Tom Pritzker

Thomas J. Pritzker is an American billionaire businessman who serves as executive chairman of Hyatt Hotels Corporation and chairman and CEO of The Pritzker Organization, his family's merchant bank. Born in 1950, he is a member of the prominent Pritzker family of Chicago and has an estimated net worth of $6.8 billion as of 2025. Pritzker maintained a relationship with Jeffrey Epstein spanning approximately two decades, documented through nearly 7,000 emails in the archive and numerous in-person meetings at Epstein's Manhattan townhouse.

The archive shows regular contact between Pritzker and Epstein from around 2001 through early 2019, including frequent meals, business discussions, and social gatherings. Pritzker was named in a deposition by Virginia Giuffre in the Giuffre v. Maxwell case, in which she testified "I believe I was with Tom once" when asked about Pritzker. A spokesperson for Pritzker told Reuters that he "continues to vehemently deny" the allegations. The House Oversight Committee released thousands of pages of Epstein-related documents in late 2024 and early 2025 that revealed the extent of correspondence between Pritzker and Epstein.

Background#

Thomas J. Pritzker was born on June 6, 1950, in Chicago. He earned a B.A. from Claremont Men's College and both M.B.A. and J.D. degrees from the University of Chicago. He is the eldest son of Jay Pritzker (1922-1999), who founded Hyatt Hotels after purchasing the first Hyatt House motel near Los Angeles International Airport in 1957. Pritzker is married to Margot Marshall Pritzker, with whom he has three sons.

Over his career, Pritzker has been involved in acquiring and building companies across multiple industries. He led the $13.5 billion sale of Marmon Group to Berkshire Hathaway in 2008. He founded or co-founded companies including Triton Container (container leasing), Bay City Capital (life sciences venture capital), and Reliant Pharmaceuticals (healthcare). He currently serves as executive chairman of Hyatt Hotels Corporation and on the board of directors of TMS International.

In civic and cultural affairs, Pritzker serves as chairman of the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) in Washington, D.C., and is a member of the Aspen Strategy Group and the Council on Foreign Relations. He is chairman of the Hyatt Foundation, which sponsors the Pritzker Architecture Prize, considered architecture's highest honor. He is also a member of the board of trustees at the University of Chicago and the Art Institute of Chicago.

In the sciences, Pritzker partnered with the University of Chicago president to create the Pritzker School of Molecular Engineering and organized the Pritzker Neuropsychiatric Disorders Research Consortium, established in 2000 as a collaborative research effort between UC Irvine, UC Davis, Stanford University, and the University of Michigan to study the genetic basis of psychiatric disorders.

The Chicago Maroon reported in late 2024 that Pritzker's name appeared repeatedly in documents released by the House Oversight Committee as part of its investigation into Epstein. Multiple news outlets covered the release of emails showing a personal relationship between Pritzker and Epstein spanning from 2010 to 2019.

Correspondence with Epstein#

The archive contains 6,995 emails involving Pritzker and Epstein, spanning from 1990 through 2019, with Pritzker appearing as sender in 2,922 messages. The correspondence shows a sustained relationship characterized by frequent in-person meetings, discussions of current events, business matters, and social coordination.

Early Period (2001-2010)

Email exchanges between Pritzker and Ghislaine Maxwell from the early 2000s show active social coordination. Maxwell wrote to Pritzker in early 2001 inviting him to social events, including a message stating "JE is as excited as I am that you are in town - he sd he would love to see you too. So what is the plan and when are you free?" Maxwell also invited Pritzker to join "a big dinner" Epstein was hosting and asked if he was in Palm Beach, writing "Hey are you here in PB? Andrew is with us - well here do you want to join." In another exchange, Maxwell noted that Pritzker "missed a good one last night" when "Me JE and Philip + Gen Clark" went to the movies.

In correspondence from May 2001, Pritzker and Maxwell discussed potential use of his private aircraft for a trip, with Maxwell asking "Do you have the long range Falcon or the shorter one - are you a 7 1/2 hour or a 9 hour plane?" Pritzker's reply from that period showed he was working on business matters while maintaining social contact, describing intense negotiations and noting "mutual respect does wonders" in complex business dealings.

In 2010, Pritzker and Epstein exchanged messages about geopolitical matters. In June 2010, Pritzker sent Epstein updates from international trips, writing from his plane "N312P entering Afghan airspace" and noting he "Spent 90 mins one on one with Turkish Foreign Minister" discussing Israeli diplomat Ehud Barak. Another message indicated Pritzker was "In Turkey with Foreign Minister on Thursday and in Kabul with McCrystal on Friday", referring to then-commander of U.S. forces in Afghanistan General Stanley McCrystal.

Middle Period (2011-2016)

Epstein's staff coordinated multiple meetings between the two men during this period. In November 2010, after Pritzker asked if Epstein would be "NY on Wed or Thurs?", Epstein's assistant confirmed "Dinner has been organized for you and Tom Pritzker tomorrow night, Wed. Nov. 17th at 7:00 at the house". The following day, Pritzker wrote that he was "Having dinner w david swensen" and would "email to see if you are awake for after dinner".

In December 2011, Pritzker's assistant informed Epstein's staff that "Tom is running an hour behind schedule and will be here by 7:30pm" for an evening meeting. A September 2012 schedule shows a "TENTATIVE Breakfast w/Tom Pritzker" that was being coordinated through Pritzker's assistant Jeannine.

In November 2012, Pritzker's assistant Jeannine Jeskewitz sent Epstein information about a Pritzker Consortium meeting at the Hyatt Center in Chicago, noting the meeting was for the neuropsychiatric research consortium. When Epstein requested more information, Jeskewitz directed him to the consortium's website.

A January 2016 schedule indicates Epstein hosted a dinner at his residence with "Woody and Soon Yi, Tom Pritzker, Jim Watson", referring to filmmaker Woody Allen, his wife Soon-Yi Previn, and scientist James Watson. An April 2016 exchange shows Epstein initiating contact about having "more thoughtful views on the subject discusse" and Pritzker responding that he was "clear that certain ideas that you expressed are not in your interest".

In September 2016, an "open house" style day at Epstein's residence listed multiple potential visitors including "Churkin, Kathy, Wolfe, Woody, Pritzker, Jagland, Tom Barrack, Ehud". An October 2016 schedule shows "Breakfast 7:30am tomorrow w/Tom Pritzker" at Epstein's house.

Late Period (2017-2019)

A November 2017 schedule documented "5:00pm Appt w/Tom Pritzker" at Epstein's residence. A January 2017 calendar entry noted a scheduled "LUNCH w/Churkin and Tom Pritzker" with Epstein. A January 2018 schedule indicated "5:30pm DINNER w/Tom Pritzker".

In April 2018, Epstein asked Pritzker for assistance with travel arrangements to Malaysia and Tokyo, and Pritzker responded "Jeannine will call your office to get details and then make rez", referring to reservations.

The final exchanges in the archive occurred in early 2019. In February 2019, after Epstein wrote "You are news!", Pritzker replied that he had "called for a Chairman's dinner on Feb 26 to discuss trade" with a "mix of biz and govt bigfoots". Epstein responded discussing political matters, stating "sasse was told im a witness against trump. ? others were told I m a witness against clinton. so my credibilitiy needs destroying".

On March 2, 2019, Epstein wrote that he was "trying to keep my head down in a shit hurricane", and Pritzker responded "You in NY? World is off axis. You saw Chicago mayoral, nuts", then suggested "Maybe breakfast on Tuesday?". On March 12, Pritzker sent a brief message: "Call".

On March 17, 2019, Epstein sent Pritzker a link to an article about Nepal, and Pritzker responded "Yep. There is a back story. King of Mustang is a friend". The final documented exchange was on April 3, 2019, when Epstein commented on Chicago's new mayor, writing "love your new mayor . time for you to move", and Pritzker replied "But to where? Have a cave in Himalayas picked out. Food not great but has a killer view and basic supplies are less than a day's walk in the summer".

Connections#

Pritzker's primary connection in the archive was with Jeffrey Epstein, with whom he shared 5,933 emails. His second most frequent correspondent was Ghislaine Maxwell, with 371 shared emails, primarily from the early 2000s period when Maxwell facilitated social coordination between Pritzker and Epstein.

Pritzker also appears in correspondence with Jeannine Jeskewitz (72 emails), who served as his executive assistant and coordinated scheduling with Epstein's staff. Other co-correspondents include Lesley Groff (62 emails), one of Epstein's long-time assistants; Karyna Shuliak (47 emails); and Boris Nikolic (31 emails), a science advisor to Epstein and Bill Gates.

Additional connections include Jes Staley (11 emails), the former JPMorgan Chase executive who maintained close ties to Epstein; A. de Rothschild (10 emails); Joi Ito (9 emails), the former MIT Media Lab director; and Philip Levine (6 emails), with whom both Pritzker and Maxwell socialized in the early 2000s.

Document References#

Pritzker is mentioned in multiple legal and investigative documents. Flight logs released in the Giuffre v. Maxwell litigation do not show Pritzker as a passenger on Epstein's aircraft. However, Virginia Giuffre's deposition testimony, filed in Giuffre v. Maxwell, included questioning about Pritzker. According to news reports, when asked about him during her deposition, Giuffre stated "I believe I was with Tom once." The same court filing referenced Giuffre being "sent to have sex with the owner of a large hotel chain," though it remains unclear if this refers to Pritzker.

DOJ documents include numerous scheduling emails and correspondence coordinating Pritzker's meetings with Epstein. A reminder message documented in the archive lists "Tom pritzker" among people Epstein needed to call. Multiple scheduling documents reference Pritzker's visits to Epstein's Manhattan residence for meals and meetings throughout the 2010s.

Visits to Epstein Properties#

Manhattan Townhouse

The archive documents numerous visits by Pritzker to Epstein's Manhattan residence at 9 East 71st Street:

1. November 17, 2010 - Dinner at 7:00pm
2. December 16, 2011 - Evening meeting at 7:30pm
3. September 21, 2012 - Tentative breakfast meeting
4. April 4, 2013 - Dinner with Ehud Barak, Peter Mandelson, Jes Staley, Mort Zuckerman, Woody Allen, Soon-Yi Previn
5. January 15, 2016 - Dinner with Woody Allen, Soon-Yi Previn, James Watson
6. October 27, 2016 - Breakfast at 7:30am
7. January 10, 2017 - Lunch with Vitaly Churkin
8. November 9, 2017 - 5:00pm appointment
9. January 19, 2018 - 5:30pm dinner

The archive also references multiple other meetings and scheduling attempts at the townhouse throughout 2010-2019 that were discussed but not all confirmed.

Palm Beach Residence

One email from Maxwell circa 2001 asked Pritzker "Hey are you here in PB? Andrew is with us - well here do you want to join", suggesting Maxwell, Epstein, and Prince Andrew were at the Palm Beach property and inviting Pritzker to join them. Whether Pritzker accepted this invitation is not documented in the available correspondence.

Little St. James Island

No visits to Epstein's private island in the U.S. Virgin Islands are documented in the archive.

New Mexico Ranch

No visits to Epstein's Zorro Ranch in New Mexico are documented in the archive.

Paris Apartment

Maxwell's early 2001 email to Pritzker asking "Miami Paris - are you coming?" suggests possible travel to Paris was under discussion, though no confirmed visit is documented.