By Stephen Brook and Kishor Napier-Raman
Money can buy you everything, but not always taste.
So attendees at New York’s Met Gala learnt today when a hot pink streak made his way up the Baz Luhrmann-designed “garden of time” floral display to be greeted by US Vogue editor-in-chief Anna Wintour for his allotted 30-second chat.
Billionaire box baron Anthony Pratt, we salute you.
Anthony Pratt attends The 2024 Met Gala Celebrating “Sleeping Beauties: Reawakening Fashion” at The Metropolitan Museum of Art.Credit: Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images for The Met Museum/Vogue
The cardboard king rich-lister – worth $24.30 billion with his family – wore a hot-pink frock coat embroidered with “Pratt 100% Recycled” decals, more commonly seen on his Visy and Pratt Industries’ cardboard boxes.
Talk about wearing your corporate heart (if not your company manifesto) on your sleeve.
The theme of rebirth was clearly evident in his “propagating seedlings in the garden shed” Balenciaga shoes. The tan sensible sneakers completed the ensemble and the vibe was 100 per cent Willy Wonka meets LGBTQ Pride. The future’s so bright we are going to need to wear shades!
Pratt’s fashion wattage comfortably eclipsed more famous Aussie celebs, such as a heavily reworked Nicole Kidman, who was classic in a couture Balenciaga 1950s homage and Chris Hemsworth’s cream Tom Ford suit, which was positively dullsville in comparison.
What a difference a year makes. Pratt and sister Heloise Pratt attend the gala last year.Credit: Getty
A comparison with Pratt’s outfit last year’s reveals a man with growing confidence in his convictions.
Pratt, who once claimed “being rich is my superpower” in explaining his close ties to former US president Donald Trump, has clearly arrived in the US celebrity ecosystem. All Gala attendees must be personally invited by Wintour – and that’s before they need to shell out the required $US75,000 ($113,000) per ticket.
Pratt, a frequent associate of Trump, was last in the headlines back in his home town of Melbourne in February when he splurged about $1.5 million to invite US singer Katy Perry to his Raheen mansion for a food and beverage industry knees-up attended by Prime Minister Anthony Albanese.
Another attendee was Succession actor Jeremy Strong. Alas, that drama examining the uber rich and powerful has ended, so any info Pratt could have told him about how close the series was to real life was unfortunately redundant.
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