Hyatt Corp. heirs Matthew and Liesel Pritzker have settled a family dispute for close to $1 billion, according to attorneys and a source close to the case.
The settlement is about half the amount the siblings were seeking in a lawsuit accusing their father and others of looting their trust funds and leaving them out of a plan to carve up the family fortune.
As part of the settlement, both sides have jointly asked a Cook County Circuit Court judge to dismiss the suit, according to the attorneys for the Pritzker children.
The lawsuit threatened to interfere with plans to split up holdings of one of the world’s richest families. The Pritzker fortune includes the 209-hotel Hyatt chain, commercial real estate, industrial businesses and a 25 percent stake in Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd.
Matthew Pritzker, 22, and Liesel Pritzker, 20, claimed their trust fund assets were transferred to accounts benefitting other family members and the Pritzker Foundation, a Chicago charity. Hyatt is not named as a defendant. Their father Robert Pritzker, 78, founder of Marmon Group Inc., was among the family members listed in the suit.
“I am extremely pleased that the claims brought by my children, Matt and Liesel, have been resolved,” Robert Pritzker said in a statement. “I love them very much and it’s sad they feel they were wronged.”
As for the lawsuit and allegations that he acted improperly with certain trusts, Robert Pritzker said: “These allegations were completely untrue. I acted appropriately and with integrity as their trustee.”
His children made no mention of their father in a jointly issued statement about the settlement.
“We are very pleased to have resolved this matter and to bring an end to this litigation. We wish nothing but the best for our cousins and their families,” they said.
Lazar P. Raynal, attorney for Liesel Pritzker, said: “We filed Liesel’s lawsuit to find out exactly what happened to her trusts when she was a young girl. Once we accomplished that goal, we were in a position to resolve all financial issues relating to the trusts.”
Attorney Dan K. Webb, who represented Matthew Pritzker, said his client also was satisfied with the settlement
