Thomas Pritzker resigned from his role as executive chairman of the Hyatt Hotels Corporation last week, following the revelation of his correspondence with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. He remains director and vice president of the Pritzker Foundation; director and president of the Pritzker Family Philanthropic Fund and director, chairman and president of the Hyatt Foundation, which established the architecture prize.
The latest release of the Epstein files show that Pritzker, who is the son of Hyatt Corporation and Pritzker Architecture Prize founder Jay Pritzker, had maintained contact with Epstein after the latter had pleaded guilty to sex crimes involving a minor.
In a statement to The New York Times, the Pritzker Prize stressed the jury’s independence: ‘the jury, composed of internationally respected professionals from a range of disciplines, has always and will continue to conduct its work confidentially and free from external influence.’
The Pritzker Prize, widely regarded as architecture’s highest honour, annually awards a living architect or architects with $100,000 and a bronze medallion.
The announcement of the next laureate, which generally takes place in early March, is expected to be slightly delayed.
