Hyatt Executive Chairman Thomas Pritzker steps down over Epstein ties

Hotel magnate Thomas Pritzker will step down as the executive chairman of Hyatt Hotels after details of his affiliation with Jeffrey Epstein were revealed in documents related to the burgeoning investigation of ties between the notorious sex trafficker and the elite and powerful.

Pritzker, in a prepared statement, said he deeply regrets his association with Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell, a long time associate of Epstein who is serving a 20-year sentence for sex trafficking.

“I exercised terrible judgment in maintaining contact with them, and there is no excuse for failing to distance myself sooner,” Pritzker said in a statement. “I condemn the actions and the harm caused by Epstein and Maxwell and I feel deep sorrow for the pain they inflicted on their victims.”

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, with several detailing attempts for dinner meet ups and invitations to various functions.

Interactions between the two continued even after Epstein pleaded guilty in 2008 to soliciting prostitution from an underage girl. Emails made public late last year show the crime did little to diminish the desire of that network to stay connected to the financier.

Epstein died by suicide while incarcerated in 2019.

Pritzker, 75, who is the cousin of Illinois Governor JB Pritzker, was the executive chairman at Hyatt for more than 20 years. His retirement is effective immediately. Hyatt CEO Mark Hoplamazian will succeed Pritzker as chairman.

Hyatt has more than 1,500 hotels and all-inclusive resorts in more than 83 countries.

Revelations of ties to Epstein have led to the departure or ousting of multiple high-profile individuals in recent days.

Dubai announced last week that it was replacing the chairman of one of the world’s largest logistics companies, DP World, because of his ties to Epstein.

Also last week, Kathy Ruemmler, the top lawyer at storied investment bank Goldman Sachs and former White House counsel to President Barack Obama, announced her resignation after emails between her and Jeffrey Epstein showed a close relationship where she described him as an “older brother” and downplayed his sex crimes.

Brad Karp resigned as chairman of one of the most prestigious U.S. law firms earlier this month, saying news coverage of his exchanges with Epstein had “created a distraction.”

Karp had served as chairman of Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison since 2008. The New York firm has advanced the cause of civil rights, handled the legal affairs of corporate power brokers and grown into a multibillion-dollar global enterprise.

Late last year, King Charles III striped his brother, formerly Prince Andrew, of all his titles and honors, for his relationship with Epstein. This month, King Charles said that he is ready to “support’’ UK police examining claims that his brother gave confidential information to Epstein.

—Michelle Chapman, AP business writer