Jennifer N. Pritzker

Jennifer Natalya Pritzker (born James Nicholas Pritzker; August 13, 1950) is an American investor, philanthropist, and member of the Pritzker family. Pritzker retired as a lieutenant colonel from the Illinois Army National Guard (ILARNG) in 2001, and was later made an honorary Illinois colonel. Founder of the Tawani Foundation in 1995, Tawani Enterprises in 1996, and the Pritzker Military Museum & Library in 2003, Pritzker has been involved with civic applications of inherited and accrued wealth, including significant donations to broaden understanding and support for "citizen soldiers."

In August 2013, Pritzker released a statement to employees at Tawani Enterprises and the Pritzker Military Museum & Library that subsequently received wide media coverage, indicating the change from "J. N." to "Jennifer Natalya" to reflect her status as a transgender woman, making her the first openly transgender billionaire.

She is the cousin of current Illinois governor J. B. Pritzker and former US Secretary of Commerce Penny Pritzker.

Early life She was born James Nicholas Pritzker to Robert Pritzker and Audrey (née Gilbert) Pritzker in Chicago, Illinois. Five years of her youth were spent in Oberlin, Ohio, living next door to the Weltzheimer/Johnson House, which Pritzker cites as an establishing factor in her love for Frank Lloyd Wright, architecture, and preservation and restoration in general.

As a granddaughter of A.N. Pritzker, she is a member of the Pritzker family, one of the wealthiest families in America. Her parents divorced in 1979, and she has two half-siblings, Matthew Pritzker and Liesel Pritzker Simmons, from the remarriage of her father, Robert, to Irene Dryburgh in 1980. (Her mother also remarried, to Albert B. Ratner in 1981). Pritzker is Jewish.

Military career Pritzker says her most memorable experiences in life were in Israel in October 1973 when she witnessed events of the Yom Kippur War. Pritzker retired from the Army National Guard as a lieutenant colonel, in 2001. After retiring, Pritzker was made an honorary Illinois colonel.

Business career Pritzker has founded or served with a number of business and philanthropic organizations. In 1996, she incorporated Tawani Enterprises, where she served as president and CEO, and now serves as chairwoman.

Jennifer Pritzker is part of a Chicago-based, women-led group headed by Laura Ricketts that purchased NWSL’s Chicago Red Stars in 2023.

Family businesses Jennifer Pritzker's father Robert, and Robert's brothers Jay and Donald, built and diversified a Chicago-based family business, the Marmon Group, into a holding company of more than 60 diverse industrial corporations; they also created the Hyatt Hotel chain in 1957, and owned Braniff Airlines from 1983–1988. The family later began divesting of many of these assets. In 2006, the family sold Conwood, a smokeless tobacco company, for $3.5 billion to cigarette company Reynolds American Inc. In 2007, the family sold a 60% stake, and sold control of the Marmon Group to Berkshire Hathaway for $4.5 billion, In 2010, the family sold its majority stake in Transunion, the Chicago-based credit reporting company, to Chicago-based private-equity firm Madison Dearborn Partners for an undisclosed amount. which "provides support in the areas of arts and culture, historical preservation, health and wellness, LGBTQ+ and human rights, education and environmental initiatives."

In 2003, the Tawani Foundation made a $1.35 million donation to the Palm Center at the University of California, Santa Barbara, to study the feasibility of transgender people serving in the military and in the ranks of police and fire departments.

In 2016, through her Foundation, Pritzker gave a $2 million donation to create the world's first academic Chair in Transgender Studies, at the University of Victoria in British Columbia; Aaron Devor was chosen as the inaugural chair.

The renovation of the Illinois governor’s mansion, a project done completely through private donations, received a contribution from Jennifer Pritzker in 2018, in an amount upward of $250,000.

In 2024, the Foundation announced a $10 million commitment to the Chicago Symphony Orchestra Association, an organization that Col. Pritzker serves on the board for, which includes a $5 million challenge grant.

The Pritzker Military Foundation was created in 2017 and took on the military related avenues of Pritzker’s philanthropy.

Political causes Pritzker was a Republican and major donor to candidates and organizations such as the National Rifle Association of America, John McCain, and Mitt Romney. However, as of 2019, she was reevaluating her support, citing the Trump administration's transgender military ban and other anti-LGBTQ policies: "When the GOP asks me to deliver six- or seven-figure contributions for the 2020 elections, my first response will be: why should I contribute to my own destruction?"

In August 2020, Pritzker donated $2,000 to the presidential campaign of Joe Biden.

In October 2020, Pritzker donated $100,000 to the Lincoln Project, led by Republican strategists, some of whom endorsed Joe Biden to prevent the re-election of Donald Trump.

During the third quarter of 2020, Pritzker was recognized as a member of the Chairman's Circle, signifying a $25,000 contribution to the Libertarian Party.

In May 2025, Pritzker donated $39,200 to Toni Atkins, the first openly lesbian president pro tem of the California State Senate and candidate in the 2026 California gubernatorial election.

Personal life Pritzker has a daughter from a first marriage to Ayelet ben Mordechai, which ended in 1987, On October 31, 2020, Pritzker married Erin E. Solaro.

In August 2013 it was said publicly that Pritzker was the world's first transgender billionaire.