Early Life and Education
Karen Pritzker was born in Oberlin, Ohio, in 1958. She is the granddaughter of A.N. Pritzker, who founded the Marmon Group, and the daughter of Robert Pritzker. She graduated from Northwestern University with a Bachelor of Arts/Science.
Rise to Success
Pritzker’s career has been multifaceted. She worked as an editor at Working Mother magazine before the family sold it in 1986. She has also written for several publications, including Success, Seventeen, Kirkus Reviews, and Newsday. As an investor, she manages the Pritzker/Vlock family office, using a buy-and-hold approach, with significant holdings in Hyatt Hotels and Apple, Inc. She also operates LaunchCapital LLC, a venture fund focused on technology, consumer, and medical businesses.
Key Business Strategies
Pritzker's investment strategy focuses on diversification, with a keen interest in public companies, as well as the biotech and medical device sectors. Her investment in cutting-edge medical technologies aligns with her philanthropic goals. She invests in leading public companies like Apple and has shown a particular interest in the biotech and medical device sectors, investing in hundreds of private firms.
Philanthropy
Karen Pritzker is actively involved in philanthropy. She is the president and director of The Seedlings Foundation. She is known for her donations to organizations such as Yale University School of Medicine, Teach for America, and the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson's Research. In 2007, she contributed to building a new visitor center at the Treblinka concentration camp. Pritzker co-founded The My Hero Project in 1995 to empower young people to effect positive change.
