Jay Pritzker

Pritzker's grandparents emigrated to the United States in 1881.

A son of Fanny (née Doppelt) and Abram Nicholas Pritzker, he had two brothers: Donald and Robert Pritzker.

At the age of 14, Pritzker was admitted to the University of Chicago.

Jay Arthur Pritzker (August 26, 1922 – January 23, 1999) was an American entrepreneur, conglomerate organizer, and member of the Pritzker family.

Pritzker was born in Chicago, Illinois to Jewish parents.

He then went on to graduate with a B.S. from Northwestern University in 1941 and a J.D. from the Northwestern University School of Law in 1947.

Pritzker served in WWII as a naval aviator.

Pritzker diversified the Chicago-based family business—which then consisted of the Pritzker & Pritzker law firm run by his uncle, Harry, and the investments made by his father and his uncle, Jack — into the Marmon Group holding company.

With his brother, Robert, he built a portfolio of 60 diversified industrial corporations.

He created the Hyatt Hotel chain in 1957 with his brother Donald Pritzker and owned Braniff Airlines from 1983–1988.

In 1979 he established the Pritzker Architecture Prize.

In 1979, Pritzker received the Golden Plate Award of the American Academy of Achievement.

In 1982, he acquired Ticketmaster and expanded it before selling 80% for more than $325 million to Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen in 1993.

In 1996, he and his wife, Cindy, received the National Building Museum's Honor Award.

In 2004, the Jay Pritzker Pavilion, designed by architect Frank Gehry, was completed as part of Millennium Park in downtown Chicago.

Pritzker was married to Marian "Cindy" Friend, the daughter of Illinois appellate judge Hugo Friend, for 51 years.

They had five children: