Penny Pritzker

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Penny Pritzker (2013)

Penny Sue Pritzker (born May 2, 1959 in Chicago , Illinois ) is an American entrepreneur and politician of the Democratic Party . She is a member of one of the richest families in the country. Pritzker is the daughter of Donald Pritzker (1932–1972), who together with his brother Jay Pritzker (1922–1999) founded the Hyatt Group in 1957 . On May 2, 2013, she was officially nominated by US President Barack Obama for the office of Secretary of Commerce , which she held from June 26 of the same year until January 20, 2017.

Entrepreneur

A graduate of the universities of Harvard and Stanford is, according to the list of billionaires of the Forbes Magazine one of the richest people in the United States. So she was z. B. 2007 with assets of 2.8 billion USD in 135th place (assets 2009: 1.1 billion USD). The property comes from u. a. from the Hyatt hotel group. Penny Pritzker is a co-owner of the Superior Bank of Chicago . In addition, she is active in various business areas, including a. the Pritzker Realty Group , in the operation of parking garages (company The Parking Spot ) or one of the major credit reporting agencies in the country, TransUnion .

Political and philanthropic activities

Penny Pritzker is one of the most famous philanthropists in the country and is involved with various organizations and foundations in the fields of education, child aid and art. Despite her social commitment, she is partially criticized for her previous work in the partly family-owned Superior Bank, which was closed due to trading in bad mortgage loans ( subprime crisis ). Pritzker is also accused by critics of having invested parts of her fortune in tax havens . Their dealings with the Hyatt staff are also viewed critically.

Pritzker is a member of the Democratic Party and was CFO on Barack Obama's campaign team in the run-up to the 2008 presidential election. She was also a fundraiser in previous elections. She is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations and has served as an economic advisor to the Obama administration (member of the President's Economic Recovery Advisory Board ). In 2012 Pritzker was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences .

On May 2, 2013, President Obama nominated Pritzker for the office of US Secretary of Commerce (" United States Secretary of Commerce "). The post of maintaining relations between the government and the domestic business community is seen as less influential than the finance minister (then Jacob Lew ) or the president's trade agent. On June 25, 2013, the Senate confirmed the nomination with 97: 1 votes. Bernie Sanders from Vermont was the only Senator to vote against her appointment.

Private

Penny Pritzker is married and has two children. Her younger brother JB Pritzker is also an entrepreneur and has been Governor of Illinois since 2019 .

literature

Web links

Commons : Penny Pritzker  - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b New US Secretary of Commerce: Subsequently rewarded by Obama at sueddeutsche.de, May 2, 2013 (accessed May 4, 2013).
  2. ^ Forbes 2007 Billionaires List
  3. Jump up ↑ Forbes Billionaires List 2009
  4. ↑ Obama's new trade minister: Billionaire with Blemish , spiegel.de, May 3, 2013.
  5. ↑ US Senate, Roll Call: On the Nomination (Confirmation Penny Pritzker, of Illinois, to be Secretary of Commerce)
personal data
SURNAME Pritzker, Penny
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Pritzker, Penny Sue (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American businesswoman
DATE OF BIRTH May 2, 1959
PLACE OF BIRTH Chicago , Illinois