Jennifer Pritzker has become the first transgender billionaire and has been ranked among FORBES’ list of the top 400 richest Americans. There are only 48 women in total on the list of 400, since we all know that the 1% and much of the workforce is dominated by men. She has an estimated worth of about $1.7 billion. Pritzker is a retired Army lieutenant colonel who served 11 years in active duty, followed by 16 years in the U.S. National Guard.

She was born to a Jewish family in Chicago, Illinois. James Pritzker released a statement declaring that as of August 16, he will undergo a legal name change and will be known as Jennifer Natalya Prtizker. The statement, which was released as an email, went on to say that this change will reflect the beliefs of her true identity that she has held privately and will now share publicly.

She is known for her philanthropy and is also the founder of the Tawani Foundation, which aims to enhance the awareness and understanding of the importance of the citizen solider. Earlier this year, the organization donated $1.35 million to University of California’s Palm Center, in order to create The Transgender Military Service Initiative. She also donated $25 million to Norwich University, the school that established the Reserve Officers’ Training Corps (ROTC).

She is one of 11 billionaire members of the extended Pritzker famly that appear on the FORBES list. They sold a majority stake in industrial conglomerate Marmon Holdings to Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway, according to FORBES Magazine. Her father, who has since passed away, started Marmon Group.

Their family is very elite in the business world and the community of Chicago. Chicago Business states that her uncles, the late Jay Pritzker and Donald Pritzker, founded the Hyatt Hotel empire. Her half brother Matthew Pritzker is an entrepreneur and her cousin J.B. Pritzker is also a venture capitalist.

Bill Gates and Warren Buffett are ranked at the top of the list and the highest ranked woman on the list is Alice Walton, who is worth $33.8 billion.

The issue of Pritzker’s gender is receiving more attention after Bradley Manning, the source of WikiLeaks, declared that he wanted to be woman after being imprisoned and wants to be known as Chelsea from now on. It is a big deal for Pritzker to be open about this, after being ranked among the wealthiest people in the country and a significant step for transgender people.

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