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 to a Jewish family in Chicago, Illinois, the son of Marian “Cindy” (née Friend) and Jay Pritzker. Jay diversified the Chicago-based family business, the Marmon Group – along with his brothers Robert Pritzker and Donald Pritzker – building it into a portfolio of over 60 diversified industrial corporations. Jay also created the Hyatt Hotel chain in 1957 and owned Braniff Airlines from 1983–1988. 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; 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. In 1988, he left Hyatt to pursue his own entrepreneurial activities including become a founding member of Ticketmaster. In 1996, he formed Mandara Spa, a chain of 72 resort spas, which he hoped to pair up with Hyatt Hotels, but ended up being located entirely in competitors to Hyatt. In 2000, 40% of the company was sold to Shiseido Co. In 2001, the remaining 60% was sold to Steiner Leisure Limited, a Nasdaq (STNR) listed company. 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. In 2010, he sold his ownership interest in Hyatt to his family. Geolo Capital purchased a majority interest in the Joie de Vivre boutique hotel chain. In 2011, Geolo Capital merged the 30 hotel Joie de Vivre chain with the Thompson Hotel Group and Alila Hotels to form Commune Hotels & Resorts, where he served as chairman. In January 2016, Commune Hotels merged with Destination Hotels, where Pritzker serves as co-chairman. With the recent merger the new company has over 97 hotels across six brands and annual revenues of over $2.3 billion.
| John A. Pritzker | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1953 (age 63–64) Chicago, Illinois |
| Residence | Chicago, Illinois |
| Nationality | American |
| Education | B.A. Menlo College |
| Occupation | Investor, philanthropist |
| Known for | Founder of Commune Hotels & Resorts |
| Net worth |  US$ 2.3 billion (September 2013) |
| Spouse(s) | Lisa Stone Pritzker |
| Children | 3 |
| Parent(s) | Jay Pritzker Marian “Cindy” Friend |
John Pritzker Net Worth: John Pritzker is an American heir and hotelier who has a net worth of $2.2 billion. Born John A. Pritzker in 1953, he made his fortune as one of the heirs of Chicago’s eminent Pritzker clan. His grandfather Abram Nickolas Pritzker, a.k.a. A.N. Pritzker, launched Marmon Industrial Group and Hyatt Hotels together with his sons Donald, Robert, and John’s father Jay. In 2007, Pritzker family sold Marmon’s controlling stake for $4.5 billion to Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway. A graduate of Menlo College, John began working in the family business, Hyatt Hotels, in 1972. A decade later, he became Managing Director and Divisional Vice President, but only after few years, John left the Hyatt business, and became one of the founders of Ticketmaster. Then, in 1996, John established Mandara Spa, a chain of over 70 resort spas, which he wanted to merge with Hyatt Hotels, but it winded up in the full ownership of Hyatt. In 2005, together with his partner Tom Gottlieb, he launched the private equity firm Geolo Capital that was focused on investments in entertainment, hospitals, and health and wellness companies. After five years, Pritzker decided to sell his shares to his family, and bought the controlling stake in the Joie de Vivre, a chain of boutique hotels. The next year, he merged the 30 hotels of Joie de Virve with the 12 hotels of Thompson Group owned by Pomeranc family, to develop Commune Hotels & Resorts. By 2012, Commune Hotels had acquired over 45 hotels and reached revenue of $450 million, and currently, it is establishing a low-cost hotel brand named Tommie in the Flatiron district of Manhattan, which will start in 2014. In addition to his hotels, Pritzker had an investment in Local TV Holding, which announced that it would sell 29 stations to Tribune Co. for $ 2.7 billion. Moreover, he and his wife Lisa own The Lisa and John Pritzker Family Fund which is focused on Jewish causes, civic activities, and children’s health and education. They have also donated $15 million to the University of California at San Francisco for new pediatric emergency facility at the UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospital.
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