Jay Pritzker

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.

Early life and education Pritzker was born in Chicago, Illinois to Jewish parents. Pritzker's grandparents emigrated to the United States in 1881 from Kyiv. A son of Fanny (née Doppelt) and Abram Nicholas Pritzker, he had two brothers: Donald and Robert Pritzker. At the age of 14, Pritzker was admitted to the University of Chicago. 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. Pritzker served in WWII as a naval aviator.

Career 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. 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.

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.

In 1979, Pritzker received the Golden Plate Award of the American Academy of Achievement.

In 1996, he and his wife, Cindy, received the National Building Museum's Honor Award. In 2004, the Jay Pritzker Pavilion, designed by architect Frank Gehry, was completed as part of Millennium Park in downtown Chicago.

Personal life

Pritzker was married to Marian "Cindy" Friend, the daughter of Illinois appellate judge Hugo Friend, for 51 years. They had five children: Nancy Pritzker (1948–1972), died by suicide at age 24. The University of Chicago medical school is named for her. 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.