Linda Pritzker Jewish-American religious teacher (lama), writer, and psychotherapist Country: USA

Biography of Linda Pritzker

Linda Pritzker, an American religious teacher (lama), writer, and psychotherapist, is a billionaire and a member of the Jewish Pritzker family. Known as Lama Tsomo, she co-founded the 'Namchak Foundation' and 'Namchak Retreat Ranch' in Missoula, Montana. Her net worth was estimated at $1.85 billion as of April 2015.

Linda Pritzker was born in 1953 in Oberlin, Ohio. She is the second of three children of Jewish-American businessman Robert Pritzker and Audrey Gilbert. Her parents divorced in 1979. In 1981, Linda's mother married Albert B. Ratner, the co-chairman of the real estate development company 'Forest City Enterprises,' founded in Cleveland, Ohio. In 1980, Linda's father married Irene Dryburgh, who gave him two children - Matthew Pritzker and Liesel Pritzker Simmons. Neither side of the family business interested Linda.

During her teenage years, Linda realized her deep interest in environmental conservation after exploring the wilderness of Glacier National Park and other regions in the American West. She concluded that humanity's pursuit of material wealth did not bring true happiness. As a young woman, Linda left Chicago and lived in Wisconsin, where she raised goats, grew vegetables for her family, and raised three children. Later, she moved to rural Montana.

Before becoming a practicing teacher of Tibetan Buddhism, Linda had a challenging and lengthy path. "I meditated for several years, badly, without any guidance," says Linda. "And I just gave up. I just decided I had no idea what I was doing. My mind was all over the place. I might as well have been sitting in a dentist's waiting room. So I gave it up."

After a five-year break, Linda reassessed her life and decided to return to meditation, but this time, she wanted to approach it differently. She made a list of qualities she wanted to see in her spiritual teacher. Linda wanted to find someone who was not driven by the desire to possess their students intimately but had scientific knowledge and extensive practical experience. Such a person was found. In 1995, Linda began her spiritual journey with Tibetan meditation master Tulku Sangak Rinpoche, who transmits the traditions of Nyingma Tibetan Buddhism. In February 2005, in Nepal, Tulku ordained Linda, who had finally reached a high level of spiritual self-improvement, as a lama. She took the name Lama Tsomo. Currently, Pritzker is fluent in Tibetan.

"I still have difficulties in life," Linda admits. "As you get older, more responsibilities arise. Your children grow older, and you worry about them. You worry about work and global problems. I am aware of everything that is happening and keep up with the times. But at the same time, the problems no longer paralyze me as they used to and don't throw me off balance." Pritzker believes that there is a prediction that when the world situation becomes unbearable, people will turn to Tibetan Buddhist practitioners capable of bringing enlightenment. That is why Linda is eager to help anyone interested in discovering Buddhism as an inexhaustible source of wisdom.

Linda also refers to herself as a "psychotherapist with a Jungian approach." She wrote a small book titled "The Princess Who Wept Pearls" and completed another book, "Why Is the Dalai Lama Always Smiling?" in 2014. Additionally, Pritzker released two DVDs featuring dialogues with Christian theologian-mystic Matthew Fox. Pritzker has been included in the 'Forbes 400' list of the 400 richest people in the United States.

Linda's sister, Jennifer Pritzker, born in 1950, is a retired colonel in the U.S. Army and a co-founder of 'The Pritzker Military Museum & Library.' Another sister, Karen Pritzker, born in 1958.