Arthur Kardashian (October 27, 1917 – December 9, 2012) was an Armenian-American businessman and the grandfather of Kim, Kourtney, Khloé, and Rob Kardashian. He was the father of attorney Robert Kardashian Sr. Born in Los Angeles to Armenian immigrant parents, Arthur built the successful Great Western Packing meat business and lived a 95-year life rooted in family values, hard work, and Armenian heritage.
Arthur Kardashian is the quiet patriarch whose life laid the foundation for one of the most famous families in the world. Born in 1917 in Los Angeles to Armenian immigrants who fled the Ottoman Empire, Arthur grew up embracing his cultural roots while building a powerful business empire. Through Great Western Packing, he became one of the most successful meat suppliers on the West Coast. He married Helen Arakelian in 1938, and together they raised three children, including attorney Robert Kardashian Sr. — the father of Kim Kardashian and her siblings. Arthur passed away in 2012 at the age of 95. His story is one of resilience, heritage, and a legacy that still echoes across the global Kardashian brand today.
Quick Bio Table
| Detail | Information |
| Full Name | Arthur Thomas Kardashian |
| Born | October 27, 1917, Los Angeles, California, USA |
| Died | December 9, 2012, Mission Hills, California, USA |
| Age at Death | 95 years |
| Nationality | American |
| Ethnicity | Armenian-American |
| Parents | Tatos “Tom” Kardashian & Hamas “Hanna” Shakarian |
| Spouse | Helen Jean Arakelian (m. 1938 – d. 2008) |
| Children | Barbara Kardashian Freeman, Robert Kardashian Sr., Thomas “Tom” Kardashian |
| Grandchildren | Kourtney, Kim, Khloé, Rob Kardashian |
| Occupation | Businessman (Great Western Packing) |
| Religion | Armenian Spiritual Christianity (Molokan) |
| Known For | Father of Robert Kardashian Sr., patriarch of the Kardashian family |
| Related Keyword | Robert Kardashian Sr., Kardashian family Armenian roots |
Who Is Arthur Kardashian?
Most people know the Kardashian name from reality television shows, billion-dollar beauty brands, and global media headlines. But behind the glittering world of Kim Kardashian and her siblings stands a much quieter story — the story of Arthur Kardashian, the man who started it all. Arthur was not a television star, nor did he seek the spotlight in any way. He was a hardworking Armenian-American businessman who built real wealth through discipline, family loyalty, and an unshakable sense of cultural identity. Understanding Arthur means understanding where the Kardashian values truly come from.
The Armenian Roots That Shaped Arthur Kardashian’s Identity
Arthur Kardashian was not simply born into any ordinary American family. His entire identity was shaped by a history that spans continents and generations, rooted in the survival story of the Armenian people and one family’s journey to America.
The Kardashian Family’s Journey From the Ottoman Empire to Los Angeles
Arthur’s parents, Tatos “Tom” Kardashian and Hamas “Hanna” Shakarian, were Armenian immigrants who originally lived in the Kars region of the Ottoman Empire — a territory that is today part of modern Turkey. The family belonged to a community of Armenian Spiritual Christians, sometimes called Molokans, who faced increasing danger as tension in the Ottoman Empire grew. According to family accounts, a young prophetic figure warned their community to flee to America, and the Kardashians listened. They left before the devastating Armenian Genocide of 1915, which would later claim the lives of over a million Armenians. This act of timely migration saved the family and made possible everything that came after.
Growing Up Armenian-American in Early 20th Century Los Angeles
Arthur Kardashian was born on October 27, 1917, in Los Angeles, California — just a few years after his parents had settled in the United States. He grew up in a city that was seeing a rapid rise in its Armenian immigrant population, as many survivors and relatives of genocide victims sought safety and new beginnings on the West Coast. Arthur was raised surrounded by Armenian culture, the Molokan faith, and stories about the old homeland that his parents carried with them. This cultural upbringing gave Arthur a deep sense of identity and a commitment to community values that he would later pass down to his own children, including his son Robert Kardashian Sr.
How Armenian Heritage Influenced the Entire Kardashian Family Legacy
The Armenian roots of the Kardashian family are not just a footnote in their story — they are a central chapter. Arthur Kardashian ensured his children understood where they came from and why it mattered. His son Robert Kardashian Sr. was known among friends for taking pride in his Armenian ancestry. Even today, Kim Kardashian has been a public voice advocating for recognition of the Armenian Genocide, visiting Armenia and speaking about her family’s heritage publicly. These actions trace directly back to the values instilled by Arthur, who made Armenian identity a pillar of the Kardashian household.
Arthur Kardashian’s Business Empire — Great Western Packing
While Arthur Kardashian is rarely discussed in celebrity media, his professional achievements were remarkable by any standard. He built a business empire that created the financial stability his family would rely on for generations.
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How Arthur Built Great Western Packing Into a West Coast Powerhouse
Arthur Kardashian took over the Great Western Packing meat business, which had originally been founded by his father Tatos. Under Arthur’s leadership, Great Western Packing grew significantly, eventually winning contracts to supply meat to the military during World War II. This wartime contract transformed the company, helping it become one of the largest meat suppliers on the entire West Coast of the United States. Arthur’s business acumen was sharp and strategic. He understood how to leverage opportunity without losing the disciplined values he had been raised with. The success of Great Western Packing made Arthur one of the wealthiest Armenian-American businessmen in Los Angeles during the mid-twentieth century.
The Wealth That Set the Stage for Future Kardashian Generations
Arthur Kardashian’s financial success meant that his children grew up in considerable comfort. His son Robert Kardashian Sr. was raised in the affluent View Park area of Los Angeles, attended private institutions, and was able to study at the University of Southern California before going on to earn a law degree from the University of San Diego. None of this would have been possible without the financial foundation Arthur had built through decades of hard work in the meat-packing industry. Biographers and journalists who have researched the Kardashian family origin story consistently point to Arthur’s wealth as the platform that enabled Robert’s professional success — and Robert’s success, in turn, set the stage for the family’s eventual rise to global fame.
Arthur George — How Rob Kardashian Honored His Great-Grandfather’s Name
One of the most touching tributes to Arthur Kardashian’s legacy came from his great-grandson Rob Kardashian. In 2012, Rob launched a sock brand called “Arthur George” — a direct reference to his great-grandfather Arthur Kardashian and his father Robert George Kardashian Sr. The brand became a commercial success and represented a meaningful way of honoring the older generations of the family. It showed that even in a world of luxury fashion and celebrity branding, the Kardashian family retained a genuine connection to the quiet, principled patriarch who had built everything from the ground up.
Arthur Kardashian’s Family Life — A Marriage That Lasted 70 Years
In an era when celebrity marriages often last only months, Arthur Kardashian’s personal life tells an entirely different story — one of loyalty, stability, and enduring commitment.
Arthur and Helen Arakelian — A 70-Year Partnership Built on Shared Values
In 1938, Arthur Kardashian married Helen Jean Arakelian, an Armenian-American woman from Oakland, California. Both were approximately twenty years old at the time of their wedding — young, determined, and deeply rooted in the same cultural traditions. Their marriage lasted an extraordinary 70 years, a duration that stands as a remarkable achievement in any era. Together they built a home in Southern California, raised three children, and later enjoyed quieter years in Indian Wells. Helen passed away on May 21, 2008, ending their remarkable partnership. Arthur survived her by four years, passing away on December 9, 2012, at the age of 95.
The Three Children Arthur and Helen Raised Together
Arthur and Helen Kardashian raised three children who would each carry forward different aspects of their father’s legacy. Their eldest child was Barbara Helen Kardashian, born on February 10, 1939, in Los Angeles. Barbara lived close to her parents throughout her life and later married a man named Roy Freeman. She passed away in January 2022 at the age of 82. Their second child was Thomas “Tom” Kardashian, who also went into business and remained part of the family circle. Their most famous child was Robert George Kardashian Sr., born on February 22, 1944 — the attorney who would become one of the most recognized legal figures in American history during the O.J. Simpson trial of 1995.
Robert Kardashian Sr. and the Legacy Arthur Handed Down
Robert Kardashian Sr. grew up shaped by his father Arthur’s values of hard work, loyalty, and family. He pursued education at the University of Southern California, earning a degree in business administration, followed by a law degree from the University of San Diego School of Law. He built both a legal career and a business career, co-founding the trade publication Radio & Records in 1973. Robert’s most prominent public moment came during the 1995 O.J. Simpson murder trial, where he served on the defense team alongside lawyers like Johnnie Cochran and Robert Shapiro. Robert passed away on September 30, 2003, from esophageal cancer, at the age of 59 — and his four children, Kourtney, Kim, Khloé, and Rob, went on to build the global Kardashian empire the world knows today.
Arthur Kardashian’s Grandchildren — The Global Kardashian Dynasty
Arthur Kardashian would likely never have imagined the scale of fame his grandchildren would one day achieve. Yet the values he instilled — ambition, family loyalty, cultural pride — appear in each of them.
Kim Kardashian — The Granddaughter Who Changed Pop Culture
Kim Kardashian, born in 1980, became one of the most recognized people in the world. From the reality television series Keeping Up with the Kardashians to her billion-dollar beauty and shapewear brands SKIMS and KKW Beauty, Kim turned the family name into a global business empire. She has also been a vocal advocate for Armenian Genocide recognition, visiting Armenia and publicly honoring her heritage — a tribute that connects directly to Arthur’s legacy. Kim has four children: North, Saint, Chicago, and Psalm West.
Kourtney, Khloé, and Rob — Three More Branches of Arthur’s Tree
Kourtney Kardashian, born in 1979, built her own brand through the wellness platform Poosh and the supplement company Lemme, and in 2022 married musician Travis Barker. Khloé Kardashian, born in 1984, launched the denim brand Good American and became known for her candid personality on television and social media. Rob Kardashian, born in 1987 and named Robert Arthur Kardashian after both his father and great-grandfather, competed on Dancing with the Stars and launched the Arthur George sock brand as a deliberate tribute to his family’s lineage. Each sibling has carved a unique path, but all four carry the Armenian-American heritage that Arthur Kardashian protected throughout his lifetime.
Arthur Kardashian’s Final Years and Lasting Legacy
Arthur Kardashian spent his later years quietly in Indian Wells, California, far from the cameras and controversies that surrounded his famous grandchildren. He remained connected to the Armenian-American community and the Molokan spiritual traditions he had practiced since childhood. He lost his wife Helen in 2008, after 70 years of marriage, and spent his final four years without her. He passed away on December 9, 2012, at the age of 95, at Mission Hills in Los Angeles County. His passing was noted across genealogy and family history records, though it received little mainstream media coverage — a fitting reflection of a man who had always preferred substance over spectacle.
Why Arthur Kardashian Deserves to Be Remembered
The Kardashian name is today synonymous with celebrity, luxury, and cultural influence. But the origin of that name — its dignity, its discipline, its Armenian roots — belongs to Arthur Kardashian and the generations before him. His father Tatos arrived in America with nothing but survived persecution and built a garbage collection business. Arthur transformed that foundation into a meat-packing empire. Robert Sr. built a legal career and social network that gave his children access to the world. And those children became global icons. Every step of that journey started with Arthur’s choices — to work hard, to love faithfully, and to pass down values that outlasted wealth.
Conclusion
Arthur Kardashian was not famous in the way his grandchildren are famous. He did not appear on television, cultivate a social media presence, or launch beauty brands. What he did was far more foundational. He built the financial, cultural, and moral infrastructure upon which one of the most recognized family dynasties in American history now stands. From his Armenian immigrant roots in Los Angeles to his 70-year marriage, his successful business empire, and his devoted fatherhood, Arthur Kardashian embodied values that the modern world rarely associates with the Kardashian name — but which, on closer examination, explain everything about why that name has endured. The real Kardashian story begins not with a reality television camera, but with a quiet, principled man named Arthur.
FAQs About Arthur Kardashian
Q1: Who is Arthur Kardashian?
Arthur Kardashian (1917–2012) was an Armenian-American businessman, the father of attorney Robert Kardashian Sr., and the paternal grandfather of Kim, Kourtney, Khloé, and Rob Kardashian. He built the Great Western Packing meat company in Los Angeles.
Q2: When was Arthur Kardashian born and when did he die?
Arthur Kardashian was born on October 27, 1917, in Los Angeles, California, and passed away on December 9, 2012, in Mission Hills, California, at the age of 95.
Q3: What was Arthur Kardashian’s business?
Arthur Kardashian ran Great Western Packing, a meat-packing company that became one of the largest suppliers on the West Coast. The company won military supply contracts during World War II, greatly expanding its reach and revenue.
Q4: Who did Arthur Kardashian marry?
Arthur married Helen Jean Arakelian in 1938. They were both of Armenian descent and their marriage lasted 70 years. Helen passed away in 2008, and Arthur followed in 2012.
Q5: What is the Armenian connection in the Kardashian family?
The Kardashian family’s Armenian roots trace back to the Kars region of the Ottoman Empire. Arthur’s parents were Armenian immigrants who fled before the 1915 Genocide. Arthur was raised in the Armenian Molokan Christian tradition and passed that heritage to his children.
Q6: How is Rob Kardashian connected to Arthur Kardashian?
Rob Kardashian is Arthur’s great-grandson. He was born Robert Arthur Kardashian, with “Arthur” directly honoring his great-grandfather. Rob also named his sock brand “Arthur George” to pay tribute to both Arthur Kardashian and his father Robert George Kardashian Sr.
Q7: Did Arthur Kardashian appear on Keeping Up with the Kardashians?
Arthur Kardashian is listed in connection with the show on IMDb, but he lived a very private life far removed from the reality television world. He passed away in 2012, during the show’s run, but was not a featured figure in the series.
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