Australian billionaire Anthony Pratt has been hurled into the spotlight after US press reports alleged that former President Donald Trump spilled secrets about US nuclear subs to the businessman.
ABC News first reported that Trump discussed the potentially sensitive information with Pratt — who’s a member of his Mar-a-Lago Club — shortly after leaving office. The report alleges that the businessman then went on to share that information with several others, following the revelations at Trump’s private club.
Here’s a quick rundown of what you need to know about Australia’s ‘cardboard king’.
Who is Anthony Pratt?
He’s chairman of both Visy and Pratt Industries, two massive paper and packaging companies. Visy, the basis of the family fortune, was built over many decades by Pratt’s father Richard Pratt, who died in 2009. Since then, Pratt’s been in charge and the company has become Australia’s second-biggest private company.
Pratt Industries is the group’s US corrugated packaging company, with about $12 billion of assets. Anthony has been central to the group’s growth in the US since moving there in the 1990s in order to expand the family’s global operations. They began buying box plants and built a paper recycling mill before inking a waste paper recycling deal with the City of New York. Pratt Industries has grown to become the fifth largest corrugated packaging company in the US, according to its website.
What’s his main line of business?
In Australia, his company is involved heavily in the recycling of paper, glass and other products. In the US, it’s mainly cardboard boxes. Trump actually visited a Pratt paper-recycling mill in Ohio in 2020 and described it as “really amazing.”
How much is Anthony Pratt worth?
He’s worth $9.2 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. That makes him the world’s 213th richest person, the data show.
Where does he stand politically?
Pratt’s been known to lend support to both sides of politics, both in Australia and the US. Former Australian prime minister Scott Morrison joined Trump and Pratt on their paper plant tour in 2020. Pratt also has a relationship with President Joe Biden having invited the then vice president to dinner during his Australian visit in 2016. Back in 2013, during the Obama administration he appointed a former US ambassador to his advisory board.
What was he doing at Mar-a-Lago?
Pratt became a member of Mar-a-Lago in 2017. He and his wife Claudine Revere have two children and the billionaire splits his time between Melbourne and New York.
What did Pratt do after Trump’s alleged revelations?
After Trump allegedly shared details on the submarines — reported to be the number of nuclear warheads they carry and how close they can get to Russian subs — Pratt went on to disclose the potentially-sensitive information to “scores of others,” including foreign officials, journalists and employees, according to ABC. He has since been interviewed by US law enforcement agencies, the network reported.