JD Pritzker comes from an enormously wealthy and influential family. He became a nationally recognized name, though, when he became Illinois’s governor in 2018.
He spent about $171.5 million of his own money on the campaign. It worked in his favor, and he defeated incumbant Republican governor Bruce Rauner.
Pritzker won 54% of the votes while Rauner only received 39%. Now, many people want to know more about this extremely wealthy man and how he made his fortune.
How Did the Pritzker Family Make All Their Money?
The Pritzker Family has been one of the wealthiest families in the United States since the 1980s. Most of the family’s wealth comes from owning the Hyatt hotel corporation.
Hyatt was founded in 1954 by Hyatt Robert von Dehn and Jack Dyer Crouch. At the time, it had just one location near the Los Angeles International Airport (LAX). Jay Pritzker bought the hotel and its brand in 1957. He brought in his brother, Donald, to help manage the company.
The Pritzkers saw enormous potential in the growing number of business flyers in the U.S. and around the world. They correctly understood that emerging trends in business travel created opportunities for hotels located near airports. They began expanding Hyatt by opening locations in San Francisco and Seattle-Tacoma.
Today, the hotel has more than 1,350 locations, offering 350,200 rooms at various prices and levels of luxury. Hyatt is a publicly traded company, but members of the Pritzker family own a majority of its shares.
Other businesses that have been owned by the family include Royal Caribbean, a cruise line; Superior Bank of Chicago, which closed in 2001; TransUnion, one of the three major credit bureaus; Braniff airlines; and the Marmon Group, a manufacturing conglomerate the family sold to Berkshire-Hathaway in 2013.
The Pritzker Family claims Chicago as its base. Members of the family have connections to several industries and government agencies. For example, Penny Pritzker was the U.S. Secretary of Commerce during the Obama Administration.
The family has an estimated net worth of $36.9 billion. JB Pritzker is reportedly the fifth-wealthiest member of the family.
Why Is JB Pritzker so Rich?
JB Pritzker was born into one of the wealthiest families in the United States. He attended elite schools, which gave him a formidable education and introduced him to other wealthy family members.
For example, he received his high school education at Milton Academy, an exclusive school originally founded in 1798 and reopened in 1884 after being closed for 20 years. Notable alumni include former U.S. Attorney General Elliot Richardson, former Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick, and inventor Buckminster Fuller.
Pritzker earned a bachelor’s of arts (BA) in political science from Duke University. He then enrolled at Northwestern University School of Law, where he earned a law degree (JD).
JB later gave Northwestern $100 million to build a new law school. Not surprisingly, Northwestern changed its name to the Pritzker School of Law. He has been licensed to practice law in Illinois since 1993.
What Has JB Pritzker Invested In?
Pritzker didn’t use his degree to practice law, but it certainly came in handy as he started business opportunities as a venture capitalist and investor.
Some of his biggest successes as a venture capitalist include co-founding Chicago Ventures and helping fund the start-ups Built in Chicago and Techstars Chicago. He also played fundamental roles in creating the Chicagoland Entrepreneurtial Center and the Illinois Venture Capital Association.
Perhaps not surprisingly, Pritzker’s career eventually turned toward his family when he and his brother, Tony, Pritzker Group Private Capital. The brothers use the company to purchase, fund, and manage middle-market companies.
Pritzker Group Private Capital currently owns more than a dozen brands, including Bardstown Bourbon Company, Valicor Environmental Services, and Monogram Foods.
It’s worth noting that Pritzker and his siblings have been able to pursue many of these opportunities because they had access to generational wealth that put them far ahead of their peers. JB Pritzker seems to understand this, and he has made a point of giving back to his community.
Not only does he serve Illinois as governor, but he has worked with several non-profits, including 1871, an incubator that helps launch successful business ideas from people within the Chicago community.
He also served as the chairperson of ChicagoNEXT, an innovation and technology program started during Rahm Emanuel’s period as Chicago’s mayor.
Does Pritzker Take a Salary?
JB Pritzker does not take a salary as Governor of Illinois. He does, however, have several revenue streams that earn him millions of dollars per year.
His real estate plays a particularly important role in his income.
Some journalists say that he made about $18.5 million in 2022, mostly from his portfolio of high-profile real estate assets.
How Much Is John Pritzker Worth?
It’s difficult to determine precisely how much someone like JB Pritzker is worth, especially since he has a large real estate portfolio with a value that can change quickly.
Most experts following his career believe he’s worth about $3.5 billion, making him the 838th richest person in the world.
How Much Does the Governor of Illinois Make?
In January 2023, Illinois increased the governor’s salary from $181,670 to $205,700. Pritzker, however, chooses not to take a salary.
The law passed in 2023 also increased salaries for other elected members of the Illinois state government. The base salaries for representatives and senators increased 16%, from $73,345 to $85,000.
Salaries for the attorney general and secretary of state grew from $165,400 to $183,300. Salaries for the lieutenant governor, comptroller, and treasurer grew from $143,400 to $160,900.
Elected officials in Illinois’s state government had not received raises since before the Great Recession of 2008.
Who Is the Highest-paid Governor in the United States?
New York has the highest salary for governors in the United States. Its current governor, Kathy Hochul, receives $225,000 per year.
According to the Council of State Governments, the average salary for all U.S. governors comes to $148,939. The pay varies significantly from state to state, though.
At $70,000, Maine has the lowest salary for its governor.
What Is the Highest-paying Federal Job?
Not surprisingly, the President of the United States has the highest salary of any elected official in the federal government. The job currently pays $400,000 per year.
Congress set that amount in 2001 and has not chosen to increase it since. The previous salary, $200,000 per year, was unchanged from 1971 to 2001, a span of 30 years.
In addition to the salary, POTUS receives expense accounts for traveling, entertaining, and incidentals. Currently, the government gives POTUS access to about $169,000 per year.
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