Tom Pritzker Resigns As Hyatt Chairman Amid Epstein Connection Fallout

(Photo by Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP)

Thomas Pritzker, the billionaire Hyatt Hotels heir and cousin of JB Pritzker, resigned Monday as executive chairman of the Hyatt Hotels Corporation amid the ongoing fallout surrounding his inclusion in the so-called Epstein Files.

Pritzker, 75, announced his resignation in a letter to the Hyatt board, writing, “Good stewardship also means protecting Hyatt, particularly in the context of my association with Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell which I deeply regret.”

“I exercised terrible judgment in maintaining contact with them, and there is no excuse for failing to distance myself sooner,” added Pritzker, who first became the chairman and CEO of Hyatt Hotels back in 1999. JB Pritzker, the current Democratic governor of Illinois, is also an heir to the Hyatt fortune and is widely seen as a potential presidential candidate in 2028.

Thomas Pritzker’s regular email exchanges with Epstein were made public in the recent release of the Epstein files, which showed the pair maintained a relationship following Epstein’s 2008 plea deal for sex crimes. The New York Times reported on some of those exchanges:

In one email exchange from 2018, Mr. Epstein asked Mr. Pritzker to help his girlfriend, Karyna Shuliak, arrange a trip to Southeast Asia. Mr. Pritzker agreed, and asked what she planned to do there.

Ms. Shuliak responded: “Going to try to find a new girlfriend for Jeffrey.”

Mr. Pritzker replied with a smiley-face emoticon and said “May the Force be with you.”

In another exchange, from 2015, as the two made arrangements to meet, Mr. Epstein joked to Mr. Pritzker about combining their plans: “would you find it amusing to have dali lama meet woody allen for lunch on sat = could be a memorable event.”

The ongoing release of the Epstein files has led to several high-profile men resigning from prominent positions, most recently Sultan Ahmed bin Sulayem — who was replaced as the head of head of DP Ports World after it was revealed he sent Epstein a “torture” video. Neither man has been formally accused of any wrongdoing in connection with Epstein.

This is a developing story and has been updated.

New: The Mediaite One-Sheet "Newsletter of Newsletters"
Your daily summary and analysis of what the many, many media newsletters are saying and reporting. Subscribe now!