The billionaire chairman of Hyatt Hotels will retire from his position at the company after his association with disgraced financier and sex offender Jeffrey Epstein was revealed in files released by the Department of Justice late last year.
Key Takeaways
- Thomas Pritzker, the second-richest of 13 billionaire hotel heirs in his family, said in a news release Monday he will retire, specifically noting his “association with Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell which I deeply regret.”
- Pritzker, 75, said he “exercised terrible judgment in maintaining contact with them, and there is no excuse for failing to distance myself sooner. I condemn the actions and the harm caused by Epstein and Maxwell and I feel deep sorrow for the pain they inflicted on their victims.
- ”Pritzker did not mention his Epstein ties in his resignation letter to the board of Hyatt.
Key Backgroud
Pritzker has been linked to Epstein several times in the last few years. Documents released by the Department of Justice show Pritzker and Epstein were longtime friends dating back to at least 2010, two years after Epstein pled guilty to charges that he had solicited a minor. Pritzker’s name appears in partially redacted versions of Epstein’s “little black book” released by the DOJ. He’s included on the passenger list for a 2000 flight from London with Epstein and his associate Maxwell after allegedly spending a weekend with them and Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, who was exiled from Britain’s royal family over his Epstein ties. Pritzker was also named in a deposition in 2016 by prominent Epstein accuser Virginia Giuffre. She testified that Pritzker was one of the men she’d been sexually trafficked for and said they’d had sex once. Spokespeople for Pritzker have repeatedly said he “vehemently denies” Giuffre’s allegations. He has never been charged in connection with his relationship to Epstein.
Forbes Valuation
Pritzker has an estimated net worth of $6.2 billion as of Monday, the second-richest member of the Pritzker clan behind his cousin Karen. Pritzker has been chairman of Hyatt since 1999 and served as CEO from 1999 to 2006. He also served as a director of Royal Caribbean Cruises for two decades until 2020 and founded the Pritzker Neuropsychiatric Disorders Research Consortium, a research effort into the genetic basis of psychiatric disorders. He is a member of the University of Chicago Board of Trustees and on its executive committee. Pritzker is married with three sons.
Look back on the week that was with hand-picked articles from Australia and around the world. Sign up to the Forbes Australia newsletter here or become a member here.
This story was originally published on forbes.com and all figures are in USD.
