Tom Pritzker, the billionaire chairman of global hospitality giant Hyatt Hotels Corporation, announced on February 16 that he is stepping down from the company’s board and leadership.
Tom Pritzker, cousin of Governor JB Pritzker, resigns as executive chairman of Hyatt Hotels over ties to Jeffrey Epstein (Center for Strategies and International Studies)The announcement comes on the heels of the release of new portions of the Epstein files linking Pritzker to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. Pritzker said in a statement that he deeply regrets his past associations and resigning was part of good stewardship to protect the company’s reputation.
I have exercised terrible judgment in maintaining contact with them, and there is no excuse for failing to remove myself soon, he said.
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Is Tom Pritzker related to Governor JB Pritzker?Tom Pritzker is a member of Chicago’s famous Pritzker family, known for its extensive business interests and political influence.
Tom Pritzker is one of thirteen wealthy heirs of the Pritzker family. Tom Pritzker’s father, Jay Pritzker, acquired the first Hyatt property in 1957 and built a hotel empire over the decades.
According to the Chicago Tribune, the governor of Illinois, JB Pritzker and Tom Pritzker are cousins; However, both work in different fields. Tom is in global corporate hospitality, and JB is in political leadership and state management.
Tom Pritzker had already mentioned Epstein’s. Virginia Gueffre, one of Epstein’s victims, said in her 2016 testimony that she was forced to have sex with him. The Chicago Tribune reported that Tom Pritzker denied the allegations.
When Tom Pritzker’s name first appeared in court documents related to Jeffrey Epstein in 2019, Governor Pritzker said he was “unknown [Thomas Pritzker] Jeffrey knew Epstein at all. And, you know, I didn’t.”
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Refer to the Epstein fileAccording to documents released by the House Oversight Committee in 2025, Epstein and Pritzker, a cousin of Governor JB Pritzker, had at least 20 back-and-forth emails in which the two discussed current affairs and planned to meet.
Many messages show that they had a close relationship. In 2013, Epstein sent an email saying, “Nice to see you, please come more often”, following a news interview with his cousin and former US Commerce Secretary Penny Pritzker. Tom Pritzker replied, “Always fun.”
In a 2017 text message to an unnamed receiver, Epstein also said that Tom Pritzker was like family.
