Richard J. Pratt (born Ryszard Przecicki; 10 December 193428 April 2009
) was an Australian businessman, chairman of the privately owned company
Visy Industries
Visy Industries (known as Pratt Industries USA in the US) is an Australian-American company was established in Melbourne in 1948 and is a privately owned paper, packaging and recycling company. Visy was owned by Richard Pratt until his death ...
, and a leading figure of
Melbourne
Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...
society. In the year before his death Pratt was Australia's fourth-richest person, with a personal fortune valued at billion.
Early life
Ryszard Przecicki was born in the
Free City of Danzig (present-day
Gdańsk, Poland) to
Jewish
Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...
parents Leon and Paula on 10 December 1934.
His family immigrated to Australia in 1938 seeking safe refuge from the Nazis and settled in
Shepparton
Shepparton () ( Yortayorta: ''Kanny-goopna'') is a city located on the floodplain of the Goulburn River in northern Victoria, Australia, approximately north-northeast of Melbourne. As of the 2021 census, the estimated population of Shepparton, ...
,
Victoria
Victoria most commonly refers to:
* Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia
* Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada
* Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory
* Victoria, Seychelle ...
, changing their surname from Przecicki to Pratt. Pratt had a rough journey travelling to Australia without getting caught by the Nazis. The family faced food shortages en route. Pratt was educated at Grahamvale Primary School,
Shepparton High School
Shepparton High School (SHS) was a public high school in Shepparton, Victoria, Australia. It opened in 1909 as Shepparton Agricultural High School – the first high school in Shepparton and one of the first public high schools in Victoria. It c ...
and
University High School and enrolled in a Bachelor of Commerce degree at the
University of Melbourne
The University of Melbourne is a public research university located in Melbourne, Australia. Founded in 1853, it is Australia's second oldest university and the oldest in Victoria. Its main campus is located in Parkville, an inner suburb nor ...
in 1953. He played
Australian rules football
Australian football, also called Australian rules football or Aussie rules, or more simply football or footy, is a contact sport played between two teams of 18 players on an oval field, often a modified cricket ground. Points are scored by k ...
, as a ruckman. After starting his career at Lemnos (now the
Shepparton Swans
The Shepparton Swans Football Netball Club is an Australian rules football and netball club based in the city of Shepparton in northern Victoria. The club teams currently compete in the Goulburn Valley League.
History
The Shepparton Swans w ...
), Pratt played for
Carlton
Carlton may refer to:
People
* Carlton (name), a list of those with the given name or surname
* Carlton (singer), English soul singer Carlton McCarthy
* Carlton, a pen name used by Joseph Caldwell (1773–1835), American educator, Presbyterian ...
in the
Victorian Football League
The Victorian Football League (VFL) is an Australian rules football league in Australia serving as one of the second-tier regional semi-professional competitions which sit underneath the fully professional Australian Football League (AFL). It ...
's (VFL) under-19s competition. He was awarded the
Morrish Medal
The Morrish Medal is an Australian rules football award.
Formerly awarded to the best and fairest player in the VFL Under-19 competition (known as the Thirds prior to 1959), since 1992 the award has been given to the best player in the Victori ...
in 1953 for being deemed the "
best and fairest" U-19 player that year. Pratt did not continue his footballing career to senior VFL level, instead focusing on other interests.
Pratt combined study with acting with the
Union Theatre Repertory Company
The Melbourne Theatre Company is a theatre company based in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Founded in 1953 as the Union Theatre Repertory Company at the Union Theatre at the University of Melbourne, it is the oldest professional theatre compa ...
and working as salesman for the family business,
Visy Board. After touring
London
London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
and
New York in 1957 with a production of
Ray Lawler
Raymond Evenor Lawler (born 23 May 1921) is an Australian actor, dramatist, and theatre producer and director. His most notable play was his tenth, '' Summer of the Seventeenth Doll'' (1953), which had its premiere in Melbourne in 1955. The ...
's ''
Summer of the Seventeenth Doll
''Summer of the Seventeenth Doll'' is an Australian play written by Ray Lawler and first performed at the Union Theatre in Melbourne on 28 November 1955. The play is considered to be the most significant in Australian theatre history, and a " ...
'', playing the role of Johnnie Dowd, he returned to Melbourne and Visy.
Business career
Following the death of his father Leon in February 1969, Pratt took over his father's business at
Visy Industries
Visy Industries (known as Pratt Industries USA in the US) is an Australian-American company was established in Melbourne in 1948 and is a privately owned paper, packaging and recycling company. Visy was owned by Richard Pratt until his death ...
, which at that time had several hundred employees and an annual turnover of
A$5 million.
Under Pratt's direction, Visy expanded from two factories in Melbourne to more than 55 plants across Australia, United States, New Zealand, and
Papua New Guinea
Papua New Guinea (abbreviated PNG; , ; tpi, Papua Niugini; ho, Papua Niu Gini), officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea ( tpi, Independen Stet bilong Papua Niugini; ho, Independen Stet bilong Papua Niu Gini), is a country i ...
. From cardboard boxes and packaging, Visy moved into waste
paper recycling. Later in the 1990s Pratt expanded his operations considerably into the
New York waste paper business.
In 1993 the
National Crime Authority
The National Crime Authority (NCA) was an Australian law enforcement agency established in 1984 and wound up on 31 December 2002. History
The NCA was set up in 1984 in the wake of the Costigan Commission, which investigated tax evasion and orga ...
(NCA) raided Pratt's offices in connection with an investigation into businessman
John Elliott's foreign exchange dealings and Elliott's spoiling domestic stake in
BHP
BHP Group Limited (formerly known as BHP Billiton) is an Australian multinational mining, metals, natural gas petroleum public company that is headquartered in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.
The Broken Hill Proprietary Company was founded ...
while Elliott's company,
Elders IXL
Elders Limited, formerly known as Elder, Stirling & Co., Elder Smith and Co. and Elder Smith & Co. Ltd, is an Australian agribusiness that provides agricultural goods and services to primary producers in Australia.
History
Early history (183 ...
, was insolvent.
The following year, NCA paid costs and returned documents seized.
Also in the 1990s, Visy was ordered by the
Australian Competition & Consumer Commission
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) is the chief competition regulator of the Government of Australia, located within the Department of the Treasury. It was established in 1995 with the amalgamation of the Australian Trad ...
(ACCC) to pay a half million dollar fine for illegal anti-competitive behaviour.
Public career
As well as his business interests, Pratt was known for his involvement in public service, having held posts including: foundation chancellor of
Swinburne University of Technology, president of the
Victorian Arts Centre
Arts Centre Melbourne, originally known as the Victorian Arts Centre and briefly called the Arts Centre, is a performing arts centre consisting of a complex of theatres and concert halls in the Melbourne Arts Precinct, located in the central ...
Trust, and Chairman of the Board of Management of the
Mental Health Research Institute of Victoria.
Through the
Pratt Foundation
The Pratt Foundation is an Australian philanthropic organisation based in Melbourne and established in 1978 by Jeanne and Richard Pratt.
According to its Values Statement, it has "the shared vision of supporting charitable enterprises and adding ...
, the Pratt family are among Australia's leading philanthropists donating up to A$10 million a year. Pratt was named Environmental Visionary of the Year in 1998 by the Keep Australia Beautiful Campaign.
Pratt also donated considerable funds to both major political parties (for example A$300,000 in Financial Year 2004-5), as well as to
Prime Minister
A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is not ...
John Howard
John Winston Howard (born 26 July 1939) is an Australian former politician who served as the 25th prime minister of Australia from 1996 to 2007, holding office as leader of the Liberal Party. His eleven-year tenure as prime minister is the ...
's Liberal government.
In 1996 an investigation by ''
The Australian
''The Australian'', with its Saturday edition, ''The Weekend Australian'', is a broadsheet newspaper published by News Corp Australia since 14 July 1964.Bruns, Axel. "3.1. The active audience: Transforming journalism from gatekeeping to gatew ...
'' newspaper documented from internal company documents that Pratt maintained a multimillion-dollar network of advisors.
This included an $8,300 a month fee to
Bob Hawke for consultation on "Asian and government matters", $27,000 for travel to the US for
Gough Whitlam
Edward Gough Whitlam (11 July 191621 October 2014) was the 21st prime minister of Australia, serving from 1972 to 1975. The longest-serving federal leader of the Australian Labor Party (ALP) from 1967 to 1977, he was notable for being the he ...
as business advisor on overseas markets, and other sums for former state premiers
Nick Greiner and
Rupert Hamer
Sir Rupert James Hamer, (29 July 1916 – 23 March 2004), generally known until he was knighted in 1982 as Dick Hamer, was an Australian Liberal Party politician who served as the 39th Premier of Victoria from 1972 to 1981.
Early years
Hamer ...
.
Sports Administration career
Carlton Football Club President
On 8 February 2007, he was appointed President of the
Carlton Football Club
The Carlton Football Club, nicknamed the Blues, is a professional Australian rules football club that competes in the Australian Football League (AFL), the sport's top professional competition.
Founded in 1864 in Carlton, an inner suburb of Me ...
, after being elected by the
board of the club, when he replaced
Graham Smorgon
Graham Smorgon is a prominent Australian businessman and a member of the Smorgon family – one of Australia's wealthiest and most powerful and influential families.
Business career
He was appointed as Chairman of Smorgon Consolidated in 19 ...
.
In his tenure as Carlton Football Club President, Pratt was largely responsible for overseeing major changes at Carlton Football Club, which would help put the club back on track to become a powerhouse again where Pratt was also largely responsible for bringing in major sponsor
Hyundai Hyundai is a South Korean industrial conglomerate ("chaebol"), which was restructured into the following groups:
* Hyundai Group, parts of the former conglomerate which have not been divested
** Hyundai Mobis, Korean car parts company
** Hyundai ...
and for helping the Blues crack 40,000 members for the first time.
One of the other major changes to the club's administration in Pratt's tenure as President of the club was the appointment of
Steven Icke as General Manager of Football Operations and the appointment of former CEO of
Collingwood Football Club,
Greg Swann
Greg Swann (born 1962) is an Australian Football League (AFL) chief executive officer of the Brisbane Lions, an Australian rules football club based in Brisbane competing in the Australian Football League. He has been in the role since July 20 ...
as the CEO of Carlton Football Club. The club also returned to a stable off-field position during Pratt's presidency.
On 20 June 2008, the Carlton Football Club announced that Richard Pratt would stand aside from the club until the charges of giving false and misleading evidence to the ACCC hearing were resolved.
Stephen Kernahan then took over and replaced Pratt as President of the Carlton Football Club.
Personal life
In 1959, Richard Pratt married Jeanne (née Lasker), a journalist, who was also a Jewish immigrant from Poland, born in the town of
Łowicz
Łowicz is a town in central Poland with 27,896 inhabitants (2020). It is situated in the Łódź Voivodeship (since 1999); previously, it was in Skierniewice Voivodeship (1975–1998). Together with a nearby station of Bednary, Łowicz is a ma ...
in 1936, and before their marriage lived in Sydney. After the success of Visy Industries, they enjoyed a lavish lifestyle, with a private jet and a range of apartments, including a penthouse at the Sherry-Netherland Hotel in New York City;
their main home was the historic mansion
Raheen, in the Melbourne suburb of
Kew
Kew () is a district in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames. Its population at the 2011 census was 11,436. Kew is the location of the Royal Botanic Gardens ("Kew Gardens"), now a World Heritage Site, which includes Kew Palace. Kew is a ...
,
the former residence of Roman Catholic Archbishop
Daniel Mannix
Daniel Patrick Mannix (4 March 1864 – 6 November 1963) was an Irish-born Catholic bishop. Mannix was the Archbishop of Melbourne for 46 years and one of the most influential public figures in 20th-century Australia.
Early years and Mayno ...
.
The Pratts have had three children,
Anthony
Anthony or Antony is a masculine given name, derived from the '' Antonii'', a ''gens'' ( Roman family name) to which Mark Antony (''Marcus Antonius'') belonged. According to Plutarch, the Antonii gens were Heracleidae, being descendants of Anton, ...
, Heloise Waislitz, who was married to businessman and Collingwood Football club Vice President
Alex Waislitz
Alex Waislitz (born 1958) is an Australian businessman.
Waislitz was elected to the Collingwood Football Club Board of Directors in 1998, elected as vice-president in 2009, and has provided philanthropic support to the club.
Early life and e ...
, and
Fiona Geminder
Fiona Geminder is an Australian businesswoman, most notable for being associated with Visy and PACT Group Holdings. She is the third richest woman in Australia. With a net worth of USD 3.3 billion, she is listed as the 891th richest person in th ...
.
Another daughter, Paula, was born in 1997 to his longtime mistress, socialite Shari-Lea Hitchcock. In 2000 this affair became the subject of widespread media attention owing to a court case involving Ms Hitchcock and a nanny hired to look after her daughter. At the time, Pratt was accused of trying to pay hush money to the nanny who had launched legal action against Ms Hitchcock.
Pratt was the godfather of Deborah Beale, who is the former wife of
Bill Shorten
William Richard Shorten (born 12 May 1967) is an Australian politician currently serving as Minister for Government Services and Minister for the National Disability Insurance Scheme since 2022. He previously served as leader of the opposition ...
and daughter of
Julian Beale
Julian Howard Beale (10 October 1934 – 3 August 2021) was an Australian businessman and federal politician. He was the son of former cabinet minister and ambassador Sir Howard Beale.
Julian Beale was a Liberal member of the Australian Parli ...
.
After a well-publicised battle with prostate cancer, Richard Pratt died at his Kew residence on 28 April 2009,
the day after all charges against him had been dropped due to his ill-health.
Philanthropy
Pratt donated A$10 million every year through the
Pratt Foundation
The Pratt Foundation is an Australian philanthropic organisation based in Melbourne and established in 1978 by Jeanne and Richard Pratt.
According to its Values Statement, it has "the shared vision of supporting charitable enterprises and adding ...
to refugees, artists and others. The Foundation was established in 1978 by Jeanne and Richard Pratt as a vehicle for their philanthropy. During the 1980s and 1990s, the Pratts became known in Australia for funding the arts, medical research and higher education. Since then the Pratt family has donated about A$200 million to worthy causes. Jeanne also set up
The Production Company
The Production Company was an Australian not-for-profit theatre company that staged a series of usually three musicals at the Arts Centre Melbourne each year, until its closure in 2020.
It was launched in 1999 by Jeanne Pratt AC with the goal o ...
, which produced musicals in Melbourne from 1999-2020.
Conviction for price fixing
In December 2005 the ACCC commenced a civil penalty proceeding against Visy companies, Pratt, and others, for alleged involvement in a
cartel
A cartel is a group of independent market participants who collude with each other in order to improve their profits and dominate the market. Cartels are usually associations in the same sphere of business, and thus an alliance of rivals. Mos ...
in the packaging industry.
On 10 October 2007, Pratt was formally accused of
price fixing
Price fixing is an anticompetitive agreement between participants on the same side in a market to buy or sell a product, service, or commodity only at a fixed price, or maintain the market conditions such that the price is maintained at a given ...
, cheating customers and companies out of approximately A$700 million in the nation's biggest-ever cartel case.
The ACCC alleged "very serious contraventions" of the law and that these had been "carefully and deliberately concealed" by Visy senior executives. The ACCC counsel further stated:
"There can be no suggestion that Visy acted in ignorance of its obligations under the act"
and further added that the deliberate use of pre-paid
mobile phones that could not be traced and the holding of meetings in private homes, motel rooms and suburban parks
"...provides a strong indication that Visy was fully aware that the conduct was illegal".
After more than a year of denials Pratt subsequently admitted his guilt, acknowledging he and his company, and "rival" company
Amcor
Amcor plc is a global packaging company. It develops and produces flexible packaging, rigid containers, specialty cartons, closures and services for food, beverage, pharmaceutical, medical-device, home and personal-care, and other products.
The ...
deliberately broke the law.
Pratt was aggrieved by the criminal prosecution and its effect on his reputation, stating:
"I feel very angry—Visy is seen as Richard Pratt's company—there is a certain amount of character assassination for me personally because I am a tall poppy in the community; it's a big scalp (for the ACCC). My reputation is something I have been building for 50 years and so I am worried that the general public will now see me as a rich person who has made his money doing something that is wrong in the eyes of the law."
On 2 November 2007, Pratt and the Visy group received an $36 million fine, representing both the largest fine in Australian history and an estimated 0.75% of the Pratt fortune.
Federal Court of Australia judge Justice Heerey said Pratt and his senior executives were knowingly concerned in the cartel, which involved price fixing and market sharing.
"This is the worst cartel to come before the courts in 30-plus years", Justice Heerey said. Additionally, customers of Visy initiated claims against Visy and Amcor, including a $120 million suit by
Cadbury Schweppes
Cadbury, formerly Cadbury's and Cadbury Schweppes, is a British multinational confectionery company fully owned by Mondelez International (originally Kraft Foods) since 2010. It is the second largest confectionery brand in the world after Mars ...
against
Amcor
Amcor plc is a global packaging company. It develops and produces flexible packaging, rigid containers, specialty cartons, closures and services for food, beverage, pharmaceutical, medical-device, home and personal-care, and other products.
The ...
.
Criminal prosecution for impropriety
On 19 June 2008, Pratt was charged with lying about his knowledge of a price-fixing scandal.
Pratt had been facing four separate charges under Section 5 of the Act, the penalty for each charge ranges from a fine of $2,200 to 12 months' jail.
On 27 April 2009, this criminal prosecution of Pratt for charges of impropriety (lying to the ACCC during its successful investigation into the Visy/Amcor price fixing scandal) were abandoned on account of his poor health and impending death. However, Commonwealth Prosecutor Mark Dean SC told the Federal Court the
Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions
The Office of the Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions or, informally, the Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions (CDPP) is an independent prosecuting service and government agency within the portfolio of the Attorney-General of A ...
believed the prosecution would have succeeded. Pratt died the following day.
Honours
Pratt was appointed an
Officer of the Order of Australia
The Order of Australia is an honour that recognises Australian citizens and other persons for outstanding achievement and service. It was established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia, on the advice of the Australian Gove ...
(AO) in 1985, and a Companion of the Order (AC) in 1998. Jeanne Pratt has also been appointed a Companion of the Order of Australia. However, Richard Pratt returned his awards in February 2008 after he was fined A$36 million for price fixing.
On 16 May 2007, he was awarded the
Woodrow Wilson Medal for
Corporate Citizenship
Corporate social responsibility (CSR) is a form of international private business self-regulation which aims to contribute to societal goals of a philanthropic, activist, or charitable nature by engaging in or supporting volunteering or ethicall ...
.
This is given to executives who "by their examples and their business practices, have shown a deep concern for the common good beyond the bottom line. They are at the forefront of the idea that private firms should be good citizens in their own neighborhoods and in the world at large".
In April 2010, to mark the first anniversary of his death, the inaugural Richard Pratt Memorial Oration was delivered at the
University of Melbourne
The University of Melbourne is a public research university located in Melbourne, Australia. Founded in 1853, it is Australia's second oldest university and the oldest in Victoria. Its main campus is located in Parkville, an inner suburb nor ...
by the president of the
Hebrew University of Jerusalem
The Hebrew University of Jerusalem (HUJI; he, הַאוּנִיבֶרְסִיטָה הַעִבְרִית בִּירוּשָׁלַיִם) is a public research university based in Jerusalem, Israel. Co-founded by Albert Einstein and Dr. Chaim Weiz ...
, Professor Menahem Ben-Sasson. During the oration, Pratt was posthumously awarded an honorary Doctorate of Philosophy from Hebrew University.
In every
Carlton Football Club
The Carlton Football Club, nicknamed the Blues, is a professional Australian rules football club that competes in the Australian Football League (AFL), the sport's top professional competition.
Founded in 1864 in Carlton, an inner suburb of Me ...
home match against
Collingwood Football Club in the
Australian Football League
The Australian Football League (AFL) is the only fully professional competition of Australian rules football. Through the AFL Commission, the AFL also serves as the sport's governing body and is responsible for controlling the laws of the gam ...
, the winner takes home a cup named after Pratt.
References
External links
"Some Inspirational People" profiled by
Laurence Muir.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pratt, Richard
1934 births
2009 deaths
Australian billionaires
Carlton Football Club administrators
Shepparton Swans Football Club players
Recycling industry
Former Companions of the Order of Australia
Australian white-collar criminals
Deaths from cancer in Victoria (Australia)
Deaths from prostate cancer
Jewish emigrants from Nazi Germany to Australia
People from Shepparton
Businesspeople from Melbourne
People from the Free City of Danzig
Australian rules footballers from Victoria (Australia)