Astonishing TEN-figure wealth increase of Democratic governor since he took office… as he eyes presidential run
Billionaire Illinois Governor JB Pritzker has increased his net worth by over $1billion since taking office in 2019.
Pritzker, an heir to the Hyatt Hotel fortune, has fueled speculation about a potential presidential run after admitting he’s trying to make major health improvements.
A new Forbes Magazine report showed Pritzker’s net worth now sits at around $4.2billion, landing him on Forbes’ 2026 World Billionaires list.
Pritzker’s net worth increased by more than $500million just in the last year, although he dropped on the billionaires list from 979th richest man alive to 1,108th.
He would be the second consecutive billionaire to serve as President were he elected, following Donald Trump.
The Daily Mail has reached out to Governor Pritzker for comment.
Pritzker has revealed that he has been using a GLP-1 medication for the last two years after being diagnosed with diabetes.
The Democrat, 61, said he has lost 80lbs since he started injecting the drug and feels ‘a whole lot different and a whole lot better’ in a TV interview with CBS on Monday.
Democrat rising star and billionaire Illinois Governor JB Pritzker has increased his net worth by over $1billion since taking office in 2019
He would, of course, be the second consecutive billionaire to serve as President were he elected, following Donald Trump
Pritzker said he had always been keenly aware of the dangers associated with being overweight after his father died of a heart attack at 39.
‘He was actually quite an active person, even though he was overweight, and so he was on a tennis court and had a heart attack, and my mother was there, and he died in her arms,’ the governor said about his father.
But he says the pressures of his job led him to pile on even more pounds – and his weight has sparked repeated mockery by Donald Trump.
‘Pritzker, I don’t know, he’s too busy eating,’ Trump said during a 2024 presidential campaign rally. ‘He wants to eat all the time.’
Pritzker’s doctor put him on the drug after blood work two years ago revealed he was diabetic.
‘My doctor said, “Oh, no, you’ll never come off of it. You’re going to have to do this the rest of your life, and I recommend that you take a GLP-1,”‘ Pritzker recalled.
He said that he lost two pounds in his first week taking the drug and noticed a striking effect on his appetite.
‘All of a sudden, on the third day, I was like, you know, actually, I don’t need to eat that thing,’ Pritzker said.
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis and Illinois Governor JB Pritzker at a White House meeting in 2018
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‘But it was the strangest feeling. Now, I’m not suggesting everything changed in a week. It didn’t happen that way.’
GLP-1s mimic a naturally occurring gut hormone, helping regulate blood sugar and curb appetite by slowing digestion and increasing feelings of fullness. They are used to treat type 2 diabetes and, in some formulations, obesity.
Common brand names include Ozempic and Wegovy, which contain semaglutide, as well as Mounjaro and Zepbound, which contain tirzepatide, a related dual GIP/GLP-1 drug.
The governor announced that Illinois is covering GLP-1s on the state insurance plan for 55,000 civil servants and says that the drug will save money by preventing other diseases.
As well as the drug, Pritzker says that he takes a four-mile walk each morning along Lake Michigan to help keep the weight off.
Asked if he was working on his image ahead of a 2028 presidential run, Pritzker replied: ‘I’ve been driven my whole life to lose weight. The fact that I am now able to do it because this GLP-1 became available is truly, like, I mean, it’s something that has meant a lot to me.
‘I have not made any decisions about what I might do in the future. I can tell you I want to be the governor of the state of Illinois for a while longer, and I’m running for reelection.’
The latest Democratic 2028 polling puts Pritzker well behind the early front-runners, despite persistent speculation that the billionaire Illinois governor could mount a White House bid.
A September Bowling Green State University/YouGov poll had Kamala Harris on 17 percent, narrowly ahead of Pete Buttigieg on 16 percent, with Gavin Newsom and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez both on 14 percent. Pritzker was not among the candidates registering support in the poll’s leading tier.
A separate Harvard CAPS/Harris survey earlier this month placed Pritzker at 4 percent, behind Harris on 42 percent, Newsom on 18 percent, Buttigieg and Ocasio-Cortez on 9 percent apiece, and Josh Shapiro and Jon Ossoff on 7 percent.
