Latest news with #PrattIndustries
News.com.au
02-05-2025
- Business
- News.com.au
Donald Trump salutes ‘richest man in Australia'
US President Donald Trump has paid tribute to one of his favourite Australians during an event at the White House's grand foyer this week. Cardboard box tzar Anthony Pratt was among about 80 business leaders invited to Washington for Mr Trump to thank for investing in American industry on Wednesday. Melbourne-raised Mr Pratt, who now lives in the US, has committed AU$7.82 billion to create 5000 jobs in rust-belt states – a move that has earned the President's favour. 'Executive global chairman of Pratt Industries, friend of mine, Anthony Pratt – he's investing $US5 billion, thank you,' Mr Trump told the crowd. 'I read a report that he's the richest man in Australia, but who the hell knows. Do you think you're the richest man in Australia?' Mr Pratt, who is according to Forbes the eighth wealthiest Australian, appeared to hesitate and gestured he was not sure, the Sydney Morning Herald reports. Mr Trump went on to say Visy chair was 'close' to being the richest. 'I don't like to put you on the spot like that, Anthony, but that's pretty good'. Axios reported Mr Pratt's investments would target 'key industrial states' like Ohio, Michigan, Pennsylvania and Arizona. 'To make America great again, we need to make in America again,' he said. 'That's why I'm proud to support the president's call to re-industrialise America and again make the US the manufacturing powerhouse of the world.' Mr Trump's praise was a far cry from previous remarks about Mr Pratt, who he once called a 'red-haired weirdo' during a media scandal in 2023. The President had reportedly shared details about US nuclear submarines with the Pratt Industries boss while at Mr Trumps Mar-a-Lago resort in 2021. Mr Pratt was identified as a potential witness in a now abandoned trial over Mr Trump's alleged handling of classified documents. Mr Pratt's company has dozens of factories in the States which supply major US organisations such as Walmart, Home Depot and the US Postal Service. He is worth a reported AU$11 billion, and a member of Mar-a-Lago. The billionaire matched Australian mining magnate Gina Rinehart in taking out a full-page ad in the New York Times to congratulate Mr Trump on his election victory earlier this year. 'I'm honoured to support your call to make America great again by bringing manufacturing jobs home,' Mr Pratt's ad read. 'We have built 70 factories in America and under your leadership we will invest billions more to create thousands of American manufacturing jobs.'
Sky News AU
30-04-2025
- Business
- Sky News AU
Visy chairman Anthony Pratt pledges to invest almost $8bn in manufacturing in the US to help 'make America great again'
Australian businessman Anthony Pratt has pledged to invest billions of dollars into the United States' manufacturing sector to help "make America great again". The packaging magnate who owns Visy - a packaging, paper and recycling company - said on Thursday he will inject US$5 billion ($7.8bn) into manufacturing as part of Donald Trump's repeated calls to "reindustrialise" the US, Pratt Industries said. It would in turn result in an estimated extra 5,000 jobs in "key industrial states" such as Ohio, Michigan, Pennsylvania and Arizona, American outlet Axios first reported. The announcement was made ahead of the US President's "Invest in America" summit at the White House that will be attended by other major business executives. 'To make America great again, we need to make in America again," Mr Pratt said. "That's why I'm proud to support the president's call to re-industrialise America and again make the US the manufacturing powerhouse of the world." Speaking at the White House just after 7am on Thursday, President Trump listed the business leaders who were investing into the US including "friend" Mr Pratt. "Thank you, thank you Anthony," he said, as the crowd applauded. The commander in chief then referenced a report he read that the Visy chair is the "richest man in Australia" before asking him if he was. "Close? I don't like to put you on the spot like that Anthony. But that's pretty good. Thank you very much. That's great, $5 billion," President Trump said. The leader of the free world has been trying to revive domestic manufacturing, with the number of American workers in the sector plummeting to about 8 per cent. He introduced sweeping tariffs on imported goods into the US on dozens of countries, including Australia, in hopes companies would manufacture in America. It comes as the US economy on Wednesday (local time) shrank in the first three months of 2025, raising fears again of a recession and slowing of the economy. Economists say the contraction has been blamed on the flood of imports into the country as businesses rush to avoid the surging costs from the tariffs. President Trump argued on social media it was his predecessor's fault. "This is Biden's Stock Market, not Trump's," he wrote on Truth Social. "I didn't take over until January 20th. Tariffs will soon start kicking in, and companies are starting to move into the USA in record numbers. "Our Country will boom, but we have to get rid of the Biden 'Overhang. This will take a while, has NOTHING TO DO WITH TARIFFS, only that he left us with bad numbers, but when the boom begins, it will be like no other. BE PATIENT!!!" Meanwhile, consumer spending, which accounts for two-thirds of the US economy, slowed to 1.8 per cent, which is down on the reported 4 per cent at the end of 2024. It was supported by outlays on both services and goods, mostly healthcare, housing and nondurable goods. Most of the growth was in March, with spending surging 0.7 per cent as households pulled forward purchases of motor vehicles, likely to continue into April.
The Age
30-04-2025
- Business
- The Age
Anthony Pratt pledges $8 billion for US as he visits Trump at White House
Washington: Australian packaging magnate Anthony Pratt, whom Donald Trump once branded a 'red-haired weirdo', has pledged to invest billions in American manufacturing as he visits the US president at the White House. Pratt said the planned $US5 billion ($7.82 billion) investment would create 5000 manufacturing jobs across the US in the rust-belt states of Ohio, Michigan and Pennsylvania, and in Arizona in the southwest. 'To make America great again we need to make in America again,' he said. 'That's why I'm proud to support the president's call to reindustrialise America and again make the US the manufacturing powerhouse of the world'. The Visy and Pratt Industries chairman is among several business leaders due to attend an event with Trump at the White House on Wednesday (Thursday AEDT) as the president marks the first 100 days of his second term. Pratt is a permanent US resident and has based himself in New York since last year. Pratt Industries has 70 US factories making recycled paper and cardboard boxes for customers such as Walmart, Home Depot and the US Postal Service. The 65-year-old, originally from Melbourne, has cultivated a relationship with the president and became a member of his Mar-a-lago club in Palm Beach, Florida. As part of the investigation into Trump's handling of classified documents, it was claimed that Trump shared potentially classified information about America's nuclear submarine fleet with Pratt during conversations at Mar-a-lago in April 2021. The information reportedly included the number of nuclear warheads carried by the boats and how close they could get to Russian counterparts without detection. When the claims were published in 2023, Trump called it 'fake news' and said he never discussed submarines with 'a red-haired weirdo from Australia'.
Sydney Morning Herald
30-04-2025
- Business
- Sydney Morning Herald
Anthony Pratt pledges $8 billion for US as he visits Trump at White House
Washington: Australian packaging magnate Anthony Pratt, whom Donald Trump once branded a 'red-haired weirdo', has pledged to invest billions in American manufacturing as he visits the US president at the White House. Pratt said the planned $US5 billion ($7.82 billion) investment would create 5000 manufacturing jobs across the US in the rust-belt states of Ohio, Michigan and Pennsylvania, and in Arizona in the southwest. 'To make America great again we need to make in America again,' he said. 'That's why I'm proud to support the president's call to reindustrialise America and again make the US the manufacturing powerhouse of the world'. The Visy and Pratt Industries chairman is among several business leaders due to attend an event with Trump at the White House on Wednesday (Thursday AEDT) as the president marks the first 100 days of his second term. Pratt is a permanent US resident and has based himself in New York since last year. Pratt Industries has 70 US factories making recycled paper and cardboard boxes for customers such as Walmart, Home Depot and the US Postal Service. The 65-year-old, originally from Melbourne, has cultivated a relationship with the president and became a member of his Mar-a-lago club in Palm Beach, Florida. As part of the investigation into Trump's handling of classified documents, it was claimed that Trump shared potentially classified information about America's nuclear submarine fleet with Pratt during conversations at Mar-a-lago in April 2021. The information reportedly included the number of nuclear warheads carried by the boats and how close they could get to Russian counterparts without detection. When the claims were published in 2023, Trump called it 'fake news' and said he never discussed submarines with 'a red-haired weirdo from Australia'.
New York Post
30-04-2025
- Business
- New York Post
Pratt Industries announces $5B US investment to create 5,000 jobs
Packaging giant Pratt Industries announced Wednesday it was committing $5 billion to support President Trump's push to bolster American manufacturing. Atlanta-based Pratt announced the investment ahead of an afternoon White House event touting America's potential to business leaders. 'To make America great again we need to make in America again,' owner and executive chairman Anthony Pratt said in a statement. 'That's why I'm proud to support the president's call to reindustrialize America and again make the US the manufacturing powerhouse of the world.' Advertisement In its announcement, Pratt predicted the investment would lead to 5,000 new jobs across the US, including in key electoral states Arizona, Michigan, Ohio, and Pennsylvania. The firm already has 70 factories across the US manufacturing recycled paper and corrugated boxes, employing an estimated 12,000 Americans. Its clients include The Home Depot, Walmart and the US Postal Service. The Australian-born Pratt, 65, was granted permanent US residency last year. In December 2024, he donated $14 million to the Trump-supporting Make America Great Again, Inc. super PAC and another $1.1 million to the 47th president's inaugural fund. Advertisement Trump, 78, has repeatedly promised favorable treatment to multinational business leaders who move their operations to the US to escape his tariff regime. In December 2024, the then-president-elected promised in a post on Truth Social that 'Any person or company investing ONE BILLION DOLLARS, OR MORE, in the United States of America, will receive fully expedited approvals and permits, including, but in no way limited to, all Environmental approvals. GET READY TO ROCK!!!' That same week, Japanese holding company SoftBank announced it would invest at least $100 billion into US tech projects over the next four years. The following month, Emirati billionaire Hussain Sajwani promised a $20 billion investment in the US data center industry, saying alongside Trump at his Mar-a-Lago resort that he would commit 'even more than that, if the opportunity in the market allows us.'
