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from www.heraldsun.com.au – Billionaire Richard Pratt offered Hustler centrefold Madison Ashton millions of dollars for her ” affection and love” – but that wasn’t enough to satisfy a court yesterday.
Supreme Court judge Paul Brereton ruled the cardboard king’s promises were not iron clad and that Ms Ashton should not receive $10 million from Mr Pratt’s widow, Jeanne.
He found Ms Ashton had already received $100,000 and a Mercedes-Benz convertible four years before Mr Pratt’s death in April 2009, and that she agreed to “release all claims”.
Even though Justice Brereton agreed that Mr Pratt had told Ms Ashton in November 2003, that he would establish two trusts worth $5 million for her children, pay her $500,000 a year and $66,000 for expenses, he said the “mistress” arrangement between Mr Pratt and Ms Ashton was not a binding contract.
Ms Ashton told the court last September she agreed to give up her lucrative career in the high-class escort business between 2003 and 2004 to become Mr Pratt’s mistress.
She said Mr Pratt told her “that blonde bitch” (another of his mistresses, Shari-Lea Hitchcock) had “left me”, so the “position of mistress is now available”.
“I need you to replace Shari,” he allegedly told her.
“I need the physical contact from you.”
Ms Hitchcock’s daughter with Mr Pratt, Paula Hitchcock, 12, received almost $28.5 million in his will.
While Justice Brereton found that some of the conversations Ms Ashton said she had had with Mr Pratt did not occur, he found some of her evidence was credible given “the extraordinary wealth involved and the extraordinary circumstances of this extraordinary case”.
The judge found her conversation with one of Mr Pratt’s closest advisers, Tony Gray, was true as Mr Gray did not give evidence to deny it.
“I am sick and tired of bailing Richard out of these messes,” Mr Gray told Ms Ashton.
“The family is constantly trying to keep people like you and Shari out of Richard’s life.
“The family keeps paying for Richard’s indiscretions. Millions of dollars have been paid out in the past. Richard will say anything and do anything to have people like you in the sack.”
Ms Ashton has been ordered to pay Jeanne Pratt’s legal costs.