Abram Nicholas Pritzker (January 6, 1896 – February 8, 1986) was an American businessman and member of the

Pritzker family The Pritzker family is an American family engaged in entrepreneurship and philanthropy, and List of wealthiest families, one of the wealthiest families in the United States of America (staying in the top 10 of ''Forbes'' magazine's "America's Riche ...

Early life and education

Abram was the son of

Ukrainian Jewish The history of the Jews in Ukraine dates back over a thousand years; Jewish communities have existed in the territory of Ukraine from the time of the Kievan Rus' (late 9th to mid-13th century). Some of the most important Jewish religious and ...

immigrants, Annie P. (née Cohn) and Nicholas J. Pritzker. His father left

Kyiv Kyiv, also spelled Kiev, is the capital and most populous city of Ukraine. It is in north-central Ukraine along the Dnieper, Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2021, its population was 2,962,180, making Kyiv the List of European cities by populat ...

for

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

in 1881 and worked first as a pharmacist and then, after graduating from

DePaul University College of Law The DePaul University College of Law is the professional graduate law school of DePaul University in Chicago. The College of Law’s facilities encompass nine floors across two buildings, with features such as the Vincent G. Rinn Law Library and ...

, as a lawyer.Ford S. Worthy
THE PRITZKERS UNVEILING A PRIVATE FAMILY
''CNN Money'' April 25, 1988 His father wrote a small book that has been passed down the generations; the theme of the book is "Your only immortality is the impact you have on your successors." Abram graduated from

Harvard Law School Harvard Law School (Harvard Law or HLS) is the law school of Harvard University, a private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest continuously operating law school in the United States. Each class ...

Career

Abram joined his father's law firm, Pritzker & Pritzker, along with his brothers,

Harry Harry may refer to: TV shows * ''Harry'' (American TV series), a 1987 American comedy series starring Alan Arkin * ''Harry'' (British TV series), a 1993 BBC drama that ran for two seasons * ''Harry'' (talk show), a 2016 American daytime talk show ...

and

Jack Jack may refer to: Places * Jack, Alabama, US, an unincorporated community * Jack, Missouri, US, an unincorporated community * Jack County, Texas, a county in Texas, USA People and fictional characters * Jack (given name), a male given name, ...

. Harry specialized in criminal law, Abram (called Abe and later A.N.) specialized in business law, and Jack in real estate law. In the 1930s, he left the law practice and branched out with his brother Jack, investing in real estate and small companies, mostly in the

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

area. Harry continued to run the law firm, which eventually became an in-house firm catering solely to the needs of the Pritzker family and its business. The Pritzker brothers were very successful and amassed a considerable fortune. They shielded their earnings from taxes through a series of trusts, which enabled them to distribute the money as they chose.

Philanthropy

Pritzker's philanthropic endeavors include funding the

Pritzker School of Medicine The Pritzker School of Medicine is the Doctor of Medicine, M.D.-granting unit of the Biological Sciences Division of the University of Chicago. It is located on the university's main campus in the historic Hyde Park, Chicago, Hyde Park neighbo ...

at the

University of Chicago The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, U of C, or UChi) is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois. Its main campus is located in Chicago's Hyde Park neighborhood. The University of Chicago is consistently ranked among the b ...

. He also set up a trust fund for the

A.N. Pritzker Elementary School A.N. Pritzker school is located in the Wicker Park neighborhood in Chicago, Illinois. Pritzker School serves grades K-8 with its neighborhood magnet-cluster school focused on fine and performing arts and a Regional Gifted Center. Pritzker also o ...

, which he had attended when it was called the Wicker Park Elementary School.

Personal life

Pritzker had three sons:

Jay Pritzker Jay Arthur Pritzker (August 26, 1922 – January 23, 1999) was an American entrepreneur, conglomerate organizer, and member of the Pritzker family. Early life and education Pritzker was born in Chicago, Illinois to Jewish parents who emi ...

Robert Pritzker Robert Alan 'Bob' Pritzker (June 30, 1926 – October 27, 2011) was an American businessman and member of the wealthy Pritzker family. Biography Pritzker was born to a Jewish family, the Pritzker family,Donald Pritzker Donald Nicholas Pritzker (October 31, 1932 – May 6, 1972) was an American entrepreneur, businessman. He is a member of the Pritzker family and served as the president of Hyatt, where he helped grow the hotel chain. He is the father of ...

. His sons continued to grow the family business, eventually buying the

Hyatt Hyatt Hotels Corporation, commonly known as Hyatt Hotels & Resorts, is an American multinational hospitality company headquartered in the Riverside Plaza area of Chicago that manages and franchises luxury and business hotels, resorts, and vacat ...

House hotel in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

in 1957 and forming the cornerstone of their hotel chain. His son Robert created a conglomerate of a multitude of manufacturing companies that grew into the multibillion-dollar

Marmon Group Marmon Group is an American industrial holding company headquartered in Chicago, Illinois; founded by Jay Pritzker and Robert Pritzker in 1953 (as Colson Corporation), it has been held by the Berkshire Hathaway group since 2013. It owns companies ...

. Marmon was diversified to include manufacturing concerns ranging from lumber to railroad boxcars, and travel industry staples. It composed half of the family's wealth. On December 25, 2007, it was announced that Warren Buffett, through

Berkshire Hathaway Berkshire Hathaway Inc. () is an American Multinational corporation, multinational conglomerate (company), conglomerate holding company headquartered in Omaha, Nebraska, United States. Its main business and source of capital is insurance, from ...

, would purchase 60% of the Marmon Group from the Pritzkers for $4.5 billion.New York Times: "Rapidly, Buffett Secures a Deal for $4.5 Billion" By Vikas Bajaj
December 26, 2007 The Pritzkers also own a large stake in Royal Caribbean. TransUnion was a subsidiary of The Marmon Group until January 2005, but is now an independent, privately held company. One of his granddaughters is actress

Liesel Pritzker Liesel Pritzker Simmons (born Liesel Anne Pritzker), stage name Liesel Matthews, is an American heiress and former child actress. She starred as Sara Crewe in ''A Little Princess'', a 1995 film adaptation of the Frances Hodgson Burnett classic, ...

. Another is former

United States Secretary of Commerce The United States secretary of commerce (SecCom) is the head of the United States Department of Commerce. The secretary serves as the principal advisor to the president of the United States on all matters relating to commerce. The secretary rep ...

Penny Pritzker Penny Sue Pritzker (born May 2, 1959) is an American billionaire businesswoman and civic leader who served as the 38th United States secretary of commerce in the Obama administration from 2013 to 2017. She was confirmed by a Senate vote of 97� ...

. One of his grandsons is

Daniel Pritzker Daniel Pritzker (born 1959) is an American billionaire heir, musician, film director, and member of the Pritzker family. Early life Pritzker was born to a Jewish family, the son of Marian (née Friend) and Jay Pritzker. He is the grandson of A ...

, the founder of the

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

band

Sonia Dada Sonia Dada was an American rock, soul, and rhythm and blues band, formed in Chicago in 1990. Founding member Daniel Pritzker enlisted Michael Scott, Paris Delane, and Sam Hogan after hearing the latter three sing in a subway station.Biography Al ...

. Another grandson,

J.B. Pritzker Jay Robert "J. B." Pritzker (born January 19, 1965) is an American billionaire businessman, philanthropist, and politician serving as the List of governors of Illinois, 43rd governor of Illinois since 2019. A member of the wealthy Pritzker fami ...

was elected Democratic Governor of Illinois in November 2018 replacing Republican

Bruce Rauner Bruce Vincent Rauner (; born February 18, 1956) is an American businessman, philanthropist, and politician who served as the 42nd governor of Illinois from 2015 to 2019. Prior to his election, he was the chairman of R8 Capital Partners and chai ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pritzker, A.N. 1896 births 1986 deaths 20th-century American businesspeople Harvard Law School alumni A. N. American people of Ukrainian-Jewish descent 20th-century American philanthropists 20th-century American Jews