Billionaire Hyatt Hotels Chairman Tom Pritzker Resigns After Epstein File Revelations

Last Updated:February 17, 2026, 06:20 IST

Pritzker, who has been executive chairman of Hyatt Hotels since 2004, also stated that he won't stand for re-election with the company's board.

Billionaire Tom Pritzker on Monday announced his retirement as the executive chairman of Hyatt Hotels after his association with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein was revealed in the latest release of files by the US Justice Department.

“Good stewardship also means protecting Hyatt, particularly in the context of my association with Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell, which I deeply regret," Pritzker said in a statement.

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

Pritzker, who has been executive chairman of Hyatt Hotels since 2004, also stated that he won’t stand for re-election with the company’s board.

The development comes after the Department of Justice files released late last year detailed Pritzker’s continued contact with Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell years after Epstein’s 2008 sex crimes plea deal.

Pritzker is the latest powerful figure facing repercussions after the release of files showing the depth of Epstein’s network of business and cultural elites.

According to CNN, in one example of contact between Pritzker and Epstein in 2018, Epstein enlisted Pritzker’s help in reservations for a woman traveling through Asia, who was reportedly a girlfriend of his.

“Going to try to find a new girlfriend for Jeffrey," the woman wrote in an email when Pritzker asked what she was going to do there. “May the Force be with you," Pritzker replied, along with a smiley face emoji.

Following the announcement of Tom Pritzker’s resignation, the Hyatt board named Mark Hoplamazian, president and CEO of Hyatt, to succeed Pritzker as chairman of the board effective immediately.

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