Pritzker is stepping down as Hyatt’s executive chairman, effective immediately, due to his relationship with a late sex offender.
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Published February 17, 2026
Billionaire Thomas J. Pritzker has announced that he will step down as executive chairman of Hyatt Hotels Corporation, citing his long-standing relationships with sex offenders Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell. This practice was revealed in recently released documents from the U.S. Department of Justice.
Pritzker, 75, who has been executive chairman of Hyatt Hotels since 2004, also said Monday that he will not seek re-election to the company’s board of directors at its 2026 annual meeting.
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In a letter to the Hyatt board and a related statement, Pritzker expressed deep regret for continuing to communicate with Epstein and Maxwell, who took their own lives in prison in 2019, calling it a “terrible decision” and saying there was no excuse for not distancing himself sooner.
“Good stewardship also means protecting Hyatt, and we deeply regret it, especially in relation to its relationships with Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell,” he said in a statement.
“I made poor decisions in maintaining contact with them. There is no excuse for not distancing myself sooner.”
Newly released documents from the Justice Department show that Pritzker had continued and regular contact with Epstein over the years, after Epstein was convicted of sex crimes in 2008, The New York Times reported.
Mr. Pritzker is the latest powerful figure to face repercussions after the release of millions of pages of documents showing the depth of Mr. Epstein’s network of business, political and cultural elites in the United States and around the world.
Kathryn Ruemmler, Goldman Sachs’ chief legal adviser, resigned last week over her ties to Epstein. Norwegian police say they have raided a property owned by former Prime Minister Torbjorn Jagland as part of a corruption investigation into his relationship with the late sex offender.
Sultan Ahmed bin Sulayem, the head of DP Ports World, the world’s largest port operator, was also fired due to his close ties to Epstein, and economist Larry Summers resigned from OpenAI’s board late last year.
Peter Mandelson, the former British ambassador to Washington, has been asked to appear in person for an interview and answer questions as part of the US Congress’ investigation into Epstein.
In a letter sent to Mandelson by Democratic Reps. Robert Garcia and Suhas Subramanyam, members of the House Oversight Committee, they said it was “clear” that the former ambassador had “extensive social and business ties” to Epstein and asked him to provide a transcript of the interview.
Mr Mandelson assumed the prestigious post of British Ambassador to the United States in February 2025. He was removed from the post in September 2025 after British Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s government announced that new information had emerged showing the deeper nature of his long-standing relationship with Epstein.
The Mandelson controversy has led to calls for Starmer to resign as prime minister, with critics questioning the decision to appoint him as ambassador.
Starmer’s chief of staff and cabinet secretary also resigned due to the scandal.
