The Pritzker family is an American family engaged in
entrepreneurship
Entrepreneurship is the creation or extraction of economic value. With this definition, entrepreneurship is viewed as change, generally entailing risk beyond what is normally encountered in starting a business, which may include other values t ...
and
philanthropy
Philanthropy is a form of altruism that consists of "private initiatives, for the public good, focusing on quality of life". Philanthropy contrasts with business initiatives, which are private initiatives for private good, focusing on material ...
Forbes
''Forbes'' () is an American business magazine owned by Integrated Whale Media Investments and the Forbes family. Published eight times a year, it features articles on finance, industry, investing, and marketing topics. ''Forbes'' also r ...
'' magazine's "America's Richest Families" list since the magazine began such listings in 1982). Its fortune arose in the 20th century—particularly through the founding and expansion of 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 vaca ...
hotel corporation.
Family members still largely own Hyatt, and prior to its sale to
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 ...
, the Marmon Group, a conglomerate of manufacturing and industrial service companies. Their holdings also have included the Superior Bank of Chicago (which collapsed in 2001), the TransUnion
credit bureau
A credit bureau is a data collection agency that gathers account information from various creditors and provides that information to a consumer reporting agency in the United States, a credit reference agency in the United Kingdom, a credit repor ...
cruise line
A cruise line is a company that operates cruise ships that operate on ocean or rivers
A river is a natural flowing watercourse, usually freshwater, flowing towards an ocean, sea, lake or another river. In some cases, a river flows into ...
.
The Pritzker family is of
Jewish
Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...
descent, and based in
Chicago
(''City in a Garden''); I Will
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, map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago
, coordinates =
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, subdivision_type = List of sovereign states, Count ...
,
Illinois
Illinois ( ) is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolitan areas include, Peoria and Roc ...
.
Family fortune
In 1995, Jay Pritzker, the cofounder of Hyatt, stepped down and Thomas Pritzker took control of The Pritzker Organization. When the former died in 1999, the family split the business into 11 pieces worth $1.4 billion each (and chose to settle a lawsuit from two family members, who apparently received $500 million each, in 2005). By 2011, the dissolution had been completed, and the cousins had gone their separate ways, with some pursuing business, and others philanthropic or artistic ventures. According to ''Inside Philanthropy'', there are many Pritzkers, with many different vehicles or foundations for their philanthropic giving.
Genealogy
* Jacob Pritzker (1831–1896) and Sophia Schwarzman (1850–1910)
** Nicholas Pritzker (1871–1957), Jewish immigrant from
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 ...
, founder of Pritzker & Pritzker law firm in Chicago and a cousin of the existentialist philosopher Lev Shestov (Schwartzman), married Annie P. Cohn
***
Harry Nicholas Pritzker
Harry Nicholas Pritzker (August 1, 1892 – August 1956) was an American businessman and member of the Pritzker family.
Early life and education
Harry was the son of Ukrainian-Jewish immigrants Annie P. (née Cohn) and Nicholas J. Pritzker. His ...
(1893–1957), lawyer at Pritzker and Pritzker law firm, married Elna Stone
**** Richard S. Pritzker (1944-2015), married Lori Hart
**** Joanne Pritzker (1946–1955)
***
Abram Nicholas Pritzker
Abram Nicholas Pritzker (January 6, 1896 – February 8, 1986) was an American businessman and member of the Pritzker family.
Early life and education
Abram was the son of Ukrainian Jewish immigrants, Annie P. (née Cohn) and Nicholas J. Prit ...
(1896–1986), patriarch of family business enterprise, married Fanny Doppelt
****
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 ...
(1922–1999), co-founder of
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 vaca ...
,
philanthropist
Philanthropy is a form of altruism that consists of "private initiatives, for the Public good (economics), public good, focusing on quality of life". Philanthropy contrasts with business initiatives, which are private initiatives for private goo ...
, founder of the Pritzker Prize. Married Marian "Cindy" Friend
***** Nancy Pritzker (1948–1972)
***** Thomas Pritzker (born 1950), chief executive of
The Pritzker Organization
''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in ...
, married Margot Marshall
***** John Pritzker (born 1953)
****** Adam Pritzker (born 1984), co-founder and chairman of
General Assembly
A general assembly or general meeting is a meeting of all the members of an organization or shareholders of a company.
Specific examples of general assembly include:
Churches
* General Assembly (presbyterian church), the highest court of pres ...
,
Columbia University
Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manha ...
trustee
***** Daniel Pritzker (born 1959), founder, guitarist and songwriter for the band Sonia Dada, and documentary filmmaker, married Karen Edensword
***** Jean (Gigi) Pritzker (born 1962), filmmaker, married Michael Pucker
****
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,Marmon Group and philanthropist, married to Audrey Gilbert, Irene Dryburgh, and Mayari Sargent
*****
Jennifer N. Pritzker
Jennifer Natalya Pritzker (born James Nicholas Pritzker; August 13, 1950) is an American investor, philanthropist, and member of the Pritzker family. Pritzker retired as a lieutenant colonel from the Illinois Army National Guard (ILARNG) in 200 ...
Tibetan Buddhist
Tibetan Buddhism (also referred to as Indo-Tibetan Buddhism, Lamaism, Lamaistic Buddhism, Himalayan Buddhism, and Northern Buddhism) is the form of Buddhism practiced in Tibet and Bhutan, where it is the dominant religion. It is also in majo ...
lama
Lama (; "chief") is a title for a teacher of the Dharma in Tibetan Buddhism. The name is similar to the Sanskrit term ''guru'', meaning "heavy one", endowed with qualities the student will eventually embody. The Tibetan word "lama" means "hig ...
, author
***** Karen Pritzker (born 1958), married Michael Vlock
*****
Matthew Pritzker
Matthew Pritzker (born May 28, 1982) is an American investor and businessperson based in Chicago, Illinois. In 2008 he founded the Matthew Pritzker Company. The company’s focus is on building businesses across a variety of industries—includin ...
(born 1982)
***** Liesel Pritzker (born 1984), actress, married Ian Simmons
****
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 ...
(1932–1972), co-founder and president of
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 vaca ...
, married Sue Sandel
***** Penny Pritzker (born 1959), 38th
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 ...
, chairman and CEO of PSP Capital Partners and Artemis Real Estate Partners, 2012 national co-chair of Obama for America, former Stanford University trustee, married Bryan Traubert
***** Anthony Pritzker (born 1961), married Jeanne Kriser
***** J. B. Pritzker (born 1965), founder of Pritzker Group Venture Capital (formerly New World Ventures), co-founder of Pritzker Group,
Governor of Illinois
The governor of Illinois is the head of government of Illinois, and the various agencies and departments over which the officer has jurisdiction, as prescribed in the state constitution. It is a directly elected position, votes being cast by p ...
(2019–present), national co-chairman of the
Hillary Clinton presidential campaign, 2008
The 2008 presidential campaign of Hillary Rodham Clinton, then junior United States senator from New York, was announced on her website on January 20, 2007. Hillary Clinton was previously the First Lady of the United States and First Lady of ...
Nicholas J. Pritzker
Nicholas J. Pritzker is an American real estate and venture entrepreneur in San Francisco, California. He served as the Chairman of the board and CEO of the Hyatt Development Corporation. He is a member of the wealthy Pritzker family, who owned c ...
Forbes 400
The ''Forbes'' 400 or 400 Richest Americans is a list published by ''Forbes'' magazine of the wealthiest 400 American citizens who own assets in the U.S., ranked by net worth. The 400 was started by Malcolm Forbes in 1982 and the list is p ...
Jay Pritzker Pavilion
Jay Pritzker Pavilion, also known as Pritzker Pavilion or Pritzker Music Pavilion, is a bandshell in Millennium Park in the Loop community area of Chicago in Cook County, Illinois, United States. It is located on the south side of Randolph S ...
at Chicago's
Millennium Park
Millennium Park is a public park located in the Loop community area of Chicago, operated by the Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs. The park, opened in 2004 and intended to celebrate the third millennium, is a prominent civic center ne ...
*
Pritzker Architecture Prize
The Pritzker Architecture Prize is an international architecture award presented annually "to honor a living architect or architects whose built work demonstrates a combination of those qualities of talent, vision and commitment, which has produ ...
* Pritzker Family Children's Zoo at the Lincoln Park Zoo
* Pritzker College Prep, a Campus of the Noble Network of Charter High Schools
* Pritzker Institute of Biomedical Science and Engineering at the
Illinois Institute of Technology
Illinois Institute of Technology (IIT) is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois. Tracing its history to 1890, the present name was adopted upon the merger of the Armour Institute and Lewis Institute in 1940. The university has pro ...
Northwestern University
Northwestern University is a private research university in Evanston, Illinois. Founded in 1851, Northwestern is the oldest chartered university in Illinois and is ranked among the most prestigious academic institutions in the world.
Chart ...
**Pritzker Legal Research Center at Northwestern
*
Pritzker School of Medicine
The Pritzker School of Medicine is the 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 neighborhood of Chicago and matriculated its ...
at the
University of Chicago
The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, U of C, or UChi) is a private university, private research university in Chicago, Illinois. Its main campus is located in Chicago's Hyde Park, Chicago, Hyde Park neighborhood. The University of Chic ...
Art Institute of Chicago
The Art Institute of Chicago in Chicago's Grant Park, founded in 1879, is one of the oldest and largest art museums in the world. Recognized for its curatorial efforts and popularity among visitors, the museum hosts approximately 1.5 mil ...
* Pritzker Traubert Family Library at the
University of Chicago Laboratory Schools
The University of Chicago Laboratory Schools (also known as Lab or Lab Schools and abbreviated as UCLS though the high school is nicknamed U-High) is a private, co-educational day Pre-K and K-12 school in Chicago, Illinois. It is affiliated with ...
*
The Pritzker Organization
''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in ...
* Pritzker Edition of ''
Zohar
The ''Zohar'' ( he, , ''Zōhar'', lit. "Splendor" or "Radiance") is a foundational work in the literature of Jewish mystical thought known as Kabbalah. It is a group of books including commentary on the mystical aspects of the Torah (the five ...
'' (the Book of Radiance), translation & commentary by Daniel Matt and, for last 3 volumes, Nathan Wolski and Joel Hecker; 12 vols, Stanford University Press, 1997-2017
* Pritzker Military Museum and Library-cited earlier in this article.
* Robert A. Pritzker Center for Meteoritics and Polar Studies in the
Field Museum of Natural History
The Field Museum of Natural History (FMNH), also known as The Field Museum, is a natural history museum in Chicago, Illinois, and is one of the largest such museums in the world. The museum is popular for the size and quality of its educational ...
List of largest houses in the United States
This is a list of the 100+ largest extant and historic houses in the United States, ordered by area of the main house. The list includes houses that have been demolished, houses that are currently under construction, and buildings that are not cu ...