Thomas Pritzker says he's stepping back from Hyatt to shield the company as his ties to Jeffrey Epstein face renewed scrutiny, the Wall Street Journal reports. The 75-year-old hotel billionaire and Hyatt heir is retiring as executive chairman of Hyatt Hotels after newly released Justice Department documents detailed years of meetings and email exchanges between him, Epstein, and Ghislaine Maxwell, including multiple scheduled meetings in 2018. Pritzker, a member of the prominent Chicago family that also includes his cousin, Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker, acknowledged in a statement that he "exercised terrible judgment" in maintaining contact with Epstein and Maxwell and said he feels deep sorrow for their victims. He has been chairman of the board for more than 20 years, CNBC reports.
The new records follow a 2023 Journal report that Pritzker was a frequent visitor to Epstein's Manhattan townhouse. One 2003 email exchange shows Maxwell telling Pritzker that five models would be working as servers at a dinner; he suggested the guests serve and the models dine instead, calling the idea "far more fun." Epstein died in jail in 2019 while facing sex-trafficking charges; Maxwell is serving a 20-year sentence for abuse-related crimes. Hyatt's board has tapped current CEO Mark Hoplamazian to also serve as chairman. Pritzker, who has not himself been accused of any wrongdoing per the Chicago Sun-Times, will remain executive chairman of the Pritzker Organization, the family's investment firm.
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