JB Pritzker’s Cousin Steps Down From Family Business Over Epstein Ties

Thomas Pritzker, the cousin of Democratic Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker, stepped down as executive chairman of the Hyatt Hotels Corporation on Monday over his ties to sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

The Department of Justice (DOJ) released nearly 3 million files on Feb. 1 which included information that Pritzker frequently kept in contact with Epstein in the years following his 2008 plea deal related to his 2006 prostitution charges. Pritzker sent a letter to the board announcing his departure and said he deeply regrets having any association with Epstein or his former 💼Business partner, Ghislaine Maxwell, The New York Times reported.

“Good stewardship also means protecting Hyatt, particularly in the context of my association with Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell which I deeply regret,” Pritzker wrote, according to the Times.

Pritzker and Epstein repeatedly corresponded to plan meals and appointments, including at Epstein’s Manhattan townhouse, according to the Times. In 2018, Epstein asked Pritzker over email to help his girlfriend, Karyna Shuliak, arrange a trip to Southeast Asia so she could “find a new girlfriend” for Epstein.

When Shuliak replied what she planned to do on the trip, Pritzker replied with a smiley-face emoji and said, “May the force be with you,” according to the Times.

In another email from 2015, Epstein joked to Pritzker about combining their plans and also discussed their invitations to a ceremony to the Pulitzer Prizes.