Jeanne Pratt AC (b. c. 1936), born to Jewish parents in Poland before the war, came to Australia as a three year old. The family settled in Sydney, and she was soon acting as their interpreter. She was a keen reader and attended the academically-selective Sydney Girls’ High. She began an arts/law degree at the University of Sydney, but left to begin work as a journalist at the Daily Telegraph. On a visit to Melbourne she met Richard Pratt, whose father owned a business providing packaging to fruiterers. They became engaged very soon after meeting, and were together until he died in 2009, nurturing their business, Visy, toward its current position as the world’s largest privately-owned packaging, paper and recycling company. They established the Pratt foundation in 1978. In 1981 Jeanne purchased Raheen in Kew from the Catholic church, and it became her passion to host charity fundraising events in the mansion. In 2015 she told the Women’s Weekly that through these events and the Pratt Foundation more than $800 million had been raised for various causes. In 1998 she established and became chair of the board of a not-for-profit theatrical concern, The Production Company, presenting in Broadway musicals. Over time she has served as co-chair of Visy, vice-president of the Carlton football club, chair of Opera Foundation Victoria, a director on the board of the Melbourne Theatre Company and a council member of the National Gallery of Australia, amongst other involvements. She is currently a director of five Visy companies. Her three children all work in the family business, and her son Anthony, who topped the Financial Review’s Rich List in 2017, has committed the worldwide Pratt Industries to clean energy, recycling , sustainable food practices and philanthropic activities. Jeanne Pratt was Victorian of the Year in 2013. In 2016 she donated a million dollars to Monash University’s centre for Theatre and Performance; she received an honorary doctorate in law to coincide with the announcement. Last year she was honoured by the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra for her generosity and her commitment to Australia’s cultural life.
