Hyatt Chairman Thomas Pritzker resigns over ties to late financier Jeffrey Epstein

Thomas Pritzker has retired immediately as executive chairman of Hyatt Hotels Corp. following the disclosure of documents detailing his relationship with disgraced sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein.

In a statement, Pritzker expressed "deep regret" over his ties to Epstein and longtime associate Ghislaine Maxwell. He characterized his decision to maintain contact with the pair as a "terrible error in judgment."

The move comes after the U.S. Department of Justice released emails showing multiple exchanges between Pritzker and Epstein concerning dinner appointments and event invitations.

Epstein died by suicide in a federal jail in 2019 while facing sex trafficking charges.

Pritzker, 75, served as Hyatt’s executive chairman for more than 20 years. Hyatt Chief Executive Officer Mark Hoplamazian will succeed him as chairman.

The resignation follows a wave of high-profile departures linked to Epstein’s former social circle, including executives at investment bank Goldman Sachs and the law firm Paul, Weiss.

The resignation of Thomas Pritzker serves as a stark reminder that Jeffrey Epstein’s shadow continues to loom over the American establishment years after his death. This is no longer a series of isolated incidents, but rather a systemic contagion affecting the pillars of U.S. corporate and legal power—a domino effect that has moved from the heights of finance (Goldman Sachs) and elite law (Paul, Weiss) to the upper echelons of the hospitality industry (Hyatt).

At the heart of this fallout is a shifting mechanism of accountability. These high-profile departures are rarely the result of internal compliance audits or voluntary ethical pivots; instead, they are driven by the weight of external pressure following the unsealing of court documents. This underscores the power of transparency and public scrutiny in forcing powerful figures to answer for past associations, regardless of how long they remained shielded from view. For major corporations, the rapid severance of ties with Epstein-adjacent leaders has transitioned from a discretionary choice to a mandatory crisis-management maneuver essential for brand preservation.

The current wave of resignations signals a fundamental recalibration of executive behavioral standards. Associations with toxic figures, even those rooted in the past, have been reclassified as unforgivable reputational liabilities. In today’s governance climate, these historical links are no longer mere footnotes—they are career-ending risks that the modern boardroom is no longer willing to absorb.