Tom Pritzker, chair of Hyatt Hotels, steps down over Epstein association

Tom Pritzker, a cousin of Illinois Governor JB Pritzker and chair of the Hyatt Hotels Corporation, resigned his position Monday over his association with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. 

Files recently released by the Justice Department reveal that Tom Pritzker was in close contact with Epstein after Epstein’s plea deal in 2008 for procuring a minor for prostitution. 

“Good stewardship also means protecting Hyatt, particularly in the context of my association with Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell which I deeply regret,” the 75-year-old Pritzker wrote in a letter to the company’s board, according to The New York Times.

“I exercised terrible judgment in maintaining contact with them, and there is no excuse for failing to distance myself sooner,” he added.

He has been chair of the company since 2004. 

Pritzker is not the only prominent figure to have stepped down from his post after being named in the millions of documents recently released by the Justice Department. 

Larry Summers, Casey Wasserman, and several European diplomats have also stepped down as a result. Pritzker has not been accused of wrongdoing, but he did communicate with Epstein about various girls, according to The Hill.