Anthony Joseph Pratt (born 11 April 1960 in

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 ...

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 ...

), an Australian businessman and billionaire, is the Executive Chairman of

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 Pratt Industries in America, the world's largest privately owned packaging and paper company. He is the son of the late Richard Pratt, a former manufacturing magnate and former 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 Mel ...

; and Jeanne Pratt , a

philanthropist Philanthropy is a form of altruism that consists of "private initiatives, for the Public good (economics), public good, focusing on quality of life". Philanthropy contrasts with business initiatives, which are private initiatives for private goo ...

. According to The Australian rich list Pratt and his family have a

net worth Net worth is the value of all the non-financial and financial assets owned by an individual or institution minus the value of all its outstanding liabilities. Since financial assets minus outstanding liabilities equal net financial assets, net ...

of A$27.7

billion Billion is a word for a large number, and it has two distinct definitions: *1,000,000,000, i.e. one thousand million, or (ten to the ninth power), as defined on the short scale. This is its only current meaning in English. * 1,000,000,000,000, i.e ...

. ''Forbes'' assessed his net worth in 2022 at US$12 billion; listing his sisters' wealth independently.

Early life and education

Pratt was born in

to Richard Pratt (né Przecicki) and Jeanne Pratt , both

Polish-Jewish The history of the Jews in Poland dates back at least 1,000 years. For centuries, Poland was home to the largest and most significant Ashkenazi Jewish community in the world. Poland was a principal center of Jewish culture, because of the lon ...

immigrants. He graduated from

Monash University Monash University () is a public research university based in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Named for prominent World War I general Sir John Monash, it was founded in 1958 and is the second oldest university in the state. The university has a ...

, Melbourne, with a

Bachelor of Economics The Bachelor of Economics (BEc or BEcon), or the "Bachelor of Applied Economics", is a bachelor's degree awarded by many universities and colleges for completion of an undergraduate program in economics, econometrics, or applied economics; the ...

(Hons) in 1982.

Career

Pratt joined

McKinsey & Co McKinsey & Company is a global management consulting firm founded in 1926 by University of Chicago professor James O. McKinsey, that offers professional services to corporations, governments, and other organizations. McKinsey is the oldest and ...

, a management consulting firm, in 1982 before joining Visy as joint General Manager of its board. In 1988, he became Deputy Chairman of Visy Industries. Three years later, he moved to the United States to lead the company's US expansion. Over the next 15 years, Pratt Industries grew 15-fold in sales and earnings, through greenfield initiatives and the acquisition of several corrugated manufacturing companies that now form the heart of Pratt Industries. Company revenues grew from 100 million in 1991; and by 2016 revenue was 3 billion. During that time, Pratt Industries grew from the 46th largest corrugated box producer in the U.S. to the 5th largest. It is the only major paper container board company that is 100 percent recycled. Although Pratt remains Chairman of the American arm of the family's packaging business, he returned to Australia to take over as Executive Chairman of Visy following the death of his father, Richard, in 2009. Visy's corporate reputation index ranking went from No. 43 to No. 3 between 2009 and 2011. In 2013, then-New York City Mayor

Michael Bloomberg Michael Rubens Bloomberg (born February 14, 1942) is an American businessman, politician, philanthropist, and author. He is the majority owner, co-founder and CEO of Bloomberg L.P. He was Mayor of New York City from 2002 to 2013, and was a ca ...

presented Pratt with a proclamation declaring 17 September 2013, Pratt Industries Day. In 2016, Pratt was awarded the RISI North American Packaging CEO of the Year Award. That same year, Pratt opened a 100% recycled paper mill near

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

, adding about 1 billion to his wealth. It was officially opened by then-Governor

Mike Pence Michael Richard Pence (born June 7, 1959) is an American politician who served as the 48th vice president of the United States from 2017 to 2021 under President Donald Trump. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served as the 50th ...

. In March 2017, Pratt opened his 68th factory, a box-making plant, with Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker in Beloit. On 4 May 2017, Pratt pledged in the presence of President

Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021. Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of Pe ...

to invest $2 billion to create 5,000 high-paying manufacturing jobs over 10 years mainly in the Midwest. In August 2017, in the presence of Australian Prime Minister

Malcolm Turnbull Malcolm Bligh Turnbull (born 24 October 1954) is an Australian former politician and businessman who served as the 29th prime minister of Australia from 2015 to 2018. He held office as leader of the Liberal Party of Australia. Turnbull grad ...

, Pratt made a further investment pledge of A$2 billion in Visy Australia to create 5,000 Australian manufacturing jobs. That same week Pratt, pledged to give away A$1 billion to charity before he dies. In 2020, Pratt was named “Executive Papermaker of the Year” by leading industry publication ''PaperAge'' for his strong leadership and corporate vision. Pratt Industries Henderson KY Mill Announcement

Pratt Industries Henderson KY Mill Announcement

In July 2020, Anthony Pratt was named North American CEO of the Year by Fastmarkets RISI. Also in 2020, Pratt completed one of the biggest Australian manufacturing deals ever - buying the Australian assets of Owens Illinois for $1 billion to become Australia's largest glass bottle manufacturer. Then in February 2021, in the presence of Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison, Pratt pledged to invest an additional $2 billion to increase the recycled content of Australian glass bottles from 30% to 70% and to build more clean energy plants as part of the goal to halve landfills and double the recycled content of manufactured products. In July 2021, one year after the Owens Illinois acquisition, Pratt announced his largest-ever deal in America – a new $500 million paper mill in Henderson, Kentucky. Upon completion it will mean Pratt has built 6 of the last 8 paper mills in the USA - all 100% recycled. Pratt's two companies now employ 17,000 in America and Australia. In September, 2021, ''

The Jerusalem Post ''The Jerusalem Post'' is a broadsheet newspaper based in Jerusalem, founded in 1932 during the British Mandate of Palestine by Gershon Agron as ''The Palestine Post''. In 1950, it changed its name to ''The Jerusalem Post''. In 2004, the paper w ...

'' named him 35th on its list of the world's 50 Most Influential Jews of 2021. In November 2021, Pratt and Pennsylvania governor

Tom Wolf Thomas Westerman Wolf (born November 17, 1948) is an American politician and businessman serving as the 47th governor of Pennsylvania since 2015. A member of the Democratic Party, he defeated Republican incumbent Tom Corbett in the 2014 guber ...

opened Pratt's new $150 million state-of-the-art box factory in

Carlisle Carlisle ( , ; from xcb, Caer Luel) is a city that lies within the Northern England, Northern English county of Cumbria, south of the Anglo-Scottish border, Scottish border at the confluence of the rivers River Eden, Cumbria, Eden, River C ...

. Pratt also welcomed two other US governors to his factories in the Fall of 2022. In September, Louisiana Governor John Bell Edwards visited Pratt’s 100% recycled paper mill in Shreveport to celebrate the businessman’s $250m of total investment in the state. A few weeks later, Kansas Governor

Laura Kelly Laura Jeanne Kelly (born January 24, 1950)"Laura Kelly,"
''Kansapedia,''

officially opened his new $200m corrugated box factory in Wichita. Anthony Pratt and Kansas Governor

Pratt Industries is now the 18th largest privately owned manufacturing company in the United States. And in his native Australia, Pratt attended the national Jobs and Skills Summit convened by the New Labour Government in September, 2022. Pratt, one of 100 government, business and social leaders invited to the conference, spoke about the need to reduce landfills and methane emissions though investment in technology. Then, the following month he broke ground on his Australian company’s largest ever single investment - a $500m glass recycling factory outside Brisbane, Qld. Pra-ap-pagov-1121

In November, 2022, Pratt made his largest ever investment pledge. The $5 billion pledge, which he made to

Caroline Kennedy Caroline Bouvier Kennedy (born November 27, 1957) is an American author, attorney, and diplomat serving in the Biden administration as the United States Ambassador to Australia since 2022. She previously served in the Obama administration as the ...

, the US Ambassador to Australia, will be invested in recycling and clean energy infrastructure to create 5,000 well-paying, green collar, American manufacturing jobs over the next 10-years. APandCarolineKennedy

Personal life

Pratt sits on the National Board of the

Muhammad Ali Center The Muhammad Ali Center is a non-profit museum and cultural center dedicated to boxer Muhammad Ali in Louisville, Kentucky. Ali, a native of Louisville, and his wife Lonnie Ali founded the museum in 2005. The six-story, museum is located in ...

Louisville, Kentucky Louisville ( , , ) is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky and the 28th most-populous city in the United States. Louisville is the historical seat and, since 2003, the nominal seat of Jefferson County, on the Indiana border ...

, and is also active in charity organizations throughout Australia and the United States. In 1998, he arranged for

Muhammad Ali Muhammad Ali (; born Cassius Marcellus Clay Jr.; January 17, 1942 – June 3, 2016) was an American professional boxer and activist. Nicknamed "The Greatest", he is regarded as one of the most significant sports figures of the 20th century, a ...

to visit Australia for 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 ...

grand final, as well as for a subsequent trip two years later. More recently, on what would have been Ali's 80th birthday, Pratt donated $2 million to the Ali Center to further promote Ali's legacy. Pratt is a member of the Climate Group, an international environmental group founded by former British prime minister

Tony Blair Sir Anthony Charles Lynton Blair (born 6 May 1953) is a British former politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1997 to 2007 and Leader of the Labour Party from 1994 to 2007. He previously served as Leader of th ...

. He has been honoured for his efforts by

Mikhail Gorbachev Mikhail Sergeyevich Gorbachev (2 March 1931 – 30 August 2022) was a Soviet politician who served as the 8th and final leader of the Soviet Union from 1985 to dissolution of the Soviet Union, the country's dissolution in 1991. He served a ...

Global Green USA Global Green is the American affiliate of Green Cross International, an international non-governmental organization founded by former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev in 1993 to "foster a global value shift toward a sustainable and secure future. ...

and

Ted Turner Robert Edward "Ted" Turner III (born November 19, 1938) is an American entrepreneur, television producer, media proprietor, and philanthropist. He founded the Cable News Network (CNN), the first 24-hour United States cable news, cable news ch ...

's Captain Planet Foundation. Pratt is a member of the United States Studies Centre at the

University of Sydney The University of Sydney (USYD), also known as Sydney University, or informally Sydney Uni, is a public research university located in Sydney, Australia. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in Australia and is one of the country's si ...

. In 2007, Pratt committed to former President Clinton's Global Initiative to invest more than 1 billion over the ensuing decade in recycling infrastructure and clean energy. He fulfilled his pledge five years early. In 2009, Pratt was honored by the New York-based

Foreign Policy Association The Foreign Policy Association (formerly known as the League of Free Nations Association) is a non-profit organization founded in 1918 dedicated to inspiring the American public to learn more about the world. The Foreign Policy Association aims to ...

with its Corporate Social Responsibility Award. Since taking over the company, Pratt has taken a strong interest in sustainable agriculture,

food security Food security speaks to the availability of food in a country (or geography) and the ability of individuals within that country (geography) to access, afford, and source adequate foodstuffs. According to the United Nations' Committee on World F ...

, and water issues, stating that his motivation is 70% of his Australian customers are in the food and beverage sector. In April 2013, Pratt gave the keynote address at the Global Food Forum, an international conference on food security, which he organized in partnership with ''

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. He said it was possible for Australia to quadruple its current food production, through greater support for farmers and food companies, and to eventually feed 200 million people. The conference attracted leading political, agribusiness, food-industry, and academic figures. In October 2016, Pratt was the founding sponsor of ''

The Wall Street Journal ''The Wall Street Journal'' is an American business-focused, international daily newspaper based in New York City, with international editions also available in Chinese and Japanese. The ''Journal'', along with its Asian editions, is published ...

s inaugural U.S.-based Global Food Forum. In his opening remarks, Pratt called on food industry leaders to start a national conversation about how to double the size of the American food industry to US$1.8 trillion and thereby create millions of new jobs under the slogan "Export Food, Not Jobs". At subsequent Global Food Forum dinners during 2017 in Los Angeles and Chicago, Pratt continued to advocate for increased U.S. food exports. In September 2013, Pratt was elected an executive member of the Australia-Japan Business Cooperation Committee, a group dedicated for more than 50 years to strengthening ties between the two countries. In October 2013,

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 ...

Tony Abbott Anthony John Abbott (; born 4 November 1957) is a former Australian politician who served as the 28th prime minister of Australia from 2013 to 2015. He held office as the leader of the Liberal Party of Australia. Abbott was born in Londo ...

invited Pratt on an official visit to Indonesia – the first overseas trip by the incoming leader. Later that month, Pratt announced that former advisor to President Obama and the outgoing US Ambassador to Australia,

Jeffrey Bleich Jeffrey Laurence BleichRichman, Josh.Obama nominates Piedmont lawyer as ambassador to Australia" ''Oakland Tribune'' September 14, 2009 (; born 1961) is an American lawyer and diplomat from California. A longtime friend of President Barack Obama ...

, would join the Pratt Group advisory board. In 2013, Pratt was awarded an honorary PhD by

, for an "outstanding career of achievement and service to philanthropy, business and commerce." He is also a member of the Australian-American Leadership Dialogue, which seeks to strengthen and deepen the ties between Australian and American leaders. In November 2021, Pratt funded the establishment of The Australia Chair at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) to further promote ties between the two countries. In 2017, Anthony Pratt attended Vice President Mike Pence's business roundtable at the Vice President's official residence in Washington D.C. Also in 2017, Anthony Pratt became a member of

Mar-a-Lago Mar-a-Lago ( from the Spanish for ''sea to lake'') is a resort and national historic landmark in Palm Beach, Florida, owned by former U.S. president Donald Trump. Trump acquired Mar-a-Lago in 1985 and referred to it as his "Winter White House" ...

, President Trump's private Florida club. In 2017, Pratt launched the Superfund Roundtable in partnership with the

Australian Financial Review ''The Australian Financial Review'' (abbreviated to the ''AFR'') is an Australian business-focused, compact daily newspaper covering the current business and economic affairs of Australia and the world. The newspaper is based in Sydney, New Sou ...

. The annual event attracts some of the nation's leading business executives and financiers and is aimed at increasing superfund lending to Australian businesses to drive economic growth and create jobs. The Australian treasurer

Jim Chalmers James Edward Chalmers (born 2 March 1978) is an Australian politician, currently serving as Treasurer of Australia since 23 May 2022. He is a member of the Australian Labor Party (ALP) and has served as a member of parliament for the division o ...

was the guest speaker at the most recent roundtable in August 2022. In 2022, Pratt also founded the inaugural Recycling Roundtable in partnership with the Sydney Morning Herald. Its goals are to halve Australian landfills by 2030 through increased recycling and thereby reduce pressure on natural resources. In October, 2022, Pratt gave the opening address at the inaugural

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...

New Climate Conference in San Francisco. He was founding sponsor of the event. Pratt at NYT Climate Conference

Earlier that year, Pratt was made an honorary Kentucky Colonel by Gov

Beshear Beshear is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: *Andy Beshear (born 1977), Governor of Kentucky * Britainy Beshear (born 1979), first lady of Kentucky *Steve Beshear (born 1944), Governor of Kentucky Other *Lake Beshear Lake Beshe ...

. Pratt and his family split time between

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

and

. Pratt is

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 ...

Net worth

Pratt first appeared on the ''

Financial Review ''The Australian Financial Review'' (abbreviated to the ''AFR'') is an Australian business-focused, compact daily newspaper covering the current business and economic affairs of Australia and the world. The newspaper is based in Sydney, New Sou ...

(AFR)'' Rich List in 2009 (then published as the ''BRW Rich 200'', following the death of his father earlier that year. He debuted as the richest person in Australia with a

of 4.3 billion. In subsequent years, his wealth increased; however, those with interests in the then rapidly growing Australian resources sector came to dominate the list. Since 2009, the ''AFR'' Rich List and the ''

Forbes ''Forbes'' () is an American business magazine owned by Integrated Whale Media Investments and the Forbes family. Published eight times a year, it features articles on finance, industry, investing, and marketing topics. ''Forbes'' also re ...

'' list of Australia's 50 Richest People generally assessed Pratt's net worth on a similar basis, aggregated with his family. However, in 2015, ''Forbes'' reported the wealth of Pratt separate to the net worth of his two sisters,

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 ...

and Heloise Waislitz. In 2022, The Australian newspaper assessed his worth at A$27.7billion. Several months earlier, in February 2021,

Bloomberg News Bloomberg News (originally Bloomberg Business News) is an international news agency headquartered in New York City and a division of Bloomberg L.P. Content produced by Bloomberg News is disseminated through Bloomberg Terminals, Bloomberg Televi ...

ranked him seventh in the list of the world's richest people to have made their fortunes from green industries. They valued his personal worth at US$12 billion. In 2016, the

Australian Taxation Office The Australian Taxation Office (ATO) is an Australian statutory agency and the principal revenue collection body for the Australian Government. The ATO has responsibility for administering the Australian federal taxation system, superannuati ...

revealed that despite more than 2.5 billion in revenue in 2013–14, Pratt Consolidated Holdings had not paid any taxes. In response, Pratt said, "All I can say is that we abide by all the laws, as any good ethical company does."

Philanthropy

Pratt is head of the Pratt Foundation, which has donated hundreds of millions of dollars since it was established and continues to give approximately 20 million per year, including to Planned Parenthood, The Urban League, St Jude's Hospital and many others. Pratt also serves on the board of trustees of the

Appeal of Conscience Foundation Founded by Rabbi Arthur Schneier in 1965, the Appeal of Conscience Foundation is an interfaith partnership of corporate and spiritual leaders from all faiths who come together to promote "peace, tolerance and ethnic conflict resolution." Mission T ...

. Pratt is patron of the Trilateral Track II Food and Water Security Dialogue which he launched with former Israeli Prime Minister

Shimon Peres Shimon Peres (; he, שמעון פרס ; born Szymon Perski; 2 August 1923 – 28 September 2016) was an Israeli politician who served as the eighth prime minister of Israel from 1984 to 1986 and from 1995 to 1996 and as the ninth president of ...

between India, Israel and Australia. Pratt is a patron of the Australia India Leadership Dialogue, and founding patron of

The Prince's Charities The Prince's Charities is a non-profit organisation that has associations with King Charles III. The Prince's Charities, supported by The Prince's Charities Foundation, is based in the United Kingdom and comprises 19 organisations of which Charle ...

Australia. In 2017, Pratt hosted a

Food waste Food loss and waste is food that is not eaten. The causes of food waste or loss are numerous and occur throughout the food system, during production, processing, distribution, retail and food service sales, and consumption. Overall, about o ...

Summit at his Melbourne home aimed at halving Australia's food waste by 2030. Also in 2017, he was executive producer and guest conductor at a fundraising gala concert for the

Melbourne Symphony Orchestra The Melbourne Symphony Orchestra (MSO) is an Australian orchestra based in Melbourne. The MSO is resident at Hamer Hall. The MSO has its own choir, the MSO Chorus, following integration with the Melbourne Chorale in 2008. The MSO relies on f ...

. In December 2021, in the wake of the tornado that devastated parts of Kentucky, Pratt donated $1 million to the state's storm relief fund and a further $1 million to the Tri-State Food Bank to help those in need. Pratt’s dedication to food security was further demonstrated in October, 2022, when he donated $1 million to

Feeding America Feeding America is a United States–based nonprofit organization that is a nationwide network of more than 200 food banks that feed more than 46 million people through food pantries, soup kitchens, shelters, and other community-based agencies. ...

, the nation’s largest hunger relief organization. The money will provide more than 10 million meals.

References

External links

Pratt Industries
'

The Sydney Morning Herald ''The Sydney Morning Herald'' (''SMH'') is a daily compact newspaper published in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, and owned by Nine. Founded in 1831 as the ''Sydney Herald'', the ''Herald'' is the oldest continuously published newspaper ...

'', 30 April 2009. {{DEFAULTSORT:Pratt, Anthony 1960 births Living people Australian billionaires Australian chief executives Australian Jews Australian people of Polish-Jewish descent Businesspeople from Melbourne Monash University alumni Australian expatriates in the United States