Hugo Pratt origin, his maternal grandfather was of Marrano (Jewish) descent, and his grandmother was of Turkish origin. He was also related to actor Boris Karloff (né William Henry Pratt). In 1937, Pratt moved with his mother to Abyssinia (Ethiopia), joining his father who was working there following the conquest of that country by Benito Mussolini's Italy. Pratt's father, a professional Italian soldier, was captured in 1941 by British troops and in late 1942, died from disease as a prisoner of war. The same year, Hugo Pratt and his mother were interned in a prison camp at Dirédaoua, where he would buy
John Lee Pratt University of Virginia and received a Chemical Engineering Degree in 1902. After beginning his business career with the DuPont Company and, particularly serving with note during World War I in its Washington State plant, Pratt was selected in 1919 by Pierre S. du Pont to work in a corporation newly invested in by du Pont and other significant, wealthy businessmen—General Motors Corporation, which was founded in 1908 by William Durant. Pratt was, in effect, DuPont's man on the inside, initially solely looking out for DuPont's interests. Pratt rose to become a member of the corporation's executive committee and, from the