Jeanne, who is the widow of the late industrialist Richard Pratt, has a beautiful home, lovely clothes and a personal staff of 13. Beyond that, what does a person really need?
So she’s giving the rest – or a lot of it – away.
“But please don’t say that I’m giving back,” says Jeanne, in an exclusive interview for the annual Power Issue of The Weekly, out today.
“I don’t like to talk in those terms. Philanthropy is fun.”
In a wide-ranging interview, Jeanne recalls life as a Jewish girl in Poland before the war, and her attitude to the media interest in her family life.
“You can’t be smug. You can’t afford to feel self-satisfied, because there is always something out there with a big stick, waiting to hit you on the head,” she says.
Richard suffered through various troubles, especially toward the end of his life, but Jeanne waved away the idea that she was traumatised by the gossip in the press, saying: “I don’t resent media coverage, not at all. I was a journalist! The media have got a job to do. Unfortunately, bad news is good news. I don’t think I liked it, but I didn’t feel anger. I was certainly never furious. I get cross when somebody gives one of our shows a negative review. A critic recently complained that Showboat was racist. Racist! And dated! That’s like saying Shakespeare is racist and dated. They really did not understand the musical, and the history, and they hurt people – the actors – and that kind of criticism can destroy a person’s confidence and career.
“But for the rest of it, well, you move on.
“I only felt very resentful about Richard being accused of things he didn’t do,” she continues. “As long as I knew Richard I never knew him to tell a lie. Sometimes he wouldn’t tell you something, but he would never lie. So I always knew that if he said he didn’t do something, he didn’t do it, and yet people feel free to say that he did. But I am not bitter or twisted about anything. Which is not to say that Richard was magnanimous about it. He was not magnanimous at all. It’s bad enough if you’ve done something wrong and you’re worried about getting caught, but if you actually haven’t done anything, the injustice of being wrongly accused gets to you.”
On the subject of her own legacy, Jeanne disputes the idea that she’s constantly giving, saying: “I get as much as I give, probably more. I probably don’t give enough. They say you should give 10 per cent – tithing – but we don’t, and so perhaps I should give more. But I have given away a lot already, and I do it as a representative two of the biggest groups: women, and the aged.”
*Jeanne Pratt is No. 24 on this year’s Power List, for her philanthropy, and influence.
