Thomas Pritzker, the executive chairman of Hyatt Hotels Corp., said he will step down from the company’s board after details of his association with Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell were made public in documents tied to a U.S. Department of Justice investigation into Epstein’s relationships with elite and powerful figures.
In a prepared statement, Pritzker said he “deeply regrets” his association with Epstein and Maxwell, including Ghislaine Maxwell’s role as a long time associate of Epstein who is serving a 20-year sentence for sex trafficking. Pritzker said, “I exercised terrible judgment in maintaining contact with them, and there is no excuse for failing to distance myself sooner,” adding that he “condemn[s] the actions and the harm caused by Epstein and Maxwell.” He said he “feel[s] deep sorrow for the pain they inflicted on their victims.”
The report said there are numerous emails between Pritzker and Epstein included in a cache of Epstein-related documents recently released by the U.S. Department of Justice. According to the report, some of the emails describe attempts to arrange dinner meetups and invitations to various functions, with interactions continuing even after Epstein pleaded guilty in 2008 to soliciting prostitution from an underage girl.
Epstein died by suicide while incarcerated in 2019, the report said. The disclosed exchanges, the report said, included e-mails that showed the desire of an associated network to stay connected to the financier persisted after his 2008 guilty plea.
Hyatt said Pritzker is 75 and has served as executive chairman for more than 20 years. The report said his retirement is effective immediately and that Hyatt CEO Mark Hoplamazian will succeed Pritzker as chairman.
The Hyatt change comes amid a broader series of departures and scrutiny involving people and institutions linked to Epstein. The report said Dubai announced it would replace the chairman of DP World because of his ties to Epstein, and that Kathy Ruemmler, the top lawyer at Goldman Sachs and former White House counsel to President Barack Obama, announced her resignation after emails describing a close relationship with Epstein became public.
The report also said Brad Karp resigned as chairman of the U.S. law firm Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison earlier this month, saying news coverage of his exchanges with Epstein “created a distraction.” It further said King Charles III stripped his brother—formerly Prince Andrew—of titles and honors in late December over his relationship with Epstein, and that this month Charles said he was ready to “ support ’” UK police examining claims that Andrew gave confidential information to Epstein.