John Pritzker Explained

John A. Pritzker
Birth Place:Chicago, Illinois, US
Education:Menlo College (BA)
University of Denver
Occupation:Private equity, philanthropy
Known For:Founding Partner/Director
Children:3, including Adam
Spouse:Mo KC Pritzker (m. 2021-)
Parents:Jay Pritzker
Marian "Cindy" Friend
Relatives:Thomas Pritzker (brother)
Daniel Pritzker (brother)
Jean "Gigi" Pritzker (sister)

John A. Pritzker (born 1953), the grandson of A.N. Pritzker and son of Jay Pritzker, is an American billionaire and investor. He is a member of the Pritzker family.

Early life and education

Pritzker 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. 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; 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.

Career

In 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 entrepreneurial activities,[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.[10] In 2005, Pritzker founded the private equity firm Geolo Capital with his Mandara business partner Tom Gottlieb; 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 to form Commune Hotels & Resorts.[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

Pritzker and his former wife Lisa Stone have three children.[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.

He married Mo KC Pritzker in 2021.

Notes and References

  1. http://www.montereycountyweekly.com/news/cover/article_ebfe3453-8c14-5fd2-bac9-4cf7499e21e7.html 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
  2. https://money.cnn.com/magazines/fortune/fortune_archive/1988/04/25/70462/index.htm CNN Money: "THE PRITZKERS UNVEILING A PRIVATE FAMILY" By Ford S. Worthy
  3. https://www.forbes.com/profile/john-pritzker/ Forbes: The World's Billionaires - John Pritzker
  4. http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2011-04-19/business/ct-biz-0420-hyatt-filing-20110419_1_hyatt-founder-jay-pritzker-family-members-majority-stake Chicago Tribune: "Pritzker family could soon own less than half of Hyatt" By Julie Wernau
  5. http://www.geolo.com/John_Pritzker Geolo Capital: John Pritzker - Founding Partner and Director
  6. http://www.wmagazine.com/story/john-pritzker W Magazine: "Pritzker's Prize by Jane Larkworthy
  7. http://www.hotelmanagement.net/one-on-one-with-john-pritzker Hotel Management Magazine: "One on One with John Pritzker" By Ruthanne Terrero
  8. https://web.archive.org/web/20120604051711/http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2012-02-16/a-hyatt-heir-who-thinks-small-is-beautiful BusinessWeek: "A Hyatt Heir Who Thinks Small Is Beautiful" by Nadja Brandt
  9. http://archives.starbulletin.com/2000/05/16/business/story2.html Honolulu star Bulletin: "Spa firm taps Hawaii for worldwide base" By Russ Lynch
  10. http://www.travelweekly.com/Cruise-Travel/Steiner-Leisure-to-buy-stake-in-Mandara-Spa/ Travel Weekly: "Steiner Leisure to buy stake in Mandara Spa"
  11. http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2011-12-18/business/ct-biz-1218-pritzkers-family-graphic--20111218_1_primary-residence-three-children-family-tree Chicago Tribune: "The Pritzker family tree" By Melissa Harris and Julie Wernau
  12. http://www.sfgate.com/business/article/John-Pritzker-Hyatt-heir-likes-boutique-hotels-3341515.php San Francisco Gate: John Pritzker, Hyatt heir, likes boutique hotels" by Nadja Brandt
  13. http://www.geolo.com/pdf/Commune-SFBizJournalsNov302012.pdf San Francisco Business Journal: "Commune is all inn" by Renée Frojo
  14. Web site: Geolo Capital. www.geolo.com. 2016-04-08.
  15. News: Harris . Melissa . Wernau . Julie . Fortune's Fate . . December 18, 2011 . 1, 2 . Newspapers.com.
  16. News: Kerry A. . Dolan. Billionaire John Pritzker And Lisa Stone Pritzker Donating Nearly $60 Million For Mental Health At U.C. San Francisco . Forbes. May 10, 2021 . John Pritzker, a San Francisco billionaire, and his former wife, Lisa Stone Pritzker,.