EXCLUSIVE: A billion dollar-plus net worth wasn't on Mal Pratt's mind when he left the family business with just a shovel, a ute and a hammer to pursue his dream of being a builder. It was a different time then. Unemployment could be solved with a trip to the Maroochy Pub for a chat with the clientele. A job was usually secured within the first few schooners. Bosses would send labourers to help on another site if they knew a fellow builder was short a set of hands. It was 1972. Having spent time as a lifeguard and a board shaper alongside the legendary Hayden Kenny, the call of the trade was too much for Mr Pratt to ignore.