Penny Pritzker facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Penny Pritzker
|
|
|---|---|
Official portrait, 2013
|
|
| 38th United States Secretary of Commerce | |
| In office June 26, 2013 – January 20, 2017 |
|
| President | Barack Obama |
| Deputy | Patrick D. Gallagher (acting) Bruce H. Andrews |
| Preceded by | John Bryson |
| Succeeded by | Wilbur Ross |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
Penny Sue Pritzker
May 2, 1959 Chicago, Illinois, U.S. |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Spouse | Bryan Traubert |
| Children | 2 |
| Parent | Donald Pritzker (father) |
| Relatives | Pritzker family |
| Education | Harvard University (BA) Stanford University (JD, MBA) |
Penny Sue Pritzker (born May 2, 1959) is an American businesswoman and leader. She served as the 38th United States Secretary of Commerce for the Obama administration. This important role lasted from 2013 to 2017. The Senate voted 97 to 1 to approve her for the job.
Penny Pritzker is part of the well-known Pritzker family. She started working in the family's businesses at a young age. Later, she was chosen as one of three people to take over from her uncle, Jay Pritzker. She also started several of her own companies. These include PSP Partners and Pritzker Realty Group. She also helped start Artemis Real Estate Partners.
Today, she is on the board of Microsoft. She also leads the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. In 2009, Forbes magazine called her one of the 100 most powerful women in the world. She is the sister of J. B. Pritzker, who is the current governor of Illinois.
Before working for the government, Pritzker was active in many groups in Chicago. She was on the Chicago Board of Education. She also worked with the Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago. She has her own charity, the Pritzker Traubert Family Foundation. Penny Pritzker was a good friend of the Obama family. She supported Barack Obama when he first ran for president.
From 2021 to 2022, she was part of the President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology (PCAST). In 2023, she became the U.S. Special Representative for Ukraine's Economic Recovery.
Contents
Early Life and Education
Penny Pritzker was born in Chicago in 1959. Her parents were Sue and Donald Pritzker. She is part of the Pritzker family from Chicago. This family is known for its wealth and business success. Her father, Donald, helped start Hyatt Hotels. He moved the family to Atherton, California.
Penny has two younger brothers. They are Tony (born 1961) and J. B. (born 1965). J. B. is now the governor of Illinois.
When Penny was a child, she would go with her father to the hotels. She even helped check if the ladies' restrooms were clean. In 1972, her father died suddenly. Her mother then struggled with depression. Penny sometimes had to help care for her mother and younger brothers.
At age 16, Penny wrote a letter to her grandfather, A.N. Pritzker. He was the head of the family's businesses. She asked him why he only talked business with the men in the family. Her grandfather saw her interest in business. He then gave her a summer course in accounting.
Penny Pritzker went to Castilleja School in Palo Alto, California. She graduated in 1977. In 1981, she earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in economics from Harvard College. Pritzker continued her studies. She earned two more degrees from Stanford University in 1985. She received a Juris Doctor (law degree) and an MBA (business degree).
Pritzker Family Businesses
After finishing her education, Pritzker joined the family business. Her cousin, Nick Pritzker, encouraged her. In 1987, she started Classic Residence by Hyatt. This company later became Vi. It offered nice housing for seniors, different from nursing homes. The project was difficult at first. But it improved after changes in how it was run.
In 1991, her uncle, Jay Pritzker, put Penny in charge of the family's landholdings that were not hotels. With this role, Pritzker started the Pritzker Realty Group. This group built apartment buildings and shopping centers. They also developed the Baldwin Park neighborhood in Orlando, Florida.
Superior Bank
From 1991 to 1994, Pritzker was the chairperson of Superior Bank of Chicago. This bank was based in Hinsdale, Illinois. Her uncle, Jay Pritzker, had bought half of the bank. In 1993, the bank started to grow quickly. It focused on home loans for people with lower credit.
In 2000, it became clear the bank was having problems. The Pritzker family tried to fix the bank's finances. In July 2001, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) took over the bank. This happened because the financial problems could not be solved. Later, the Pritzker family agreed to pay a large amount of money to regulators.
Some experts have criticized the Pritzkers about Superior Bank. Penny Pritzker said she did not own the bank directly. She also said the bank's failure was complicated. She stated the bank followed fair lending laws.
Leading the Family Businesses
In 1995, Penny Pritzker was chosen as one of three people to take over from Jay Pritzker. The others were his son Tom and cousin Nick. Tom became the main head of the businesses. Penny and Nick were named vice-chairmen. Together, they were to manage the family's assets. Jay wanted to keep the family businesses together. He set up a system of trusts. This allowed family members to get money from the trusts. But the main goal was to keep the wealth in the trusts to grow the businesses.
After Jay Pritzker died in 1999, other family members challenged this plan. Penny's brothers were part of these lawsuits. In 2001, the family decided to sell some assets. This allowed eleven cousins to receive their share. This process of separating the family's business interests took almost ten years.
In 2005, Penny Pritzker became the non-executive chairman of TransUnion. In 2009, she helped start Artemis Real Estate Partners LLC. This company manages real estate investments. In 2011, she started PSP Capital Partners. In total, Pritzker started five companies before joining the government.
Government and Political Work
Penny Pritzker became friends with Barack Obama and his family in the 1990s. This was when he taught at The University of Chicago law school. Pritzker met Obama at a Chicago YMCA. Her son played basketball there, and Obama's brother-in-law coached. Obama and his family often visited Pritzker's vacation home.
She was an early supporter of Obama's political career. She helped fund his 2004 Senate campaign. Her financial support helped Obama's presidential campaign early on. Pritzker continued to raise a lot of money for Obama. She was the national finance chair for his 2008 presidential campaign. She helped the campaign reach out to many small donors. She also hosted larger fundraising events.
After Obama won the 2008 election, many thought Pritzker would become Commerce Secretary. However, Pritzker decided not to take the job then. She said it was because of her family duties. She was still managing billions in assets for her family. Also, the financial crisis was putting some of those assets at risk.
Because she supported President Obama, labor groups criticized her. They focused on the practices of Hyatt Hotels. The president of Unite Here said her link to Obama meant she should use better labor practices. The group held protests against Pritzker.
Pritzker was a member of the President's Council on Jobs and Competitiveness. She also served on the President's Economic Recovery Advisory Board. She was less active in Obama's 2012 campaign. But she still served as a national co-chair. She was also on the board of the Council on Foreign Relations. This group studies world affairs. President Joe Biden appointed her as U.S. special representative for Ukraine's economic recovery in 2023.
Secretary of Commerce
.jpg)
.jpg)
President Barack Obama nominated Penny Pritzker to be United States Secretary of Commerce on May 2, 2013. To avoid any conflicts of interest, Pritzker agreed to sell her shares in many companies. She also resigned from many groups. This included the Hyatt board of directors.
On May 23, the Senate held her confirmation hearing. They discussed many topics. Pritzker was approved by the Senate on June 25. The vote was 97 to 1. She was sworn in as Secretary on June 26, 2013.
One of Pritzker's main goals was the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP). This was a big trade agreement. Pritzker supported the TPP. She believed it would help U.S. businesses sell their products in other countries. It would also help the U.S. set rules for trade. Both major candidates in the 2016 election opposed the TPP. But Pritzker and other officials still pushed for it. However, Congress did not pass the TPP bill.
As Secretary, Pritzker created a Digital Economy Board of Advisors. This group included tech CEOs and experts. They advised on new policies. Pritzker also expanded a program to help the tech industry protect its ideas abroad. She also started the Commerce Data Advisory Council. This group helps the Department of Commerce publish useful data for businesses. Pritzker was also the lead negotiator for the U.S. in the E.U.–U.S. Privacy Shield. This agreement controls how digital data is sent from Europe to the United States.
After President Obama announced that the United States would work to improve relations with Cuba, Pritzker visited Cuba. The U.S. trade embargo was still in place. But Pritzker met with Cuban trade officials. They talked about the changing relationship. They also discussed how to build more economic ties.
After her time as Secretary, Pritzker went back to her private businesses.
U.S. Special Representative for Ukraine's Economic Recovery
On September 14, 2023, President Joe Biden appointed Penny Pritzker to a new role. She became the U.S. Special Representative for Ukraine's Economic Recovery. In this job, she works with the Ukrainian government. She also works with the G7 countries, the EU, and other international groups. Her goal is to help Ukraine rebuild its economy.
During her first visit to Kyiv in this new role, Pritzker met with important leaders. She met with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. She also met with the prime minister and other government officials. She spoke with the Speaker of the Verkhovna Rada (Ukraine's parliament). She also met with American businesses.
Community and Giving Back
Pritzker was a member of the Chicago Board of Education. She also used to lead the Chicago Public Education Fund. She was the advisory board chair of Skills for America's Future (SAF). This is a program by the Aspen Institute. She also used to lead the Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago.
In 2002, Pritzker was chosen to serve on the Harvard Board of Overseers. In 2018, she was elected to the Harvard Corporation. This is a small group that governs Harvard University. Pritzker gave $100 million to Harvard in 2021. This money was for a new economics department building. In 2022, she became the first woman to lead the Corporation as its senior fellow.
Pritzker and her husband, Bryan Traubert, have their own foundation. It is called the Pritzker Traubert Family Foundation. This foundation helps young people be physically active. It also works to increase economic chances in Chicago. They donated money to turn grass soccer fields into easier-to-maintain turf. They also gave money to fix tennis courts in Chicago. The Pritzkers also started ChicagoRun. This program helps children in the Chicago area train to run their first 5k race.
In 2012, Chicago magazine named her one of the 100 most powerful people in Chicago. In February 2018, Pritzker was chosen to lead the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. She started this role in May 2018.
In March 2020, Pritzker started the Illinois COVID-19 Response Fund. This fund helped non-profit groups during the COVID-19 pandemic. She started it after her brother, Governor J. B. Pritzker, asked for help. The siblings announced the fund with $23 million to start. Penny and her husband gave $1.5 million of this amount.
Personal Life
Penny Pritzker is married to Bryan Traubert. He is an eye doctor. They have two children. Her relationship with her brothers became difficult after the family businesses were reorganized. But they later became friends again. Penny supported her younger brother, J. B., when he decided to run for office in 2017.
In the 1980s, Pritzker trained for six months. Then she completed her first Ironman Triathlon in Hawaii. This race took her 12 hours. She has since completed many triathlons and marathons.
See also
- Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation
- List of female United States Cabinet members
- List of Jewish United States Cabinet members
- Office of Thrift Supervision
