Jay Robert “J.B.” Pritzker is an American billionaire, Democratic politician, left-of-center philanthropist, co-founder of the Pritzker Group, and co-director of the Pritzker Family Foundation. In 2018, he was elected the 43rd governor of Illinois, taking office in January 2019.
Background
Jay Robert “J.B.” Pritzker is a member of the wealthy Pritzker family, which derives its wealth from the Hyatt hotel chain. His elder sister Penny Pritzker was Secretary of Commerce during the Obama Administration, and his elder brother Anthony “Tony” Pritzker is managing partner of the Pritzker Group. [1]
Before becoming directly involved in politics, Pritzker was active in a variety of Chicago-based organizations. Pritzker chaired ChicagoNEXT, a council on innovation and technology instituted by then-Chicago mayor Rahm Emanuel (D). [2] Pritzker helped to found various Chicago business groups, such as the Illinois Venture Capital Association and Chicagoland Entrepreneur Center. He was also a direct cofounder of Chicago Ventures as well as a funder of Techstars Chicago and Built in Chicago. Along with his elder brother, Anthony, he cofounded Pritzker Private Capital, which focuses on middle-market companies. [3] [4]
Early Political Involvement
In 1991, Pritzker helped to organize the Chicago-based Democratic Leadership for the 21st Century, a group aimed at mobilizing and collecting information about young voters. [5] Further, during that decade, he served as a legislative aide in the offices of then-U.S. Senators Alan Dixon (D-IL) and Terry Sanford (D-NC). [6]
In 1998, Pritzker ran for the Democratic nomination in Illinois’s 9th congressional district, spending his own wealth heavily on television advertisements. [7] Ultimately, he finished third to out of five candidates in the primary, receiving about one-fifth of the vote. [8]
In the 2008 presidential election, Pritzker was national co-chairman of the campaign of then-U.S. Senator Hillary Clinton (D-NY) and was also delegate to the Democratic National Convention of that year. Eventually, he shifted his endorsement to the eventual Democratic candidate and President Barack Obama, supporting his campaign later in the election season. [9]
FBI wiretap controversy
In May 2017, the Chicago Tribune published an 11-minute Federal Bureau of Investigation wiretap of Pritzker speaking with then-Gov. Rod Blagojevich (D-IL) in 2008, discussing Pritzker’s contributions to Blagojevich’s campaign and desire to be appointed to state office, including possibly state treasurer. However, though the content of the conversation was widely criticized, Pritzker claimed to not have “not done anything wrong,” and subsequently, law enforcement did not make any allegations of wrongdoing. [10] [11]
Governor of Illinois
On April 6, 2017, Pritzker announced his candidacy for Governor. On August 10, he named state Rep. Juliana Stratton as his running mate. On March 20, 2018, Pritzker won the Democratic primary and, in the November general election, beat incumbent Gov. Bruce Rauner (R), receiving roughly 54 percent of the vote. Notably, during the race, Pritzker spent $171.5 million of his own wealth on his campaign. [12] [13] [14] [15]
Pritzker was inaugurated as the 43rd governor of Illinois on January 14, 2019. Generally, Pritzker’s administration is left-of-center, supporting pro-abortion, environmentalist, and pro-immigration policies. [16] [17] [18] [19]
Prtizker Family Foundation
The Pritzker Family, due to its ownership of Hyatt Hotels and Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines, is one of the wealthiest families in the United States. After the death of Jay A. Pritzker in 1999, the resulting dispute among his heirs regarding the distribution of his $15 billion in assets caused the family to reorganize its philanthropic holdings, eventually transferring millions from family foundations to various charitable entities controlled by Pritzker family members. During this period, in 2002, the J.B. and M.K. Prtizker Family Foundation (often known simply as the Pritzker Family Foundation) emerged from the reorganization. [20]
The foundation, which is jointly controlled by Pritzker and his wife, Mary Katherine Pritzker, generally contributes to educational institutions, local organizations near properties owned by the couple in Illinois, and left-of-center organizations, including the Center for American Progress and the New America Foundation. [21] [22]