Until recently, the most controversial members of Chicago’s ultra-rich and powerful Pritzker family were billionaire Illinois Governor JB Pritzker, a veteran Democratic activist and bail reform advocate, and his transgender billionaire cousin Jennifer, who has funneled millions to universities, medical schools, gender clinics, and nonprofits in support of “gender-affirming” health care.
This week, however, they have been overshadowed by family members who are involved in two of the biggest news stories of the moment.
The governor’s sister, Penny, 64, is at the center of Harvard President Claudine Gay’s resignation Tuesday over multiple cases of plagiarism. Penny has been, since February 2022, a senior member of the Harvard Corporation, the board of directors that recruited, hired, and protected Gay in light of her scandals, including downplaying anti-Semitism at the school.
Meanwhile, cousin Thomas Pritzker is named in newly revealed documents related to late pedophile Jeffrey Epstein.
Virginia Giuffre claims she was trafficked overseas for sex with the now 73-year-old president of Hyatt Hotels and CEO of the Pritzker Organization.
Penny Pritzker, former US Commerce Secretary during the Obama administration and now a senior fellow at the Harvard Corporation, faces calls to resign in the wake of the Claudine Gay debacle. Paul Morigi The Pritzker family gained their immense wealth, in part, through the Hyatt hotel empire. New York Post
The Pritzker family was ranked the ninth richest family in the country in 2020.
They owe their wealth to Jay Pritzker (Thomas’ father), who enrolled at the University of Chicago at age 14, then graduated from Northwestern University School of Law and created the Hyatt hotel chain, now a multinational conglomerate. in 1957, at the age of 35.
Penny’s father Donald helped grow Hyatt, while her brother Robert (Jennifer’s father) founded the international Marmon group for autonomous manufacturing.
All three men are grandchildren of Ukrainian Jewish immigrants.
Penny Pritzker, a billionaire in her own right who has donated $100 million to Harvard and is an alumnus of the school, has been criticized for her staunch support of Gay, despite intense criticism over her testimony before Congress about anti-Semitism on last month, and what had been accumulating questions about plagiarism.
“Board President Penny Pritzker should resign along with the other board members who led the campaign to keep Claudine Gay, orchestrated the strategy to threaten the media, circumvented the plagiarism review process, and otherwise way, it contributed greatly to the damage that has already been done,” billionaire and Harvard alumnus and donor Bill Ackman wrote in X this week.
Hyatt Hotels Chairman Thomas Pritzker was among those named in the new trove of Jeffrey Epstein documents revealed Wednesday. Evgeny Gologursky
Penny led the search committee that chose Gay to replace Lawrence Bacow when he stepped down as president last June.
Despite calls for her resignation from prominent donors and alumni, Harvard has said Penny, who served as Commerce Secretary in the Obama administration, will not resign from her position at the Harvard Corporation, which is similar to a board of directors. .
“Penny is an old friend and half of the board are old friends. And although they are not incompetent and have excellent character, the process totally failed,” Jeff Sonnenfeld, associate dean of leadership studies at the Yale School. of Management, told The Post.
“They have been tone-deaf, arrogant, dismissive and inelegant, if not downright deceitful.”
Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker is a longtime Democratic activist and is likely to run for president in 2028. AP
Penny, Sonnenfeld said, should resign from the Harvard Corporation if she and the other board members “continue to remain silent.”
“Penny should come forward and say what went wrong,” Sonnenfeld said. “A lot of people on that board should resign if they can’t explain what they did. “If this had been Enron or some other disaster, people would be very critical if a board didn’t speak up.”
Penny, he said, may have been a victim of his own propensity to “get consensus.” “There was a lot of bad groupthink and that’s hard to overcome.”
The Post has not been able to locate Penny.
Meanwhile, her cousin is also feeling the pressure.
Anthony Pritzker runs the private equity firm Pritzker Group and was the subject of a mini-scandal when he and his wife demolished a landmark Bel Air home and built a mega-mansion in its place. He is seen here in 2019 with Gisele Bündchen and Barbra Streisand. Eric Charbonneau/Shutterstock
Jeffrey Epstein victim Giuffre, who settled with Prince Andrew for an estimated $12 million over sexual assault allegations, claimed she had a sexual encounter with Thomas Pritzker, according to newly unsealed court records.
Giuffre’s claims against Pritzker first came to light in 2019. The Miami Herald reported at the time that Giuffre said she was sent abroad to “have sexual relations with the owner of a large hotel chain.” Pritzker’s name appeared in a footnote, but at the time it was unclear whether he was the hotel magnate.
Under oath, Giuffre told Epstein conspirator Ghislaine Maxwell’s defense attorney that she believed she had been “with Tom once,” referring to a sexual encounter. She did not suggest that Maxwell had ordered her to have sex with the hotelier.
Later in the same statement, Giuffre talked about Maxwell allegedly sending her to have sex with the “owner of a large hotel chain” in France, but did not name that person.
Penny Pritzker’s home in Washington, DC, sold for just under $10 million in 2022. Google Maps Penny’s Chicago mansion is located in the city’s upscale Lincoln Park neighborhood. google maps
A spokesman for Pritzker said the married businessman “continues to vehemently deny” the allegation.
Sarah Parshall Perry, an attorney and senior legal fellow at the Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tank, said the Pritzker family is quickly becoming “radioactive” and has a history of scandals.
Among many incidents, Penny once served on the board of directors of Superior Bank, which the Pritzker family purchased with $460 million in tax credits from the federal government.
The bank subsequently collapsed after being one of the first to traffic in subprime mortgages.
A $25 million renovation of this Chicago home caused legal problems for Governor JB Pritzker. google maps
Governor JB Pritzker found himself in hot water in 2018 when it was discovered that he and his wife, Mary, had bought a second home next to the Gold Coast mansion they lived in and let it fall into disrepair, including ripping out five toilets. . , so it would be classified as “uninhabitable” and they would get a steep property tax reduction.
Anthony Pritzker, brother of JB and Penny, runs the private equity firm Pritzker Group and was the subject of a mini-scandal when he and his wife bought and then demolished a landmark Beverly. Hills, upsetting their neighbors when they built a huge mega-mansion in their place.
Anthony Pritzker’s home in Beverly Hills is the second largest private residence in the city of Los Angeles. Google Earth
It is the second largest private residence in the city of Los Angeles.
“This is a far-left political family funded entirely by the Hyatt hotel empire that says they want to fight what they call right-wing extremism when, in reality, they are the extremists,” Perry told The Post.
“To hire Claudine Gay and keep her in her job, Penny… got someone who is an apologist for this new kind of anti-racism that involves people promoting other people pushing this narrative of colonialism.
Billionaire Jennifer Pritzker, the governor’s cousin, transitioned and is now a key advocate for transgender causes. Jennifer Pritzker/Facebook
“It is ironic that the Pritzkers, with their family history, do not seem to recognize the hard work and merit that has made our nation great and instead boost individuals who point out colonialism, white supremacy and white nationalism,” Perry added. “They are harming academic integrity and integrity in the governor’s office.”
Penny’s longtime friend, Palm Beach socialite and author Sugar Rautbord, defended her friend whom she has known since childhood, as well as Thomas Pritzker.
“I have problems with Claudine Gay, who I find horrible, but not with Penny. I don’t think Penny will resign,” Rautbord told The Post.
“I think she believes in the woke philosophy that appeals to a lot of people in Chicago. [and] what is the only way [Barack] Obama could have emanated from Chicago.
Illinois Governor JB Pritzker joins former President Barack Obama and Michelle Obama at an inauguration ceremony at the Obama Presidential Center in Jackson Park in 2021 in Chicago. fake images
“Penny is a phenomenal woman, happily married, a truly good mother and a very emotionally and monetarily committed philanthropist.”
As for Thomas Pritzker, who Rautbord said was Jay’s “eldest and favorite son,” who has three children, he doesn’t think having his name in Epstein’s headlines will bring him down.
“Tom and Penny live a very closeted life and I don’t think they care what other people think,” Rautbord said. “They come from a family where excellence was expected… I doubt these situations will affect them in the long term.”
Categories: Trending
Source: vtt.edu.vn