The Pritzker family is an American family engaged in various business enterprises and philanthropy, and one of the wealthiest families in the United States (staying in the top 10 of ''

Forbes ''Forbes'' () is an American business magazine founded by B. C. Forbes in 1917. It has been owned by the Hong Kong–based investment group Integrated Whale Media Investments since 2014. Its chairman and editor-in-chief is Steve Forbes. The co ...

'' magazine's "America's Richest Families" list since the magazine began such listings in 1982). Its fortune started in the 20th century, particularly through the expansion of the Hyatt Hotels Corporation by Jay Pritzker. Family members still largely own Hyatt and prior to its sale to

Berkshire Hathaway Berkshire Hathaway Inc. () is an American multinational conglomerate holding company headquartered in Omaha, Nebraska. Originally a textile manufacturer, the company transitioned into a conglomerate starting in 1965 under the management of c ...

, the Marmon Group, a conglomerate of manufacturing and industrial service companies. They have also had holdings in the Superior Bank of Chicago (which collapsed in 2001), the

TransUnion TransUnion LLC is an American consumer credit reporting agency. TransUnion collects and aggregates information on over one billion individual consumers in over thirty countries including "200 million files profiling nearly every credit-active co ...

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 report ...

Braniff Braniff Airways, Inc., operated as Braniff International Airways from 1948 until 1965, and then Braniff International from 1965 until the cessation of air operations, was an American airline that operated from 1928 until 1982 and continues to ...

airlines, ''

McCall's ''McCall's'' was a monthly United States, American women's magazine, published by the McCall Corporation, that enjoyed great popularity through much of the 20th century, peaking at a readership of 8.4 million in the early 1960s. The publication ...

'' magazine, and the Royal Caribbean International cruise line. The Pritzker family is of Jewish descent and based in

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

. Yakov "Jacob" Pritzker (1831–1896), was the manager of a sugar factory in Kyiv Governorate in the territory of modern

Ukraine Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the List of European countries by area, second-largest country in Europe after Russia, which Russia–Ukraine border, borders it to the east and northeast. Ukraine also borders Belarus to the nor ...

. At first he lived with his family in the village of Velyki Pritzky, then in

Kyiv Kyiv, also Kiev, is the capital and most populous List of cities in Ukraine, city of Ukraine. Located in the north-central part of the country, it straddles both sides of the Dnieper, Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2022, its population was 2, ...

. He and his family immigrated to the United States from the

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire that spanned most of northern Eurasia from its establishment in November 1721 until the proclamation of the Russian Republic in September 1917. At its height in the late 19th century, it covered about , roughl ...

towards the end of the 19th century, to escape the pogroms there.

Family fortune

In 1995, Jay Pritzker stepped down and Thomas Pritzker took control of The Pritzker Organization. When Jay died in 1999, the family split the business into 11 pieces worth $1.4 billion each (choosing 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'', many Pritzkers have numerous vehicles or foundations for giving philanthropically.

Genealogy

*Jacob Pritzker (1831–1896) and Sophia Schwarzman (1850–1910) ** Nicholas Pritzker (1871–1957), a Jewish immigrant from

, 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 (1893–1957), a 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 (1896–1986), patriarch of the family business enterprise, married Fanny Doppelt **** Jay Pritzker (1922–1999), co-founder of

Hyatt Hyatt Hotels Corporation, commonly known as Hyatt Hotels & Resorts, is an American multinational corporation, multinational hospitality company headquartered in the 150 North Riverside, Riverside Plaza area of Chicago that manages and franchise ...

, philanthropist, founder of the Pritzker Prize. Married Marian "Cindy" Friend *****Nancy Pritzker (1948–1972) ***** Thomas Pritzker (born 1950), chief executive of The Pritzker Organization, married Margot Marshall ***** John Pritzker (born 1953), married Lisa Stone, 3 children ****** Adam Pritzker (born 1984), co-founder and chair of General Assembly,

Columbia University Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...

trustee, married Sophie McNally ****** Noah Pritzker (born 1986), film director ***** 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 (1926–2011), founder of Marmon Group and philanthropist, married to Audrey Gilbert (3 children), Irene Dryburgh (2 children), and Mayari Sargent ***** Jennifer N. Pritzker (born James, 1950), Colonel (Ret), Illinois Army National Guard, founder of the

Pritzker Military Museum & Library The Pritzker Military Museum & Library (formerly Pritzker Military Library) is a non-profit museum and research library for the study of military history located in a state-of-the art facility in Kenosha, WI. The institution was founded in 2003, ...

***** Linda Pritzker (born 1953),

Tibetan Buddhist Tibetan Buddhism is a form of Buddhism practiced in Tibet, Bhutan and Mongolia. It also has a sizable number of adherents in the areas surrounding the Himalayas, including the Indian regions of Ladakh, Darjeeling, Sikkim, and Arunachal Prades ...

lama Lama () is a title bestowed to a realized practitioner of the Dharma in Tibetan Buddhism. Not all monks are lamas, while nuns and female practitioners can be recognized and entitled as lamas. The Tibetan word ''la-ma'' means "high mother", ...

, author ***** Karen Pritzker (born 1958), married Michael Vlock ***** Matthew Pritzker (born 1982) ***** Liesel Pritzker (born 1984), actress, married Ian Simmons **** Donald Pritzker (1932–1972), co-founder and president of

, married Sue Sandel, 3 children ***** 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 ...

, chair 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 ***** JB 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 Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. It borders on Lake Michigan to its northeast, the Mississippi River to its we ...

(2019–present), national co-chair of the Hillary Clinton 2008 presidential campaign, married Mary K. Muenster *** Jack Nicholas Pritzker (1904–1979), real estate developer and lawyer, married Rhoda Goldberg (1914–2007) **** Nicholas J. Pritzker (born 1944), chair of the board and CEO of the Hyatt Development Corporation, married Susan Stowell

Family members fortune

Members of the Pritzker family on the ''

'' '' The World's Billionaires List'' of "the richest people in the world" in 2024:

Legacy

* A.N. Pritzker Elementary School * Jay Pritzker Pavilion at Chicago's

Millennium Park Millennium Park is a public park located in the Chicago Loop, Loop Community areas of Chicago, community area of Chicago, operated by the Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs. The park, opened in July 2004, is a prominent civic center near t ...

*Nancy Friend Pritzker Psychiatry Building at the

University of California, San Francisco The University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in San Francisco, California, United States. It is part of the University of California system and is dedic ...

Pritzker Architecture Prize The Pritzker Architecture Prize is an international 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 produced consisten ...

*Pritzker Family Children's Zoo at the

Lincoln Park Zoo Lincoln Park Zoo, also known as Lincoln Park Zoological Gardens, is a zoo in Lincoln Park, Chicago, Illinois. The zoo was founded in 1868 and is the second oldest zoo in the United States. It is also one of a small number of zoos to offer fr ...

*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 The Illinois Institute of Technology, commonly referred to as Illinois Tech and IIT, is a Private university, private research university in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Tracing its history to 1890, the present name was adopted upon the m ...

* Pritzker School of Law at

Northwestern University Northwestern University (NU) is a Private university, private research university in Evanston, Illinois, United States. Established in 1851 to serve the historic Northwest Territory, it is the oldest University charter, chartered university in ...

**Pritzker Legal Research Center at Northwestern *Pritzker Hall at the University of California, Los Angeles * Pritzker School of Medicine at the

University of Chicago The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, or UChi) is a Private university, private research university in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Its main campus is in the Hyde Park, Chicago, Hyde Park neighborhood on Chicago's South Side, Chic ...

(UChicago) * Pritzker School of Molecular Engineering at UChicago *Pritzker Marine Biological Research Center at New College of Florida *Pritzker Galleries of Impressionism and Post-Impressionism at the

Art Institute of Chicago The Art Institute of Chicago, founded in 1879, is one of the oldest and largest art museums in the United States. The museum is based in the Art Institute of Chicago Building in Chicago's Grant Park (Chicago), Grant Park. Its collection, stewa ...

*Pritzker Traubert Family Library at the University of Chicago Laboratory Schools * The Pritzker Organization *Pritzker Edition of ''

Zohar The ''Zohar'' (, ''Zōhar'', lit. "Splendor" or "Radiance") is a foundational work of Kabbalistic literature. It is a group of books including commentary on the mystical aspects of the Torah and scriptural interpretations as well as material o ...

'' (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 *Pritzker Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Health in the Lurie Children's Hospital

References

{{Authority control American billionaires Business families of the United States Jewish-American families American people of Ukrainian-Jewish descent

Family fortune

Genealogy

Family members fortune

Legacy

See also

References