Contributor

J.B. Pritzker

Entrepreneur and philanthropist

Throughout his business, philanthropic and political involvement, Jay Robert (J.B.) Pritzker, has built a reputation as a strong leader, an innovative entrepreneur and a champion of charitable causes.

J.B. Pritzker was born January 19, 1965, in Northern California. He attended Duke University where he earned an A.B. in political science. He later earned his law degree from Northwestern University School of Law.

His businesses include New World Ventures - a venture capital firm - and The Pritzker Group - a private investment firm. He is also a principal owner of Hyatt Hotels Corporation and TransUnion Corporation.

As president of the Pritzker Family Foundation, he established the Children’s Initiative, which funds programs for children in underserved communities. He also helped create the Pritzker Consortium on Early Childhood Development at the University of Chicago.

As chairman of the Illinois Holocaust Museum & Education Center, Pritzker successfully led the effort to build a world-class international institution in the Midwest dedicated to teaching the lessons of the Holocaust and other genocides. A committed advocate for human and civil rights, he is the principal funder of the Cambodia Tribunal Monitor, the most significant online source for news and commentaries regarding the international criminal tribunal created to bring to justice the perpetrators of Pol Pot era acts of genocide.

J.B. Pritzker is also an active civic leader and engaged board member of several cultural, educational and business organizations locally, regionally and nationally.

He lives in Chicago, Illinois, with his wife, M.K., and two children.