(DailyMail.com) - Tony Pritzker, heir to the Hyatt hotel chain, is divorcing his wife of 33 years and asking a judge to enforce the prenup to protect his $3.7billion fortune.
• Tony Pritzker, 62, is divorcing his wife of 33 years Jeanne Pritzker
• Pritzker owns the third largest house in Los Angeles, is the heir to the Hyatt Hotel fortune, and brother of Illinois governor J.B. Pritzker
• He is now seeking to enforce his prenup after claiming his wife has refused to sign a document acknowledging that their prenup is valid and enforceable
Documents obtained by DailyMail.com show Pritzker, 62, and his wife Jeanne Pritzker have split citing 'irreconcilable differences' and he claims she refuses to sign a document acknowledging that their prenup is valid and enforceable.
There is much at stake, including the couple's behemoth known as 'the Pritzker Estate', which was the second largest residential property in Los Angeles when construction was completed in 2012.
The 50,000 sq.ft. property is in the exclusive Beverly Crest area of Los Angeles, between Beverly Hills and Bel Air, and has sweeping 180 degree views of the city.
Tony and Jeanne married on July 29, 1989 and according to documents have been separated since September 2022.
The pair jointly signed a premarital agreement just one week before their wedding, documents claim.
Now, Tony, who runs the Pritzker Group private equity firm, claims in court filings that Jeanne has refused to acknowledge the prenup as valid and enforceable.
According to divorce documents, the prenup states that 'all earnings by the parties during their marriage are the separate property of the earning party' and that 'certain joint property shall be divided equally between' the couple.
It also states that there is a limit to how much spousal support Jeanne is entitled to receive.
Tony's attorney, 'disso queen' Laura Wasser, who is fresh off her win in Kevin Costner's divorce, has filed documents to force Jeanne to either acknowledge or officially challenge the prenuptial agreement.
According to the documents, the couple and their lawyers attended a mediation in April of this year where Tony made a 'comprehensive settlement offer' at the time.
'To date we have received no counterproposal whatsoever and it has become evident that we will require the Court's assistance to move this case forward to resolution,' Wasser writes.
But not much more is known regarding the details of the divorce as Pritzker is asking the court to seal the couple's prenup as well as sensitive financial disclosures that would give the public insight into the sprawling multibillion-dollar Pritzker empire.
Tony wants a judge to seal all documents that include his tax returns, income, assets and debts.
According to documents, 'The Pritzker family is well known. The risk of harm to the parties' children, Tony's businesses, and his financial dealings in general by virtue of any security breach and/or identity theft is significantly heightened.'
The documents state that the general public has 'no right of access' to the specific financial information of the 303rd richest man in America.
Tony and Jeanne share six children together, including 16-year-old twins who are subject to the court's child support and custody orders.
They have both agreed to 50/50 custody of the twins, according to legal filings.
The Pritzker Estate boasts an impressive 60-car parking lot, game room, bowling alley, library, fitness room, gymnasium, spa, tennis court, beauty salon and a pool all split between two subterranean levels and a two-story house.
The sprawling estate is now ranked the third largest residential property in Los Angeles, behind 'The One' completed in 2020 and the infamous 'Manor', built by Aaron Spelling on property previously owned by Bing Crosby.
At the time of construction, neighbors became increasingly frustrated with the Pritzker family's monstrous compound in the quaint neighborhood and famously referred to the project as the 'Grand Hyatt Bel Air', as a nod to the family's global hotel footprint.
The extended Pritzker family is one of the wealthiest in the United States, with a combined net worth of $36.9billion. Eleven members of the family are billionaires.
Tony and his siblings, Penny Pritzker, 64 and J.B. Pritzker, 58, have an estimated combined net worth of $10billion as heirs of the global Hyatt hotel chain.
J.B. Pritzker is the Democrat governor of Illinois, while Penny Pritzker was Secretary of Commerce under President Barack Obama.
Tony's cousin Tom Pritzker, the son of co-founder Jay Pritzker, currently serves as the Executive Chairman of the Hyatt Hotels and Resorts Corporation.
In 2019 Tom, 72, was named in documents as one of several prominent men who Virginia Roberts was ordered to have sex with by late pedophile Jeffrey Epstein.
Tom tried unsuccessfully to prevent the publishing of court documents and has denied the allegations.
Earlier this year Tony and Jeanne's son Nick Pritzker, 29, a marijuana entrepreneur, purchased a circular home for $12.5million, which has been seen in films such as Lethal Weapon 2 and Fast and the Furious.
The descendants of the Pritzker empire all stem from Abram Nicholas Pritzker, 1896-1986, who was an attorney and real estate investor, father to Jay Pritzker, Robert, and Donald Pritzker.
Jay and Donald Pritzker co-founded the Hyatt Hotels Corporation, which went on to be one of the largest hotel and resort chains in the world.
The Hyatt Hotel chain includes hotels operating under the Hyatt brand such as the Park Hyatt, Grand Hyatt, Hyatt Regency and Hyatt Place, along with luxury brands such as Miraval, Andaz, Thompson Hotels, and Dream Hotels which cater to the wellness, luxury, boutique, and art-and-design interested clientele.
By Kayla Brantley for DailyMail.com
October 7, 2023
