Karen Pritzker

Last updated
Karen Pritzker
Born1958 (age 65–66)
Oberlin, Ohio, U.S.
NationalityAmerican
EducationB.A. Northwestern University
Occupation(s)Investor, philanthropist, film producer
Spouse
Michael Vlock
​
(died 2017)​
Children4
Parent Robert Pritzker (father)
RelativesSee Pritzker family

Karen L. Pritzker (born 1958) is a documentary film producer, investor, and philanthropist. She is a member of the Pritzker family, the granddaughter of A.N. Pritzker and daughter of Robert Pritzker. [1]

Contents

Biography

Pritzker was born in Oberlin, Ohio , the daughter of Audrey (née Gilbert) and Robert Pritzker. [2] She has two full siblings: Jennifer N. Pritzker (b. 1950), [3] a retired Lt Colonel in the Illinois State National Guard and founder of the Pritzker Military Library, [4] and Linda Pritzker (b. 1953), an American lama in the Tibetan Buddhist tradition. [5] Her parents divorced in 1979. [2] In 1981, her mother remarried Albert B. Ratner, the co-chairman of Cleveland-based real estate developer Forest City Enterprises. [6] [7] In 1980, her father remarried Irene Dryburgh with whom he had two children, her half siblings: Matthew Pritzker and Liesel Pritzker Simmons. [2]

Her father diversified the Chicago-based family business, the Marmon Group - along with his brothers Jay Pritzker and Donald Pritzker - building it into a portfolio of over 60 diversified industrial corporations. They also created the Hyatt Hotel chain in 1957 and owned Braniff Airlines from 1983–1988. [1] The family has been divesting its assets: in 2006, the family sold Conwood, a smokeless tobacco company, for $3.5 billion to cigarette company Reynolds American Inc; [8] in 2007, the family sold control of the Marmon Group to Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway for $4.5 billion; [1] and in 2010, the family sold its majority stake in Transunion, the Chicago-based credit reporting company, for an undisclosed amount to Chicago-based private-equity firm Madison Dearborn Partners. [8]

Pritzker graduated with a B.A. from Northwestern University. [1] Pritzker worked as an editor at the magazine Working Mother before the family sold it in 1986 [2] and has written for various publications including Success , Seventeen , Kirkus Reviews , and Newsday . [9] Pritzker invests her wealth through an investment portfolio, the Pritzker/Vlock family office which manages a diverse asset base of emerging biotechnology, medical device companies, consumer technology products, and real estate. [10] Pritzker also operates a venture fund, LaunchCapital LLC [1] [11] with a core focus in the technology, consumer and medical businesses. [12]

In 2012, Pritzker co-founded KPJR Films with James Redford. [13] She has since executive-produced three documentary film features: The Big Picture: Rethinking Dyslexia, Paper Tigers, and Resilience: The Biology of Stress and The Science of Hope. [14]

Filmography

YearTitleRoleNotes
2012The Big Picture: Rethinking DyslexiaExecutive ProducerSundance Film selection in 2012 and winner of a 2013 Parent’s Choice Award [15]
2015Paper TigersExecutive Producer Seattle International Film Festival selection in 2015 [16]
2016ResilienceExecutive ProducerShown at the Sundance Film Festival in 2016 [17]

Philanthropy

Karen Pritzker serves as president and director of The Seedlings Foundation. The Seedlings Foundation, founded in 2002, has awarded millions of dollars in grants, catalyzing advancements in medical research, social services, job retraining for adults, affordable housing, and online news sites dedicated to local, factual, ad-free reporting. [18] Pritzker and her husband donated $20 million to the Yale University School of Medicine. [1] (including $3 million to endow a professorship); [1] [19] $5 million to Teach for America; $1.5 million to the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson's Research, in honor of her father who had Parkinson's disease. [20] In 2007, Pritzker donated $1 million to build a new visitor center at the Treblinka concentration camp. [21] Karen also funded a new website named Truth in Advertising (TinA), tina.org, that provides information about incidents of false advertising. [22] She also serves on the board of directors of Grameen America, a nonprofit that offers low-cost microloans to women below the poverty line, as well as Grameen PrimaCare, which provides affordable health care for immigrant women. [23]

The My Hero Project

Pritzker co-founded The My Hero Project [24] with Rita Stern Milch and Jeanne Meyers in 1995. [25] The purpose of the effort is to "celebrate the best of humanity and empowers young people to realize their own potential to effect positive change in the world". [25]

Personal life

She was married to Michael Vlock and has four children. [1] Her husband died in September 2017. [26] She lives in Branford, Connecticut. [1]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pritzker Architecture Prize</span> International architecture prize

The Pritzker Architecture Prize is an international architecture award presented annually "to honor a living architect or architects whose built work demonstrates a combination of those qualities of talent, vision and commitment which has produced consistent and significant contributions to humanity and the built environment through the art of architecture.” Founded in 1979 by Jay A. Pritzker and his wife Cindy, the award is funded by the Pritzker family and sponsored by the Hyatt Foundation. It is considered to be one of the world's premier architecture prizes, and is often referred to as the Nobel Prize of architecture.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Grameen Bank</span> Bank and microfinancer in Bangladesh

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Linda Pritzker</span> American lama and billionaire heiress

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Robert Alan Pritzker was an American businessman and member of the wealthy Pritzker family.

Thomas Pritzker is an American billionaire heir and businessman. A member of the Pritzker family, he is the chairman and chief executive officer (CEO) of the Pritzker Organization (TPO), which manages the various Pritzker family business assets. Pritzker is also the executive chairman of the Hyatt Hotels Corporation.

The Pritzker family is an American family engaged in entrepreneurship and philanthropy, and one of the wealthiest families in the United States. Its fortune arose in the 20th century, particularly through the founding and expansion of the Hyatt Hotels Corporation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Liesel Pritzker Simmons</span> American actress, philanthropist

Liesel Pritzker Simmons, stage name Liesel Matthews, is an American heiress and former child actress. She starred as Sara Crewe in A Little Princess, a 1995 film adaptation of the Frances Hodgson Burnett classic, and as Alice Marshall in Air Force One. She is a member of the wealthy Pritzker family. She is now known as a leader in impact investing and founded the Blue Haven Initiative in 2012 to that end.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jay Pritzker</span> Cofounder of Hyatt Hotels Corp

Jay Arthur Pritzker was an American entrepreneur, conglomerate organizer, and member of the Pritzker family.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Penny Pritzker</span> American businesswoman (born 1959)

Penny Sue Pritzker is an American billionaire heiress, businesswoman and civic leader who served as the 38th United States secretary of commerce in the Obama administration from 2013 to 2017. She was confirmed by a Senate vote of 97–1.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pritzker Military Museum & Library</span> Chicago museum and research library

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Anthony Nicholas Pritzker is a member of the Pritzker family and an heir to the Hyatt Hotel fortune; he is managing partner of the Pritzker Group.

The My Hero Project is a U.S.-based nonprofit organization established in 1995 by philanthropist Karen Pritzker, Jeanne Meyers and Rita Stern Milch that promotes the sharing of positive role models from around the world for the online digital storytelling project. By 2013, it reached 194 countries.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Marmon Group</span> American industrial holding company

Marmon Group is an American industrial holding company headquartered in Chicago, Illinois; founded by Jay Pritzker and Robert Pritzker in 1953, it has been held by the Berkshire Hathaway group since 2013. It owns companies that produce transportation equipment, electrical components and other industrial components, and companies that provide services in the construction and retail sectors. Tank car manufacturing is a significant part of its business, products which are sold through its subsidiaries Union Tank Car Company in the United States and Procor in Canada. Berkshire Hathaway, which owns the largest freight railroad carrier in North America, BNSF Railway, acquired controlling interest in Marmon in 2007 and became sole owner six years later.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">J. B. Pritzker</span> Governor of Illinois since 2019

Jay Robert Pritzker is an American businessman, politician, philanthropist, and attorney serving since 2019 as the 43rd governor of Illinois. He is from Chicago and is a member of the wealthy Pritzker family, which owns the hotel chain Hyatt. Pritzker has started several venture capital and investment startups, including the Pritzker Group, where he is a managing partner.

Gigi Pritzker is an American billionaire and film producer. She is a member of the Pritzker family.

John A. Pritzker, the grandson of A.N. Pritzker and son of Jay Pritzker, is an American billionaire and investor. He is a member of the Pritzker family.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jennifer Pritzker</span> American billionaire (born 1950)

Jennifer Natalya Pritzker is an American investor, philanthropist, and member of the Pritzker family. Pritzker retired as a lieutenant colonel from the Illinois Army National Guard (ILARNG) in 2001, and was later made an honorary Illinois colonel. Founder of the Tawani Foundation in 1995, Tawani Enterprises in 1996, and the Pritzker Military Library in 2003, Pritzker has been involved with civic applications of inherited and accrued wealth, including significant donations to broaden understanding and support for "citizen soldiers."

TINA.org (TruthinAdvertising.org) is an independent, non-profit, advertising watchdog organization founded in the United States of America. TINA.org was founded in 2012 and received its initial funding from Karen Pritzker and Michael Vlock through their Seedlings Foundation, which supports programs that nourish the physical and mental health of children and families, and fosters an educated and engaged citizenship. TINA.org is headed by Bonnie Patten, who has served as its Executive Director since its founding.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Teddy Vlock</span> Israeli-American equestrian

Teddy Vlock is an Israeli-American equestrian.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Forbes: The World's Billionaires - Karen Pritzker September 2020
  2. 1 2 3 4 CNN Money: "THE PRITZKERS UNVEILING A PRIVATE FAMILY" By Ford S. Worthy April 25, 1988
  3. ↑ Geidner, Chris (August 23, 2013). "Billionaire Backer Of Open Transgender Military Service Comes Out As Transgender". BuzzFeed. Retrieved August 23, 2013.
  4. ↑ Pritzker Military Library website: "Colonel (IL) J. N. Pritzker, IL ARNG (Retired)" retrieved December 21, 2012
  5. ↑ van Gelder, Sarah. "How an American lama finds joy during turbulent times" . Retrieved 11 February 2014.
  6. ↑ Yale University: "Slow readers, creative thinkers: gift will spur dyslexia studies - New center will explore links between reading problems, creativity" retrieved December 21, 2012
  7. ↑ Encyclopedia of Cleveland History: "Biography of the Ratner Family" retrieved December 21, 2012
  8. 1 2 Chicago Tribune: "Pritzker family could soon own less than half of Hyatt" By Julie Wernau April 19, 2011
  9. ↑ The Big Picture documentary website: The Team - Karen Pritzker, Executive Producer retrieved July 24, 2013
  10. ↑ "TEAM, PV Family Office". Pritzker Vlock Family Office. Retrieved August 22, 2019.
  11. ↑ Launch Capital website: "About US" retrieved July 24, 2013
  12. ↑ Launch Capital website: Our Philosophy retrieved July 24, 2013
  13. ↑ "About KPJR Films". KPJR Films. Retrieved August 22, 2019.
  14. ↑ "Our Films". KPJR Films. Retrieved August 22, 2019.
  15. ↑ "The Big Picture: Rethinking Dyslexia". KPJR Films. Retrieved August 22, 2019.
  16. ↑ "Paper Tigers". KPJR Films. Retrieved August 22, 2019.
  17. ↑ "Resilience". KPJR Films. Retrieved August 22, 2019.
  18. ↑ "Seedlings Foundation". Seedlings Foundation. Retrieved August 22, 2019.
  19. ↑ Medicine@Yale Bulletin: "Giving back - Top-notch surgery at Yale inspires a major gift to the School of Medicine"
  20. ↑ Branford Seven News: "Branford's Pritzker Makes Forbes List of Richest Americans" March 7, 2013
  21. ↑ Jewish Weekly: "Foundation pledges money to Treblinka" November 30, 2007.
  22. ↑ Connecticut news: "A New Connecticut-Based Website Works to Uncover False Advertising" By Gregory B. Hladky April 3, 2013
  23. ↑ "Board of Directors". Grameen America. Retrieved August 22, 2019.
  24. ↑ Harris, Melissa; Wernau, Julie (December 18, 2011). "Fortune's Fate". Chicago Tribune . pp.  1, 2 – via Newspapers.com.
  25. 1 2 Api Podder (November 18, 2016). "Goody Awards to honor The MY HERO Project Director Jeanne Meyers Saturday". My Social Good News. Retrieved December 5, 2016.
  26. ↑ "Michael Vlock". New Haven Independent. October 1, 2017.
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