Abram Nicholas Pritzker

Abram Nicholas Pritzker , who preferred to be known as A.¹ Pritzker , (January 6, 1896 – February 8, 1986) was an American businessman. The son of Ukrainian Jewish immigrants Annie and Nicholas Pritzker, he graduated from Harvard Law School and worked for a time in the family's firm, Pritzker & Pritzker , before beginning with his brother Jack a business career that would launch a family empire. They invested in real estate and small companies, mostly around Chicago and amassed a considerable fortune. They shielded their earnings from taxes through a series of trusts, which enabled them to distribute the money as they chose. Pritzker's philanthropic endeavors include funding the Pritzker School of Medicine at the University of Chicago . He also set up a trust fund for A.N. Pritzker Elementary School, which he had attended when it was called the Wicker Park Elementary School. Pritzker's sons, Jay , Robert , and Donald , continued to grow the family business, eventually buying the Hyatt House hotel in San Francisco in 1957 and forming the cornerstone of their hotel chain. His son, Robert Pritzker , created a conglomerate of a multitude of manufacturing companies, which grew into the multi billion dollar Marmon Group , and was diversified to include manufacturing concerns ranging from lumber to railroad box cars, and travel industry staples. It comprised half of the family's wealth. On December 25, 2007, it was announced that Warren Buffett, through Berkshire Hathaway , would purchase 60% of the Marmon Group from the Pritzkers for $4.5 Billion. The Pritzkers also own Royal Caribbean . TransUnion was a subsidiary of The Marmon Group until January 2005, but is now an independent, privately held company. The Pritzker family also funds a charter school in the Hermosa Community of Chicago which is part of the noble network of charter schools. Pritzker College Prep is located on the west side of Chicago. One of his granddaughters is the actress Liesel Pritzker .²