The J.B. and M.K. Pritzker Family Foundation is a private foundation managed by J.B. (Jay Robert) Pritzker, Governor of Illinois since 2019, and his wife, M.K. (Mary Katherine) Pritzker. The foundation contributes to educational institutions (especially ones attended by J.B. Pritzker), local organizations near properties owned by the couple, and left-of-center organizations, including the Center for American Progress and the New America Foundation.

Background

The Pritzker Family is one of the wealthiest families in the United States, due to the family’s ownership of Hyatt Hotels and Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines. The death of Jay A. Pritzker in 1999 resulted in a multi-year family dispute that ended in an agreement in 2002 to divide his $15 billion business empire among eleven cousins. During that year, the family reorganized its philanthropic holdings, transferring millions from family foundations to charitable entities controlled by the cousins. The J.B. and M.K. Prtizker Family Foundation emerged from this reorganization. ¹

Projects and Donations

The foundation gives heavily to schools that J.B. Pritzker has attended. For example, the foundation donated $8.3 million to Milton Academy, a Massachusetts boarding school, as well as $2.5 million to Duke University. ²

In 2015, the foundation gave $100 million to Northwestern University’s law school, which constituted the largest single gift to a law school in the United States from a foundation. The donation supports several “social justice centers” at the now renamed Northwestern Pritzker School of Law, including the Center on Wrongful Convictions, the Children and Family Justice Center, the Center on International Human Rights, and the Environmental Law Center. Additionally, the gift endowed the Entrepreneurship Law Center, now renamed after J.B. Pritzker’s father, Donald. ³

The foundation also regularly donates to several left-of-center advocacy groups including the Clinton Foundation, the Center for American Progress, and the New America Foundation. ⁴

The foundation has made several smaller donations to organizations near where the Pritzkers own property. These donations include $17,000 to the Gold Coast Neighbors in Chicago, $130,000 to the Geneva Lake Water Safety Committee near the Pritzkers’ weekend home, and $12,000 to the Bristol Volunteer Firemen, which serve a Wisconsin town where the Pritzkers own a horse farm. ⁵

Controversy

During J.B Pritzker’s 2018 gubernatorial campaign, his philanthropy through the foundation was often positively highlighted. However, according to a report by the Better Government Association (BGA), much of that philanthropy was financed with money that was largely “filtered through offshore tax havens.” The BGA’s report states, “The result is that Pritzker’s philanthropy, and any accolades that go with it, have been bankrolled with what is essentially found money. He did little to earn the proceeds and paid no taxes on the bulk of it before giving it away.” ⁶

People

J.B. Pritzker

J.B. Pritzker is president of the foundation and the 43^rd Governor of Illinois as of January 14, 2019. Throughout his largely self-financed 2018 gubernatorial campaign, Pritzker (a Democrat) spent $171.5 million of his wealth. During the campaign, Pritzker voiced support for legalizing recreational cannabis in Illinois and increasing access to abortion. ⁷ During the 2018 gubernatorial Democratic primaries, Planned Parenthood donated to Pritzker and shortly after his inauguration on January 22, 2019, Pritzker signed an executive order that expanded coverage for abortions for state employees and women covered under Illinois state health insurance. ⁸ The executive order was praised by Planned Parenthood officials who attended the signing event. ⁹

In May 2017, the Chicago Tribune published an 11-minute FBI wiretap of J.B. Pritzker and then-Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich (D) in 2008 discussing campaign contributions. On the tapes, Blagojevich asked Pritzker if he would like to be appointed state treasurer, to which Pritzker responded, “Yeah, that’s the one I would want.” ¹⁰ Prtizker’s Democratic primary opponents took issue with Pritzker’s conduct, accusing him of engaging in ‘pay-to-play’ politics. ¹¹

During the 2008 presidential election, Pritzker was the national co-chairman of Hillary Clinton’s campaign as well as a delegate to both the 2008 and 2016 Democratic National Convention. ¹²

M.K. Pritzker

M.K. Pritzker, J.B. Prtizker’s wife, is the Director of the foundation, the President of Evergreen Invitational NFP, a Managing Partner of The Pritzker Group, and a Director of the Northwestern Memorial Foundation. ¹³

1. “Pritzker Family Completes Overhaul of Charitable Holdings.” Philanthropy News Digest. December 24, 2002. Accessed February 21, 2019. https://philanthropynewsdigest.org/news/pritzker-family-completes-overhaul-of-charitable-holdings.
2. Neubauer, Chuck and Sandy Bergo. “Pritzker’s Charity Costs Him Little, but Taxpayers a Lot.” Crain’s Chicago Business Journal. February 08, 2018. Accessed February 21, 2019. https://www.chicagobusiness.com/article/20180208/NEWS02/180209899/illinois-governor-candidate-j-b-pritzker-philanthropy-examined.
3. “Northwestern Law School Receives $100 Million From Pritzker Family.” Philanthropy News Digest. October 23, 2015. Accessed February 21, 2019. https://philanthropynewsdigest.org/news/northwestern-law-school-receives-100-million-from-pritzker-family.
4. Prtizker Family Foundation, Form 990-PF, 2015, Part XV
5. Neubauer, Chuck and Sandy Bergo. “Pritzker’s Charity Costs Him Little, but Taxpayers a Lot.” Crain’s Chicago Business Journal. February 08, 2018. Accessed February 21, 2019. https://www.chicagobusiness.com/article/20180208/NEWS02/180209899/illinois-governor-candidate-j-b-pritzker-philanthropy-examined.
6. Neubauer, Chuck and Sandy Bergo. “Pritzker’s Charity Costs Him Little, but Taxpayers a Lot.” Crain’s Chicago Business Journal. February 08, 2018. Accessed February 21, 2019. https://www.chicagobusiness.com/article/20180208/NEWS02/180209899/illinois-governor-candidate-j-b-pritzker-philanthropy-examined.
7. Brown, Mark. “Pritzker betting the pot on legalizing marijuana in governor’s race.” Chicago Sun-Times. January 22, 2018. Accessed February 21, 2019. https://chicago.suntimes.com/news/brown-pritzker-betting-the-pot-on-legalizing-marijuana-in-gov-race/
8. Hinz, Greg. “Abortion-rights groups split on guv race—but why?”. Crain’s Chicago Business. January 25, 2018 Accessed February 21, 2019. http://www.chicagobusiness.com/article/20180125/BLOGS02/180129935/abortion-rights-groups-split-on-illinois-governor-s-race
9. Pathieu, Diane. “Pritzker signs executive order on women’s reproductive rights.” ABC7 Chicago. 22 January 2019. Accessed February 21, 2019. https://abc7chicago.com/politics/pritzker-signs-executive-order-on-womens-reproductive-rights/5101234/
10. Lighty, Todd; Coen, Jeff, and David Heinzmann. “J.B. Pritzker sought political office from Blagojevich, 2008 FBI wiretaps show.” Chicago Tribune. May 31, 2017. Accessed January 23, 2018. https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/politics/ct-jb-pritzker-rod-blagojevich-fbi-wiretap-recordings-met-0601-20170531-story.html
11. Wall, Craig. “Gov. Rauner plans to air entire Blagojevich-Pritzker wiretap”. ABC7 Chicago. January 18, 2018. Accesed January 23, 2018. https://abc7chicago.com/politics/rauner-plans-to-air-entire-blagojevich-pritzker-wiretap/2963761/
12. “J.B. Pritzker and Penny Pritzker End Their Clinton-Obama Rift.” Los Angeles Times. August 25a, 2008. Accessed February 21, 2019. https://latimesblogs.latimes.com/washington/2008/08/jb-pritzker-and.html?cid=133587601.
13. Bloomberg.com. Accessed February 21, 2019. https://www.bloomberg.com/research/stocks/private/person.asp?personId=41081402&privcapId=752327.