Anthony Pratt, one of Australia’s richest men, said advisers to the then Prince Charles had asked him to stop making payments to the future king because “he just doesn’t want the appearance of anything”, according to newly published audio.
The Nine newspapers on Tuesday published more covertly recorded audio capturing Pratt, the billionaire head of a packaging and recycling empire, discussing his relationship with key global figures, including Charles.
The audio shows Pratt discussing hundreds of thousands of dollars in donations made to the Prince of Wales, saying he had “just got a note back from them [Prince Charles’s advisers] saying please just donate it to the Prince’s trust”.
“They’re just so close to becoming the king that he doesn’t want me to bring down the monarchy,” Pratt says in the audio, reportedly recorded in 2022.
“Well, he just doesn’t want the appearance of anything. It’s legal, but he doesn’t want to look like he’s, because he just got into trouble for giving someone a knighthood in exchange for money.”
The recording is thought to reference an alleged cash-for-honours scandal in which a former aide to Charles was accused of offering to help secure a knighthood for a wealthy Saudi donor.
Other audio excerpts show Pratt saying he was useful to Prince Charles due to his wealth, which he described as his “superpower”. He also described the future king as “undervalued political stock”.
Guardian Australia is not suggesting the payments were in any way improper.
The publication of new recordings follows earlier reports concerning Pratt’s relationship with Donald Trump and former Australian prime ministers Paul Keating and Tony Abbott.
The Nine newspapers and the New York Times published audio of Pratt claiming that Trump had privately discussed his conversations with world leaders and shared details about airstrikes on Iranian-backed militants in Iraq, which Pratt said had not yet been publicly reported.
The New York Times report aired allegations that Trump had shared details of US nuclear submarine capabilities with Pratt, something of interest to prosecutors in the US probing the former president’s handling of classified information.
Trump angrily dismissed the reporting as “fake news” on Monday.
“The Failing New York Times story … about a red haired weirdo from Australia, named Anthony Pratt, is Fake News,” he posted on Truth Social.
“I never spoke to him about Submarines but I did speak to him about creating jobs in Ohio and Pennsylvania, because that’s what I’m all about – JOBS, A GREAT ECONOMY, LOW TAXES, NO INFLATION, ENERGY, DOMINANCE, STRONG BORDERS, NO ENDLESS WARS, LOW INTEREST RATES, and much more!”
Trump and Pratt have previously enjoyed a good relationship and in 2019 the then US president helped open a new Pratt Industries paper plant in Ohio. Trump at the time called Pratt a “friend” and heaped praise on him.
“We’re here to celebrate a great opening and a great gentleman,” Trump said. “Anthony is one of the most successful men in the world – perhaps Australia’s most successful man.”
Pratt and Buckingham Palace were approached for comment.
