Penny Pritzker Confirmed as Secretary of Commerce

Penny Pritzker was nominated as United States Secretary of Commerce by President Barack Obama on May 2, 2013. Her confirmation hearing was on May 23 2013 and she was confirmed by the full Senate on June 25, by a vote of 97 to 1 (Bernie Sanders-I-Vt opposing)

Penny Sue Pritzker (born May 2, 1959) is an American business executive, entrepreneur, civic leader, and philanthropist who is the founder, chairman and CEO of PSP Capital Partners and Pritzker Realty Group..  She’s also co-founder and chairman of Artemis Real Estate Partners.  She is a member of the Pritzker family.

In 2011 the Forbes 400 list of America’s wealthiest showed her as the 263rd richest person in the U.S., estimated net worth of US $1.8511 billion, and the world’s 651st richest person.

Born in 1959, the daughter of Sue (Sandel) and Donald N. Pritzker (1932–1972), co-founder of Hyatt hotels. She earned an A.B. in Economics from Harvard College in 1981 and both a J.D. and an M.B.A. from Stanford University in 1984. She has two brothers: Anthony Pritzker and Jay Robert Pritzker. She is married to Bryan Traubert, president of the Chicago Park District board.  (Wiki, Biography)