Jay Pritzker - Biography

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

Biography

Pritzker was born in Chicago, Illinois, the son of Fanny (née Doppelt) and A. N. Pritzker. His brother was Robert Pritzker. He was the father of Dan Pritzker.

Trained as a lawyer, he early diversified the Chicago-based family business, the Marmon Group, into lumber. With his brother Robert Pritzker, 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 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.