivanka and the Kushners.
The list goes on.
But the children who are born into powerful American dynasties are often forced to fall in line or get left behind — at least that was the Kennedy way, says author and Kennedy family expert Kate Clifford Larson.
"It stems from Joseph F Kennedy Sr, and Rose Kennedy, who both came from political families and wanted to carry that forward for their kids," she says.
"It was always rooted in the community life, advancement and power and their kids absorbed it."
Mrs Perry agreed, recalling the story of meeting Mr Schlossberg two years ago at a John F Kennedy Presidential Library event, witnessing an elderly lady asking him if he was going to run for office some day.
"I'm sure he has to field that question frequently," she said.
"It also seems that his family might be grooming him for public life because, as the only grandson of JFK and the primary family member of his generation, he seems to pick up the mantle as it relates to his grandfather, president Kennedy."
"I had a couple of conversations with him and found Jack to possess all the positive traits of his family: he's handsome, witty, charming, charismatic, bright, and caring," she said.
"I also saw his grandfather in person and would compare them favourably."
But is it truly a privilege to come from a political dynasty, or is it a (Kennedy) curse?
Privilege or a (Kennedy) curse?
Ms Larson admits that children of political families carry privilege that many will never see in their lifetime — and Mr Schlossberg falls front and centre.
"[Schlossberg] has access to resources and to people in power that the average American does not have," she said.
But it's what he chooses to do with that privilege and that power, and whether is he "willing to carry that mantle".
"Following in the footsteps of all those ancestors and relatives is a lot on these young people who have grown up in an entirely different world," she says.
"[Mr Schlossberg] has a lot more to bear than the other children who have come down [the Kennedy line] and may be involved in politics.
"I can imagine [he] feels the weight of the world on him."
Mrs Perry says that there is no beating around the bush — it is a privilege to hail from a political dynasty as it opens doors to the top educational institutions and jobs.
"But it can be a curse if the dynasty begins to lose its lustre in the American mind, however," she said.
Hereditary democracy happens all over the world, 'all the time'
According to the New York Times, the sons of governors are 6,000 times more likely than the average American to become governors themselves and the sons of senators are 8,500 times more likely to become senators, based on study from the journalist.
But that's just the United States.
As of June 2024, 11 of the world's democracies have heads of governments who are either the child — or in one case the wife — of a former head of government (either prime minister or president) according to a study in hereditary democracy by Dr Loxton.
These include Canada, Estonia, Greece, Guatemala, Honduras, Mauritius, Nauru, the Philippines, Samoa, Sao Tome and Principe, and Uruguay.
And this happens "all the time", says Dr Loxton, from Justin Trudeau to the recently ousted prime minister Sheikh Hasina of Bangladesh.
"By my count, if you look at every country at the world that has been a democracy since World War II, about 40 per cent of them, at some point, elected the child, the spouse, or the sibling of a former head of government," he said.
We even see it in Australia — three former state premiers (Queensland's Campbell Newman, Tasmania's Will Hodgman and New South Wales' Mike Baird) have parents who were federal or state ministers.
And former Labor politician Kim Beazley, who once served as deputy prime minister, is the son of Whitlam government minister Kim Beazley Sr.
"Wherever elections are held, dynasties emerge," said Dr Loxton.
'Nepo babies' may have a leg up, but still must convince us
There is no denying that descendants of successful politicians arguably have a leg up because of name recognition, Ms Larson says.
"But they still have to convince voters."
And when it comes down to the voters, hereditary democracy can often undermine the democratic process, says Dr Loxton.
"It has a similar flavour to nepotism, and yet it is not quite the same as having the CEO of the company making his son the job," he said.
"Because, with hereditary democracy, it's us. It's we the voters who have to elect these people."
He said it's "bizarre" but that's "what we do as voters" all over the world.
Mrs Perry argued that a case could be made against dynamic political families in a democratic-republic.
But on the other hand, she said, "such a bar to political candidates would have denied [us] presidents John Quincy Adams, Benjamin Harrison, Franklin Roosevelt, and George W Bush, so we shouldn't prevent multiple generations of families to hold power".
Instead, we should "make sure that they are meritorious and not simply cashing in on their families' fame and fortune".
But when it comes to Mr Schlossberg?
"There is just something about him," Ms Larson said.
"The president, his image, Jackie Kennedy, those descendants."
ABC
