The Pritzker family is an American family engaged in entrepreneurship and philanthropy, and one of the wealthiest families in the United States (staying in the top 10 of Forbes 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 Hotels Corporation.
The Pritzker family is of Jewish descent[3] and based in Chicago, Illinois.[4] The founder of the American Pritzker family, Yakov (Jacob) Pritzker (1831–1896), was the manager of a sugar factory in Kyiv Governorate, on the territory of modern Ukraine. At first he lived with his family in the village of Velyki Pritzky, then in Kyiv. At the end of the 19th century, escaping from Jewish pogroms in the Russian Empire, he emigrated to the USA with his family.[5][6]
In 1995, Jay Pritzker, the cofounder of Hyatt, stepped down and Thomas Pritzker took control of The Pritzker Organization.[4] When the former died in 1999, the family split the business into 11 pieces worth $1.4 billion each[4] (and chose to settle a lawsuit from two family members, who apparently received $500 million each, in 2005).[7][8][9] 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.[10] According to Inside Philanthropy, there are many Pritzkers, with many different vehicles or foundations for their philanthropic giving.[11]
Jacob Pritzker (1831–1896) and Sophia Schwarzman (1850–1910)
Nicholas Pritzker (1871–1957), Jewish immigrant from Kyiv, founder of Pritzker & Pritzker law firm in Chicago and a cousin of the existentialist philosopher Lev Shestov (Schwartzman),[12] married Annie P. Cohn
Harry Nicholas Pritzker (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 (1896–1986), patriarch of family business enterprise, married Fanny Doppelt
Robert Pritzker (1926–2011), founder of Marmon Group and philanthropist, married to Audrey Gilbert (3 children), Irene Dryburgh (2 children), and Mayari Sargent
Donald Pritzker (1932–1972), co-founder and president of Hyatt, married Sue Sandel, 3 children
Penny Pritzker (born 1959), 38th United States Secretary of Commerce, 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
Pritzker Edition of Zohar (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.
