JB Pritzker

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JB Pritzker (2017)

Jay Robert "Bob" Pritzker , better known as JB Pritzker (born January 19, 1965 in Chicago , Illinois ), is an American politician , businessman , philanthropist and since January 14, 2019 Governor of Illinois. He belongs to the Democratic Party .

With a fortune of around 3.2 billion US dollars, he is currently the richest person in the United States to hold public office.

Career

Education, professional career and social commitment

JB Pritzker was born in Chicago in 1965 and belongs to the famous Pritzker family, one of the richest families in the USA. JB, as he is often called, has a brother and a sister. His uncle was the entrepreneur and patron Jay Pritzker . After college, he graduated from Duke University with a bachelor's degree in political science . He then earned a degree in law at the Chicago Northwestern University. After completing his studies, Pritzker worked in various business areas in family businesses. Among other things, he and his brother founded the company in 1871, a start-up center for start-ups in the digital sector. In addition, Pritzker participated in various charities . JB Pritzker's fortune is estimated at 3.5 billion US dollars.

Political activity and running for Illinois Governor 2018

Pritzker, a member of the Democratic Party , has also been politically active since his youth . He temporarily chaired a digital innovation advisory board to the Mayor of Chicago. In both 2008 and 2016, he was a delegate to the Democrats' nomination convention for president. In 2008 he was initially co-chairman of the election campaign for Hillary Clinton , later he supported Barack Obama, also from Chicago . After Obama's election as president, Pritzker was under discussion as a possible successor for his Senate seat . As a telephone recording published by the FBI in 2017 suggests, Pritzker is said to have offered the then Governor Rod Blagojevich , who had to appoint an interim successor, an election donation in exchange for the appointment. Appointment as State Treasurer or Attorney General was also considered. Although Blogejevich ultimately made a different choice, he was dismissed from office a few months later on allegations of corruption and sentenced to prison. In February 2018, Pritzker apologized publicly if the appearance of corruption had been raised, as well as for his choice of words, which was sometimes perceived as inappropriate.

Pritzker at an election campaign appearance in May 2018

In the spring of 2017, Pritzker announced his candidacy for governor of Illinois in the fall of 2018 election. As a running mate , he selected Juliana Stratton in advance , who is a member of the Illinois House of Representatives and, unlike Pritzker, has experience in electoral offices. The African American Stratton is supposed to appeal to the black electorate, which is important in Illinois, and to secure additional votes from women. For the Democratic primary in March 2018, Chris Kennedy , a son of Robert F. Kennedy , and State Senator Daniel Biss were his main competitors. Pritzker won the Democratic vote on the candidate for governor on March 20, 2018 with 45.2% of the vote, ahead of Biss (26.2%) and Kennedy (24.3%). During the primary campaign, Pritzker, who invested several million dollars from his own fortune, was long the clear favorite. However, his lead in the polls had melted somewhat in the weeks leading up to the polls, following the full publication of the FBI-recorded phone call between Pritzker and Balogejevich in 2008. In addition, US media reported in the week of the election that Pritzker was through various offshore -Accounts of his companies have specifically avoided paying income tax in the USA. Pritzker denied the allegations, stating that some of his companies were run by trusts over which he had no control. In the actual gubernatorial election on November 6, 2018, Pritzker prevailed against the Republican incumbent Bruce Rauner with around 54% of the vote .

In his election campaign, Pritzker primarily focused on traditional democratic issues such as an expansion of health insurance , more gun control and immigrant-friendly politics. He also advocates reform of criminal law to reduce the number of prisoners. In particular, the disproportionately high incarceration rate of African Americans for minor offenses should be reduced. Pritzker also calls for the statutory minimum wage to be raised to US $ 15 per hour, the promotion of renewable energies and more investment in education and public infrastructure. In this context, he also criticizes the politics and behavior of US President Donald Trump . Pritzker accused his opponent Bruce Rauner of solely representing the interests of the economy and of damaging the welfare state through a policy of deregulation . Similar to his competitor Rauner, Pritzker tries to present his wealth as positive in order to be able to act as governor independently of major donors.

Illinois Governor

After his election victory over Bruce Rauner, Pritzker was sworn in as governor of Illinois on January 14, 2019. His party has a majority in both houses of the State Legislature . With his inauguration, Pritzker became the richest person in the United States to hold public office with a fortune of around 3.2 billion US dollars , overtaking US President Donald Trump .

Private life

Since 1993 Pritzker has been married to his wife Mary Kathryn, with whom he has two children. He lives with his family in Chicago. He is of Jewish denomination.

His sister Penny Pritzker , who is six years older than him, was US Secretary of Commerce in Barack Obama's cabinet from 2013 to 2017 .

Web links

Commons : JB Pritzker  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ^ A b Trump Isn't America's Richest Politician Anymore. Illinois' New Governor JB Pritzker Is. , Forbes, November 6, 2018
  2. ↑ Jay Robert (JB) Pritzker , Forbes (English)
  3. ↑ JB Pritzker sought political office from Blagojevich, 2008 FBI wiretaps show , Chicago Tribune , May 31, 2017 (English)
  4. ↑ Pritzker Apologizes for Wiretapped Racial Comments as Fallout Continues , NBC Chicago, February 7th (English)
  5. ↑ P ritzker bears brunt of attacks at Democratic governor forum over property tax breaks, Blagojevich wiretaps , Chicago Tribune , May 31, 2017 (English)
  6. ↑ Gov. Bruce Rauner and JB Pritzker to Face Off in Illinois , The New York Times , March 21, 2018
  7. ↑ My Vision for Illinois , jbpritzker.com (English)
personal data
SURNAME Pritzker, JB
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Pritzker, Jay Robert (full name); Pritzker, Bob (nickname)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American investor, businessman, philanthropist, and billionaire
DATE OF BIRTH January 19, 1965
PLACE OF BIRTH Chicago , Illinois