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 Trust, and Chairman of the Board of Management of the Mental Health Research Institute of Victoria.
Through the Pratt Foundation, 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.
On 8 February 2007 he was appointed president of the Carlton Football Club. 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 an Australian Competition and Consumer Commission hearing were resolved.
Pratt also donated considerable funds to both major political parties (for example A$300,000 in Financial Year 2004-5), as well as to former Australian Prime Minister John Howard's Liberal government. In 1996 an investigation by The Australian newspaper documented from internal company documents that Pratt maintained a multi-million-dollar network of advisors. This included an $8,333.33 a month fee to Bob Hawke for consultation on "Asian and government matters", $27,220.03 for travel to the US for Gough Whitlam as business advisor on overseas markets, and other sums for former state premiers Nick Greiner and Rupert Hamer.
Read more about this topic: Richard Pratt (Australian Businessman)
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