SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (CAPITOL NEWS ILLINOIS) — Gov. JB Pritzker and First Lady MK Pritzker made more than $9 million in adjusted gross income in 2025, according to tax summaries released by his campaign Thursday.
Pritzker and his wife paid $2.1 million in federal taxes and paid in $5.1 million, meaning they received a refund of $2.8 million on $9.4 million in income. The couple applied that amount to their taxes for 2026.
The returns show Pritzker’s income mostly came from capital gains, earned interest and dividends as he does not take a salary from the state. But they’re not fully inclusive of the governor’s vast wealth, which is boosted by income from family trusts.
Pritzker placed his assets in a blind trust when he was elected, which his campaign spokesperson said paid $8.8 million in state taxes and $50.4 million in federal taxes last year, implying an additional income in the hundreds of millions of dollars. Pritzker’s required annual statement of economic interest outlines six pages of assets he or someone in his household has ownership interest in.
Pritzker has released his tax returns each year since becoming a candidate in 2017.
The 2025 summary prepared by Deloitte Tax LLP shows Pritzker and his wife made $9.4 million, including $4 million from capital gains.
Pritzker claimed a $1.9 million standard deduction on his state filing, meaning he paid taxes on $7.6 million in income. Another $1.8 million was from interest and $3.6 million from dividends.
Unlike on his 2024 returns, Pritzker did not record any gambling winnings this year. He also reported $28,090 in farm income and $33,812 from real estate, royalties, partnerships, S corporations and trusts.
The Pritzkers also made $1.9 million in charitable contributions last year, the campaign said.
Pritzker’s 2025 income was below the $10.7 million reported last year, which was bolstered by $1.4 million in gambling winnings. His highest-earning year as governor was in 2021, at $18.5 million. Prior to leaving his private equity investment firm to run for governor, Pritzker made $55 million in 2017.
Growing wealth
The governor is one of the wealthiest politicians in U.S. history and an heir to the Hyatt Hotel fortune. His net worth has continued to grow since he took office and is now $4.2 billion, according to Forbes, up from $3.7 billion last October. He ranks around Forbes’ 1,000th richest person in the world
Pritzker has self-funded all three of his campaigns for governor, putting in more than $430 million combined, including $90.5 million for this year’s campaign. The governor has also been spending his money on national races through political action committees, including this year’s launch of the Ready for the Fight PAC.
Pritzker’s Republican challenger, Darren Bailey, has so far not released his tax returns. A spokesperson for Bailey did not immediately say whether he planned to do so.
The downstate farmer released several years of tax returns during his 2022 campaign that showed wild fluctuations not unusual for a farmer. In some years, the Baileys topped $200,000 in income while in others they reported less than $2,000, the Chicago Sun-Times reported at the time.
Christian Mitchell’s taxes
Pritzker’s running mate, Christian Mitchell, also released his 2025 tax returns. He reported $481,548 in income, $379,290 of which came from wages. Another $90,000 is listed as business income.
Mitchell left his job as vice president of civic engagement at the University of Chicago last July when Pritzker selected him to be his running mate.
Mitchell claimed an $82,843 standard deduction and owed $10,932 on his federal returns and $5,144 on his state returns.
Mitchell served as one of Pritzker’s deputy governors during his first term. He is also an active member of the Illinois National Guard.
Capitol News Illinois is a nonprofit, nonpartisan news service that distributes state government coverage to hundreds of news outlets statewide. It is funded primarily by the Illinois Press Foundation and the Robert R. McCormick Foundation.
