The people she's met over the years is a who's who of public figures, from Nelson Mandela and Hilary Clinton to Muhammad Ali and Prince Charles. She's not sure about my listing the famous people she's met; she doesn't want to sound like a "name-dropping wanker". "I'm an ordinary person who has had an extraordinary life," she says. 

We're dining at Rockpool at Crown, a favoured venue for birthdays or special occasions. I order the grilled flathead with an orange and fennel salad, Pratt has the king george whiting; we share a side of roast pumpkin and sweet potato with burnt butter and each opt for a glass of pinot grigio. 

The food arrives and looks great, if a tad minimalist. "I feel as though we should have ordered something that looks a bit more interesting ... it looks like we're on a diet!"​

When Jeanne Lasker met Richard Pratt, she was 22 years old. Three days later, they were engaged. Working as a journalist for the Daily Telegraph, she had been sent to Melbourne for a story. Both came from Polish families who had fled World War II and emigrated to Australia; he was raised in Shepparton, she grew up in Sydney. When Pratt phoned home with news of her engagement, her mother asked what Richard did. "He's a poor actor who makes boxes," Jeanne said, at which point her mum burst into tears. Little did they know what lay ahead.

The growth of Pratt's company Visy from a small family business to the largest privately owned packaging and recycling company in the world is undoubtedly a success story. It reflects the migrant-made-good ethos Australia is famous for, though in this instance you'd have to say made very good. 

This year's BRW Rich List places the Pratt family second in the billionaires section, valued at $10.35 billion. Trading as Visy in Australia, the company operates in 400 locations, including Asia and the US, where it is known as Pratt Industries. The company recycles half of New York city's paper waste and recycles it on Staten Island. "We've made enough paper to go to the moon and back and we've recycled 85 million trees." In recognition of the company's work, in 2013 New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg declared September 17 'Pratt Industries Day'.

When Richard died in 2009, Pratt decided it was the next generation's turn to take the reins running the business and appointed her son, Anthony, as executive chairman; she became co-chair. "I've got a terrific attachment to it, it's like a fourth child."

Since then, Anthony has doubled the size of the business. All three children own the company; Anthony is the eldest, followed by Heloise Waislitz and Fiona Geminder.

It's not all been smooth sailing. Richard was once convicted by the ACCC of price-fixing (with Amcor); further charges were finally dropped the day before he died.

With so much money to play with, one imagines Jeanne might travel the world and live the high life. Surprisingly, she is rarely away for more than 10 days; it was the same when Richard was alive. She says there's too much to attend to in Melbourne. "Generally I'm just happy to stay home. I basically sit at my kitchen table. I sit in bed playing Scrabble... I've got about 45 games going at the one time. I'm completely addicted – I think I need to go to AA for Scrabble."

You can't put on a show with no stars and it's the same with football.

She plays croquet on Monday mornings with a few good friends. The grounds of her home – the National Trust-listed Raheen in Kew – which look like something out of an E.M. Forster novel, provide a rather stunning backdrop.

Of course, there's also football. Richard played for Carlton and many years later was their patron and president; since 2001 Jeanne has been the club's vice-president. A mad keen fan, she rarely misses a game. "Football is a terrific leveller, it brings the whole community together," she says. "I can't walk down the street in any part of Melbourne without someone with no teeth and tatts coming up and saying 'What are you doing to our club?"'

She's thrilled to see the growth in female directors across the AFL ("I was the first at Carlton until Kate Jenkins' appointment a few weeks ago"), a huge fan of Caroline Wilson ("She knows more about football than any of the men") and worries about the physicality of the game ("Every footballer I know gets injured").

If Carlton fields a women's team in 2017, Pratt will sponsor it. She hasn't held back from letting a coach or three know what she thinks needs to be done to get Carlton on track. (Dennis Pagan once told her Bart Cummings used to charge $100,000 to train an owner's horses; if the owner tried to tell him what to do, it went up to $150,000.)

On occasion, her perspective conflicts with the club's other board members. "I love stars in football but I am the only director who does. They keep blathering on about 'A champion team will always beat a team of champions', which is all good and well, but if you're not winning, if you're not a champion team, you've got to give the public something to look at."

She's a firm believer that clubs need stars. "You can't put on a show with no stars and it's the same with football," she says.

The Pratt Foundation is the philanthropic arm of the organisation – it gives about $15 million a year to various causes, totalling about a billion thus far. "Personally I feel that one ought to give," she says. "If you're a religious person, which I am not particularly ... Jews are meant to give away 10 per cent of what they earn. I don't know too many people who do that."

That said, she argues you don't necessarily need to spend a lot of money to make a big difference. The foundation funds a wide range of projects, from putting in wells in villages in Africa through to local community centres. Mental health and education are key focusses. Functions are held at the old part of Raheen twice a week for an array of causes. According to Pratt, the most philanthropic thing you can do is give people work.

While Australia doesn't have as rich a history of philanthropy as the United States, Pratt says in this country she sees a willingness to get hands on and contribute in whatever way possible. "The wonderful thing about Australians is they will put their bodies in. Even people who don't have much money at all, they're still very generous with their time, or they'll give small amounts."

The Pratt Foundation also underwrites her musical theatre group, the Production Company. Loosely modelled on New York's Encores!series, in which actors perform their favourite works, script in hand, the Production Company stages three musicals a year. Headed by Ken Mackenzie-Forbes, the company was formed when the Victorian Opera was shut down in 1998. Back then, musicals were unfashionable but the form has seen a resurgence recently. Scenery is kept to a minimum in order to keep costs down. "I tell Ken that even though we're a not-for-profit, we're a not-for-loss," Pratt quips. Asked about her work, she is humble. "I've been lucky in life to work with incredibly talented people. Ken is an unsung hero ... he has such incredible knowledge."

Shows have a two-week rehearsal window and the bill usually includes two high-profile, popular musicals, as well as one lesser known. This year's line-up kicks off with Funny Girl on Saturday, followed by Curtains and finishes up with Dusty, about the life of Dusty Springfield. "We put more bums on seats than anyone else," says Pratt, who welcomes people as they arrive. "We love our audiences – every show I stand at the door and greet everybody. The upside is that I never get a cold," she says. "The actors love it because there's a hometown crowd there before you even sing a note."

I ask if there's anything she'd like to do now she's 80. "No. But I would really like to keep breathing," she says with a laugh. "I can't believe I am as old as I am. That voice in your head never changes."

She's enamoured with her new mobile and proudly shows me photos of  her grandchildren. There's also a shot of her with Warren Buffet ("Such a sweet man, he plays the ukelele"), as well as one of her with an NBA player, who towers over her. If only she'd had the phone earlier, she says: "We've had the Gorbachevs, the Reagans and never taken photos!"​

Funny Girl is at the State Theatre, Arts Centre Melbourne, until July 31. www.theproductioncompany.com.au