Abram Nicholas Pritzker

Miami Herald, The (FL) | 9 February 1986 A.N. PRITZKER, 90, PHILANTHROPIST, CHICAGO MILLIONAIRE BUSINESSMAN Philanthropist and businessman A.N. Pritzker, patriarch of a family that has amassed an estimated fortune of $1.5 billion with holdings that include the Hyatt Corp., died Saturday at age 90. During the 1970s, Mr. Pritzker was involved in a controversial, ultimately unfulfilled plan to develop an amusement-park complex on Watson Island in Biscayne Bay. Mr. Pritzker, died at Michael Reese Hospital, where he had been treated since early January and had undergone surgery for an intestinal obstruction, a hospital spokesman said. The cause of death was listed as cerebral vascular occlusion. At the time of his death, Mr. Pritzker was the vice chairman of the board of Hyatt Corp. The Pritzker family owns the Hyatt Corp. and has a controlling interest in Braniff Airways. The family also controls the Marmon Corp., which has partial interests in McCall's magazine and Hammond Organ Corp. At the end of 1985, Mr. Pritzker said he was urged to end his involvement in the family's businesses when he turned 90. "My sons think I should retire because I'm 90," he said. "But I like to work. That's all I like to do. I don't like to sit around on my can." In 1976, the city of Miami offered Mr. Pritzker an option to develop a major amusement park on Watson Island. The offer became embroiled in criticism because the commission bypassed the customary use of public bids to make a commercial agreement with private enterprise. The deal would have resulted in substantial profits for Mr. Pritzker. Then-Mayor Maurice Ferre and other commissioners defended the offer by saying that Mr. Pritzker's business expertise made him the best choice to successfully complete the project. The plan for an amusement park on the island never received final approval. Just last year, Mr. Pritzker expressed renewed interest in Watson Island. He unsuccessfully attempted to enter the bidding for developing a proposed boating exhibition center and marina there. The new plan has not received final approval. Forbes magazine estimated the Pritzker family's fortune to be $1.5 billion. In addition to his business dealings, Mr. Pritzker was well known for his philanthropy. The University of Chicago named its medical school for the Pritzkers after the family donated $12 million in 1968. Donald W. King, dean of the Pritzker School of Medicine, called the multimillionaire "a great benefactor to the school of medicine and a great friend to our faculty and students." Abram Nicholas Pritzker was born Jan. 6, 1896, in Chicago of Russian immigrant parents. Mr. Pritzker graduated from the University of Chicago in 1916 and received a law degree from Harvard University in 1920. He served as a chief petty officer in the Navy in World War I. As he grew older, Mr. Pritzker turned more of the responsibilities of running the family's businesses to his sons, Jay and Robert. Last May, Mr. Pritzker was named "citizen of the year" by the Chicago City Club. Mr. Pritzker is survived by his second wife, Lorraine, and his two sons. A third son, Donald, died in 1972. He also is survived by eight grandchildren and 12 great-grandchildren. Copyright (c) 1986 The Miami Herald