Tom Pritzker, cousin of Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker, named in latest release of Epstein documents

Kate Armanini, Chicago Tribune on Nov 19, 2025

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Tom Pritzker, cousin to Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker and a Hyatt Hotels magnate, is repeatedly named in documents released last week from the estate of financier and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

The trove of more than 20,000 documents, made public by the House Oversight Committee, includes emails between Tom Pritzker and Epstein from long after the late financier pled guilty to soliciting a minor in 2008.

The Chicago Maroon, the student newspaper of the University of Chicago, first reported on the billionaire’s appearance in the documents Tuesday. Tom Pritzker is an alum of the school and sits on its board of trustees.

The Pritzker Organization, the family’s investment firm where Tom Pritzker serves as chairman and CEO, did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Neither did a spokesperson for U. of C.

Tom Pritzker, 75, and Epstein corresponded as late as 2019, according to a set of emails and texts compiled by the Maroon. Over nearly a decade, the pair discussed current events, shared news articles and made plans to meet across the country.

Many of the messages seem to show they shared a close relationship. In 2013, after discussing a news article on Penny Pritzker — his cousin and a former U.S. secretary of commerce — Epstein emailed: “nice to see you, please come more often.” Tom Pritzker responded, “Always fun.” Epstein also wrote that Tom Pritzker was “like family” in 2017 in a text message to an unidentified recipient.

Tom Pritzker’s name has appeared in connection to Epstein in the past. Epstein accuser Virginia Giuffre testified in 2016 that she was coerced into having sex with him. Tom Pritzker has denied her allegation. Giuffre died by suicide in April at age 41.

After additional court documents were unsealed, a spokesperson for Gov. JB Pritzker told the Tribune in 2019 that he wasn’t aware that his cousin knew Epstein.

That same year, in an email to himself titled “radical breakthrough,” Epstein compiled a long list of names including Tom Pritzker, “donalad trup” (an apparent reference to the president) and Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, the British royal recently stripped of his titles after details of his relationship with Epstein came to light.

Epstein included Tom Pritzker in another list of names he emailed to himself in June 2019, just months before he was arrested on federal charges for sex trafficking minors. He died by suicide while awaiting trial.

The push for more transparency into the investigation of Epstein’s sex trafficking operation has recently gained traction, after new details have emerged regarding his relationship with President Donald Trump. On Tuesday, the U.S. House overwhelmingly voted to pass a bill forcing the Justice Department to release all of its files related to the case.

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