Gov. Pritzker's cousin steps down at Hyatt over Epstein relationship

The Department of Justice belatedly released a massive trove of documents related to child sex offender Jeffrey Epstein last month. The documents provide damning insights into the dead pedophile as well as his network of former business associates and friends.

One of the affluent individuals whose name comes up repeatedly in the Epstein files is Thomas Pritzker — cousin of Democratic Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker — who has served as executive chairman of the Hyatt Hotels Corporation since August 2004.

'Good stewardship also means protecting Hyatt.'

The 75-year-old billionaire revealed to the board of the hotel chain on Monday that he was retiring, effective immediately, to protect Hyatt from the fallout of his relationship with the dead pedophile.

In his letter to the board, which was reviewed by the New York Times, Pritzker said that "good stewardship also means protecting Hyatt, particularly in the context of my association with Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell, which I deeply regret."

Pritzker noted further that he "exercised terrible judgment in maintaining contact with them, and there is no excuse for failing to distance myself sooner."

The retiring Hyatt executive chairman appears to have maintained a friendship and remained in frequent contact with Epstein long after the sex offender pleaded guilty to procuring a child for prostitution.

In the newly released Epstein files, the email address accompanying Pritzker's name is frequently redacted. However in some cases, it is crossed out but still visible.

RELATED: 'Smoking Gun': Yale prof nearly blown up by Unabomber defends his Epstein emails

Photo by Joe Schildhorn/Patrick McMullan via Getty Image

Richard Tuttle, chair of the Hyatt board's nominating and corporate governance committee, said in a statement, "Tom’s leadership has been instrumental in shaping Hyatt’s strategy and long-term growth, and we thank him for his service and dedication to Hyatt."

Mark Hoplamazian, Hyatt's president and CEO, has stepped into the role left open by the Epstein associate.

Pritzker is among a growing list of individuals whose relationships with Epstein have earned them heightened scrutiny and professional consequences.

After new details about their relationships and/or communications with Epstein came to light:

• Sultan Ahmed bin Sulayem resigned as chairman and chief executive of the global ports operator DP World;
• David Gelernter, a Yale University computer science professor who lost a few fingers opening a package sent by the Unabomber, defended a controversial correspondence he had with Epstein and was barred from teaching classes at the university;
• Peter Mandelson, a prominent Labour Party figure who was appointed Britain's ambassador to the U.S. in 2024 by Prime Minister Keir Starmer, resigned in disgrace from the House of Lords while his protege stepped down as Starmer's right-hand man;
• Kathy Ruemmler said she was resigning as Goldman Sach's chief legal officer;
• Brad Karp resigned as chairman of the top U.S. law firm Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP;
• U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick was grilled in a Senate hearing about his 2012 meeting with Epstein at the pedophile's island;
• New York Giants co-owner Steve Tisch, who NFL commissioner Roger Goodell indicated might ultimately face an internal investigation, admitted to a "brief association where we exchanged emails about adult women, and in addition, we discussed movies, philanthropy, and investments";
• Letty Moss-Salentijn was stripped of her administrative duties at Columbia University's College of Dental Medicine;
• Sarah Ferguson, Duchess of York and former wife of ex-prince Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, saw her charity, Sarah's Trust, shuttered; and
• Thorbjørn Jagland, Norway's former prime minister, was charged with aggravated corruption.