Tom Pritzker, the billionaire heir of the Hyatt Hotels fortune, announced Monday he was stepping down as executive chair of the company after a recent batch of Epstein files exposed his ties to the late financier and sex offender.
Pritzker said in a letter to Hyatt’s board that he was exiting effective immediately in an effort to show “good stewardship” after more than 20 years at the company, and would not seek re-election to the board at Hyatt’s annual shareholder meeting in May.
“Good stewardship also means protecting Hyatt, particularly in the context of my association with Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell which I deeply regret,” the 75-year-old said in a statement released by the Pritzker Organization.
“I exercised terrible judgment in maintaining contact with them, and there is no excuse for failing to distance myself sooner.”
Pritzker added that he condemns the harms caused by Jeffrey Epstein – who killed himself in 2019 while facing child sex trafficking charges – and his associate Ghislaine Maxwell.
The latest release of Epstein files revealed that Pritzker maintained regular contact with Epstein in the years after his 2008 plea deal on sex crime charges.
Pritzker joins a wave of resignations and public fallout for powerful business leaders and politicians as their relationships with the predator come to light.
In one 2018 email exchange, Pritzker agreed to help Epstein’s girlfriend, Karyna Shuliak, arrange a trip to Southeast Asia and asked what she planned to do during the trip.
“Going to try to find a new girlfriend for Jeffrey,” Shuliak wrote.
Pritzker replied with a smiley-face emoji and wrote, “May the Force be with you.”
Epstein and Pritzker also regularly messaged one another to set up meals and appointments, including at Epstein’s Manhattan townhouse, and discussed invitations to the Beijing ceremony for the Pritzker Prizes, a prestigious architectural award.
The Pritzker family is one of the wealthiest in the United States – worth an estimated $41 billion, according to a 2024 Forbes estimate.
The fortune can be traced back to Jay Pritzker’s expansion of the Hyatt Hotels Corporation, and earlier to AN Pritzker, who built the family’s financial and legal empire.
Tom Pritzker is cousins with JB Pritzker, the Democratic governor of Illinois, and the pol’s sister Penny Pritzker, the head of Harvard University’s board. She also served as secretary of commerce during former President Barack Obama’s second term.
Hyatt on Monday appointed CEO Mark Hoplamazian to succeed Tom Pritzker as executive chairman, effective immediately.
“Tom’s leadership has been instrumental in shaping Hyatt’s strategy and long-term growth, and we thank him for his service and dedication to Hyatt,” said Richard Tuttle, chair of the board’s governance committee.
Hoplamazian said in a statement that Pritzker’s decision to step down “reflects his stewardship and strong commitment to Hyatt over his many decades of service.”
The tumult at Hyatt comes after sports and entertainment exec Casey Wasserman recently put his talent and marketing firm up for sale after newly surfaced emails revealed flirtatious exchanges with Maxwell — just one of many high-profile figures to face backlash for his ties to Epstein’s world.
Last week, powerful Dubai businessman Sultan Ahmed bin Sulayem stepped down as head of DP World after his crude emails with Epstein surfaced.
