John A. Pritzker (born 1953) is an American billionaire and investor. He is a member of the Pritzker family, the grandson of A.N. Pritzker and son of Jay Pritzker,
John A. Pritzker | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1953 (age 70–71) Chicago, Illinois, US |
| Education | Menlo College (BA) University of Denver |
| Occupation(s) | Private equity, philanthropy |
| Known for | Founding partner/director |
| Spouse | Mo KC Pritzker (m. 2021-) |
| Children | 3, including Adam |
| Parent(s) | Jay Pritzker Marian "Cindy" Friend |
| Relatives | Thomas Pritzker (brother) Daniel Pritzker (brother) Jean "Gigi" Pritzker (sister) |
Early life and education
editPritzker was born in Chicago, Illinois,[1] the son of Marian "Cindy" (née Friend) and Jay Pritzker.[2] Pritzker graduated with a B.A. from Menlo College and attended University of Denver.[3] In 1957, Jay founded Hyatt Hotel and, along with his brothers Robert Pritzker and Donald Pritzker diversified the Chicago-based family business into the Marmon Group building it into a portfolio of over 60 diversified industrial corporations and owned Braniff Airlines from 1983 to 1988.[3] The family has been divesting its assets: in 2006, the family sold Conwood, a smokeless tobacco company, for $3.5 billion to cigarette company Reynolds American Inc;[4] in 2007, the family sold control of the Marmon Group to Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway for $4.5 billion;[3] and in 2010, the family sold its majority stake in Transunion, the Chicago-based credit reporting company, for an undisclosed amount to Chicago-based private-equity firm Madison Dearborn Partners.[4]
Career
editIn 1972, Pritzker started his career working in the family business, Hyatt Hotels, where in 1984, he rose to become Managing Director and Divisional Vice President.[5] In 1988, he left Hyatt to pursue his own business ventures,[6] including Ticketmaster.[7] In 1996, he formed Mandara Spa,[8] a chain of 72 resort spas. In 2000, 40% of the company was sold to Shiseido Co.[9] In 2001, the remaining 60% was sold to Steiner Leisure Limited, a Nasdaq (STNR) listed company.[7][10] In 2005, Pritzker founded the private equity firm Geolo Capital with his Mandara business partner Tom Gottlieb;[6] Geolo Capital focused on investments in hospitality, entertainment, and health & wellness companies.[11] In 2009, Geolo Capital bought the iconic Carmel Valley Ranch from Blackstone. The resort was reimagined and opened in 2012. Soon after the resort's opening, Geolo Capital purchased a majority interest in the Joie de Vivre boutique hotel chain. In October 2011, Geolo Capital merged the 30 hotel Joie de Vivre chain with the 12 hotel Thompson Hotel Group[11] to form Commune Hotels & Resorts.[3][12] In 2012, Commune operated 46 hotels, which generated $450 million in revenues.[13] In January 2016, Commune Hotels merged with Destination Hotels to form Two Roads Hospitality. With that merger, the new company managed over 97 hotels across six brands and annual revenues of over $2.3 billion.[14] In November 2018, Two Roads Hospitality closed on its sale to Hyatt Corporation for a reported price of $480 million.
Personal life and philanthropy
editPritzker and his former wife Lisa Stone have three children.[3][15][16] He is the chair of the John Pritzker Family Fund, which invests in mental health and healthcare, democracy and civic health, Jewish life and the arts. The fund is a major supporter of the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Science at the University of California San Francisco (UCSF), where the JPFF funded the construction of the UCSF Nancy Friend Pritzker Building for Psychiatry and the Pritzker Center for Photography at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art. He serves as a trustee an on the Executive Committee of the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Executive Council of UCSF Health.
Pritzker serves on the board of the Bernard Osher Foundation, is a member of the Emeritus Board of Tipping Point Community and is a past president of the San Francisco Jewish Community Federation.[citation needed]
He married Mo KC Pritzker in 2021.
References
edit- ^ Monterey County Weekly: "Hyatt heir John Pritzker's vision of turning Carmel Valley Ranch into an always-open, everyone-welcome version of summer camp" By Josh Sens may 16, 2013
- ^ CNN Money: "THE PRITZKERS UNVEILING A PRIVATE FAMILY" By Ford S. Worthy April 25, 1988
- ^ a b c d e Forbes: The World's Billionaires - John Pritzker June 2015
- ^ a b Chicago Tribune: "Pritzker family could soon own less than half of Hyatt" By Julie Wernau April 19, 2011
- ^ Geolo Capital: John Pritzker – Founding Partner and Director retrieved July 21, 2013
- ^ a b W Magazine: "Pritzker's Prize by Jane Larkworthy August 2010
- ^ a b Hotel Management Magazine: "One on One with John Pritzker" By Ruthanne Terrero Archived 2015-06-10 at the Wayback Machine January 21, 2011
- ^ BusinessWeek: "A Hyatt Heir Who Thinks Small Is Beautiful" by Nadja Brandt February 16, 2012
- ^ Honolulu star Bulletin: "Spa firm taps Hawaii for worldwide base" By Russ Lynch May 16, 2000
- ^ Travel Weekly: "Steiner Leisure to buy stake in Mandara Spa" July 2, 2001
- ^ a b Chicago Tribune: "The Pritzker family tree" By Melissa Harris and Julie Wernau December 18, 2011
- ^ San Francisco Gate: John Pritzker, Hyatt heir, likes boutique hotels" by Nadja Brandt February 19, 2012
- ^ San Francisco Business Journal: "Commune is all inn" by Renée Frojo November 30, 2012
- ^ "Geolo Capital". www.geolo.com. Retrieved 2016-04-08.
- ^ Harris, Melissa; Wernau, Julie (December 18, 2011). "Fortune's Fate". Chicago Tribune. pp. 1, 2 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Dolan, Kerry A. (May 10, 2021). "Billionaire John Pritzker And Lisa Stone Pritzker Donating Nearly $60 Million For Mental Health At U.C. San Francisco". Forbes.
John Pritzker, a San Francisco billionaire, and his former wife, Lisa Stone Pritzker,