Meet Illinois' Billionaires (And A Ton of Pritzkers)

By Chuck Sudo in News on Mar 5, 2013 9:30PM

Forbes released its list of the richest people on the planet Monday. We decided to narrow the 1 percent down to the richest Illinoisans and came away with a few things:

• Sam Zell (pictured, net worth: $4 billion) was right when he told Tribune Co. employees his 2007 leveraged buyout of the company wouldn’t affect his lifestyle at all.
• Ty Warner (net worth: $2.5 billion) diversified his portfolio beyond Beanie Babies.
• The Reyes family (J. Christopher and Jude, combined net worth: $6.6 billion) have found gold in food and beer distribution.
• There are a ton of Pritzkers out there.

And they’re reeling in filthy lucre. Jay Robert “J.B.” Pritzker is worth $3 billion. Thomas Pritzker is next at $2.1 billion, followed by Gigi Pritzker at $1.9 billion, Penny Pritzker at $1.85 billion, James Pritzker at $1.5 billion, Nicholas Priztker II at a paltry $1.1 billion.

Looking at how the Pritzker fortune derived from hotels and investments, we may be looking at a mid-life career change to hospitality. WBEZ has a nice rundown of who each of the Pritzkers are here.