Sample Page

Jay Arthur Pritzker (August 26, 1922 – January 23, 1999) was an American businessman and member of the Pritzker family. He was a founder of the Hyatt Corporation, having purchased the first Hyatt Hotel in 1957, and was responsible for the corporation’s evolution into a multinational hospitality conglomerate.

Pritzker was born in Chicago, Illinois to Jewish parents. Pritzker’s grandparents emigrated to the United States in 1881 from Kyiv.^[1][2] A son of Fanny (née Doppelt) and Abram Nicholas Pritzker, he had two brothers: Donald and Robert Pritzker.^[3] At the age of 14, Pritzker was admitted to the University of Chicago.^[4] He then went on to graduate with a B.S. from Northwestern University in 1941 and a J.D. from the Northwestern University School of Law in 1947.^[3][5][6] Pritzker served in WWII as a naval aviator.^[7]

Pritzker diversified the Chicago-based family business—which then consisted of the Pritzker & Pritzker law firm run by his uncle, Harry, and the investments made by his father and his uncle, Jack — into the Marmon Group holding company.^{[citation needed]} With his brother, Robert, he built a portfolio of 60 diversified industrial corporations. He created the Hyatt Hotel chain in 1957 with his brother Donald Pritzker and owned Braniff Airlines from 1983–1988.^{[citation needed]}

In 1979 he established the Pritzker Architecture Prize. In 1982, he acquired Ticketmaster and expanded it before selling 80% for more than $325 million to Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen in 1993.^[8][9][10]

In 1979, Pritzker received the Golden Plate Award of the American Academy of Achievement.^[11]

In 1996, he and his wife, Cindy, received the National Building Museum’s Honor Award.^[12] In 2004, the Jay Pritzker Pavilion, designed by architect Frank Gehry, was completed as part of Millennium Park in downtown Chicago.^{[citation needed]}

Pritzker was married to Marian “Cindy” Friend, the daughter of Illinois appellate judge Hugo Friend,^[13][14] for 51 years.^[15][16] They had five children:^[17]

• Nancy Pritzker (1948–1972), died by suicide at age 24. The University of Chicago medical school is named for her.^[18]
• Thomas Pritzker (born 1950), served as chairman of Hyatt Foundation, chairman of Marmon Holdings, and as a director of Royal Caribbean, and the Pritzker Foundation.^[17]
• John Pritzker (born 1953), runs his own private equity firm Geolo Capital, which focuses on investments in hospitality, entertainment and health and wellness companies. In 2010, he purchased a majority interest in the Joie de Vivre hotel chain and later merging it with the Pomeranc family’s Thompson Hotel Group.^[17]
• Daniel Pritzker (born 1959), musician and filmmaker who served as a trustee of the Jay Pritzker Foundation along with his wife, Karen. He also founded the Jay Pritzker Academy in Ta Chet, Cambodia; and is a prominent supporter of Providence St. Mel School in Chicago and Tufts University. He is the owner of Jerry Garcia‘s famed guitar “Wolf”, which he purchased at auction for $789,500.
• Jean “Gigi” Pritzker (born 1962), film and play producer and is CEO of Odd Lot Entertainment.^[17]

• Smith v. Van Gorkom
• Pritzker family
• The ITT Wars

• Jay Pritzker Pavilion @ Millennium Park, Chicago Archived December 5, 2010, at the Wayback Machine