Abram Pritzker: Laying the Path for the Family’s Fortunes

Abram Nicholas Pritzker was an American entrepreneur who was more popularly known in the professional circles as A.N. Pritzker. He was born on January 6, 1896 to Ukrainian-Jewish parents. His father, Nicholas J. Pritzker left Kiev in 1881 to work as a pharmacist in Chicago. Nicholas also practiced his law profession in Chicago. He wrote a small book themed “Your immortality is the only impact you have on your successors. This book was handed down through the generations of the Pritzkers.

After his graduation from the Harvard Law School, Abram joined his brothers Harry and Jack, and their father in the Pritzker & Pritzker law firm. Abram’s specialization was business law, while Harry focused on criminal law and Jack on real estate law. Abram left the firm in the 1930s and started investing in real estate along with Jack. He also purchased small companies in Chicago. Harry continued with the law firm which eventually developed into an in-house law firm that took care of the legal needs of the Pritzker businesses.

The success of the Pritzker brothers resulted in considerable family wealth. As lawyers, the Pritzkers were able to shield their earnings from taxes through the establishment of trusts. The trusts enabled them to distribute their wealth as they choose. Abram was involved in a number of philanthropic activities including the funding of the Pritzker School of Medicine at the University of Chicago and the A.N. Pritzker Elementary School.