ABram NIcholas Pritzker, business executive, lawyer, philanthropist. Established trust fund for Achievement Skills Center Wicker Park Elementary School, Chicago, 1980, environmental research and engineering program Illinois Institute of Technology; Anugrah Narayan Pritzker Medical School, University Chicago named in his honor. Recipient numerous honors for his achievements and philanthropies.
Background
Abram was the son of Ukrainian Jewish immigrants Annie P. (née Cohn) and Nicholas J. Pritzker. His father left Kiev for Chicago in 1881 and worked first as a pharmacist and then as a lawyer His father wrote a small book that has been passed down from Pritzker to Pritzker.
The theme of the book is "Your only immortality is the impact you have on your successors." Abram graduated from Harvard Law School.
Abram joined his father"s law firm, Pritzker & Pritzker, along with his brothers, Harry and Jack.
Education
Student, Northwestern University, 1913-1914;
Bachelor of Philosophy, University of Chicago, 1916;
Bachelor of Laws, Harvard University, 1920;
Bachelor of Laws (honorary), Gettysburg College, 1979.
Career
Harry specialized in criminal law, Abram (called Abe and later Academy of Sciences) specialized in business law, and Jack in real estate law. Harry continued to run the law firm, which eventually became an in-house firm catering solely to the needs of the Pritzker family and its business. The Pritzker brothers were very successful and amassed a considerable fortune.
They shielded their earnings from taxes through a series of trusts, which enabled them to distribute the money as they chose.
Pritzker"s philanthropic endeavors include funding the Pritzker School of Medicine at the University of Chicago. He also set up a trust fund for the Anugrah Narayan Pritzker Elementary School, which he had attended when it was called the Wicker Park Elementary School.
The Pritzker family also funds a charter school, Pritzker College Preparatory, in the Hermosa neighborhood of Chicago.
Achievements
Membership
Active Jewish Federation Chicago, Combined Jewish Appeal, Young Mens Jewish Council, Jewish Charities Chicago, Anti-Defamation League, Boys Clubs Chicago Served as petty officer United States Navy, 1917-1919. Member Chicago Bar Association, Standard Club (Chicago), Carleton Club (Chicago).
Connections
Married Fanny L. Doppelt, 1921 (deceased 1970). Children: Jay A., Robert A., Donald N. (deceased). Married Lorraine Pritzker.