Harry Nicholas Pritzker (August 1, 1892 – August 1956) was an American businessman and member of the

Pritzker family The Pritzker family is an American family engaged in various business enterprises and philanthropy, and one of the wealthiest families in the United States (staying in the top 10 of ''Forbes'' magazine's "America's Richest Families" list since th ...

Early life and education

Harry was the son of Ukrainian Jewish immigrants Annie P. (née Cohn) and Nicholas J. Pritzker. His father left Kyiv for Chicago in 1881 and worked first as a pharmacist and, after graduating from

DePaul University College of Law DePaul University College of Law is the law school of DePaul University, a private Catholic research university in Chicago, Illinois. It employs more than 125 full- and part-time faculty members and enrolls more than 500 students in its Juri ...

, as a lawyer.CNN Money: "THE PRITZKERS UNVEILING A PRIVATE FAMILY" By Ford S. Worthy
April 25, 1988 His father wrote a small book that has been passed down from Pritzker to Pritzker; the theme of the book is "Your only immortality is the impact you have on your successors."

Career

Harry joined his father's law firm, ''Pritzker & Pritzker'', along with his brothers,

Abram Abraham (originally Abram) is the common Hebrews, Hebrew Patriarchs (Bible), patriarch of the Abrahamic religions, including Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. In Judaism, he is the founding father who began the Covenant (biblical), covenanta ...

and Jack. Harry specialized in criminal law, Abram (called Abe and later A. N.) specialized in business law, and Jack in real estate law.New York Times: "HOW THEY DEAL AND MULTIPLY" By Marylin Bender
February 26, 1984 In the 1930s, he supported his brothers who left the firm and invested in real estate and small companies mostly in the

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

area. Harry continued to run the law firm ''Pritzker & Pritzker'' which eventually became an in-house firm catering solely to the needs of the Pritzker family and its business. The Pritzker brothers were very successful and amassed a considerable fortune. Using ''Pritzker & Pritzker'', they shielded their earnings from taxes through a series of trusts and tax code loopholes enabling them to distribute their earnings as they chose. His brother Abram's sons continued to grow the family business eventually buying the

Hyatt Hyatt Hotels Corporation, commonly known as Hyatt Hotels & Resorts, is an American multinational corporation, multinational hospitality company headquartered in the 150 North Riverside, Riverside Plaza area of Chicago that manages and franchise ...

House hotel in

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

in 1957 forming the cornerstone of their hotel chain. His nephew Robert created a conglomerate of a multitude of manufacturing companies which grew into the multibillion-dollar Marmon Group. Marmon was diversified to include manufacturing concerns ranging from lumber to railroad box cars and travel industry staples. It composed half of the family's wealth. On December 25, 2007, it was announced that Warren Buffett, through

Berkshire Hathaway Berkshire Hathaway Inc. () is an American multinational conglomerate holding company headquartered in Omaha, Nebraska. Originally a textile manufacturer, the company transitioned into a conglomerate starting in 1965 under the management of c ...

, would purchase 60% of the Marmon Group from the Pritzkers for $4.5 billion.

Personal life

Pritzker was married to Elna Stone; they had two children: Richard S. Pritzker (born 1944) and Joanne Pritzker (1946–1955). His son Richard is a real estate investor in California and had previously worked as head counsel at the Hyatt Corporation.Equinox Hotels: Our team
retrieved July 21, 2013

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pritzker, Harry Nicholas 1892 births 1956 deaths 20th-century American businesspeople Harry Nicholas American people of Ukrainian-Jewish descent 20th-century American philanthropists 20th-century American Jews