Donald Nicholas Pritzker (October 31, 1932 – May 6, 1972) was an
American
American(s) may refer to:
* American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America"
** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America
** American ancestry, pe ...
entrepreneur
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 ...
, businessman. He is a member of the Pritzker family and served as the 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 va ...
, where he helped grow the hotel chain.
He is the father of J.B.,
Anthony
Anthony or Antony is a masculine given name, derived from the '' Antonii'', a ''gens'' ( Roman family name) to which Mark Antony (''Marcus Antonius'') belonged. According to Plutarch, the Antonii gens were Heracleidae, being descendants of Anton, ...
and
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 ...
.
Early life and education
Pritzker was born to a
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 ...
Chicago, Illinois
(''City in a Garden''); I Will
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, the son of Fanny (née Doppelt) and A. N. Pritzker. He had two older brothers: Jay Pritzker (1922–1999) and
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,Francis W. Parker School, and graduated with a B.A. from
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of highe ...
as well as a J.D. from the law school 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 ...
Atherton, California
Atherton () is an incorporated town in San Mateo County, California, United States. Its population was 7,188 as of 2020.
Atherton is known for its wealth; in 1990 and 2019, Atherton was ranked as having the highest per capita income among U.S. ...
and went about developing the chain and soon became Hyatt's president. In 1967, the Pritzkers bought a newly built hotel in downtown Atlanta out of bankruptcy which had an unusual design consisting of a 21-story atrium lobby with external glass elevators, fountains, and caged tropical birds. Donald renamed it the ''Hyatt Regency Atlanta''; it became an instant success and served as the architectural model for all future Hyatt hotels.
Donald was credited with "setting the tone for the culture and philosophy at Hyatt" and presided over its growth from a six hotel chain to the 5th largest hotel chain in the world at the time of his death.
Radcliffe College
Radcliffe College was a women's liberal arts college in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and functioned as the female coordinate institution for the all-male Harvard College. Considered founded in 1879, it was one of the Seven Sisters colleges and h ...
. They had three children:
*
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 ...
(born 1959), the 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 ...
*
Anthony Pritzker
Anthony Nicholas Pritzker (born January 7, 1961) is a member of the Pritzker family and an heir to the Hyatt Hotel fortune; he serves as managing partner of the Pritzker Group.
Early life and education
Pritzker was born to a Jewish family, one o ...
(born 1961), managing partner of the Pritzker Group.BusinessWeek profile /ref>Milken Institute biography /ref>
* Jay Robert Pritzker (born 1965), managing partner of the Pritzker Group and
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 ...
. and the 512th richest person in the world.
Death
Pritzker died in 1972 at age 39 of a heart attack while playing tennis at a Hyatt hotel in Honolulu. His wife died 10 years later in an accident at age 49.
Donald
Donald is a masculine given name derived from the Gaelic name ''Dòmhnall''.. This comes from the Proto-Celtic *''Dumno-ualos'' ("world-ruler" or "world-wielder"). The final -''d'' in ''Donald'' is partly derived from a misinterpretation of the ...