James Packer
James Packer | |
---|---|
Born | James Douglas Packer 8 September 1967 Cranbrook School |
Occupation(s) | Former executive chairman of Publishing and Broadcasting Limited (PBL), Consolidated Media Holdings and Crown Resorts |
Known for | Packer family |
Spouses | |
Children | 3 |
Parents |
|
James Douglas Packer (born 8 September 1967)
As of May 2023[update], Packer's
In June 2022, the Federal Court approved
Packer has an investment in ADH TV, although the total value is unknown.[8]
Early life and education
James Packer was born in
Packer was educated at
His mentors, he has said, include his father and corporate executive Albert J. Dunlap.[11]
Career
Early internet investments
Following the dotcom crash of 2000–2001, Packer acquired stakes in the online classified sites
Packer purchased a 25% stake in SEEK for A$33 million in August 2003. He sold most of his stake six years later for A$440 million.[12]: 53 [12]: 242 At Packer's urging, the magazine group then controlled by his family, Australian Consolidated Press, acquired a 41% stake in online advertiser Carsales in October 2005.[12]: 101 The deal, initially valued at A$100 million, was eventually worth A$462 million to Packer-controlled entities.[13]
Selling Channel Nine
In March 2006, Packer began discussing whether to sell Channel Nine and the Australian Consolidated Press magazine group to help fund his move into the international gaming and tourism business.
In June 2007, Packer sold another 25% share of the joint-venture PBL Media to CVC for $515 million.[15][16] In October 2008, Packer wrote down his final 25% stake in PBL Media to zero.[12]: 222 By the end of 2012, debt from CVC's acquisition had overwhelmed Channel Nine and US hedge funds ousted CVC, taking complete ownership.[17]
One.Tel
Packer was a director of Australian Telecommunications company One.Tel, which was declared insolvent during May 2001. The collapse of One.Tel cost PBL A$327 million. Packer admitted at a PBL annual general meeting that he had learned "painful lessons" from the collapse of One.Tel. Later at the liquidator's inquiry over the collapse he denied that he was apologising for his own conduct; instead, he claimed, "I was making an apology for accepting the bona fides of Mr. [Jodee] Rich and the executive directors of One.Tel."[18]
In April 2014,
Crown Resorts
Since his father's death, Packer has moved away from the family's traditional media businesses and focused on creating a worldwide gambling empire: Crown Resorts.[citation needed] Crown is one of Australia's largest gambling and resort groups.[citation needed] It has businesses and investments in the integrated resort and casino sectors in Australia and Macau, and wholly owns and operates a high-end casino in London, Crown Aspinall's.[20] In October 2017, Crown's market capitalization was over $8 billion.[21]
On 21 March 2018, Packer resigned as executive chairman of Crown Resorts.[22] In May 2019, Packer sold half of his stake in Crown Resorts to Lawrence Ho.[23][24]
On 6 October 2020, Packer appeared before an independent inquiry into Crown's suitability to hold casino licence in
In February 2022,
Other business activities
Packer purchased an 18% stake in
In late May 2011, Packer made a reported A$80 million investment in daily deals sites Scoopon and Catch of the Day through a partnership between his Consolidated Press Holding and several other investors, including Andrew Bassat, a co-founder of Seek.com.au.[30]
In December 2012, Packer and producer-filmmaker Brett Ratner formed a joint venture, RatPac Entertainment. The first film financed by RatPac was a major success. Gravity, a space thriller directed by Alfonso Cuaron and starring Sandra Bullock and George Clooney, generated the strongest-ever October opening in the US and took box office receipts of more than US$100 million in its first five days.[31] Packer sold his investment in RatPac for an undisclosed amount in April 2017.[32] According to Filmink "Who knows what sort of legacy James Packer is going to leave when he shuffles off this mortal coil, but I maintain the films he helped finance...will stand out among the more positive achievements."[33]
In October 2014, Packer bought out Peter Holmes à Court's 37.5% share of the ownership of South Sydney Rabbitohs NRL club, becoming Russell Crowe's partner in the Blackcourt League Investments Pty Limited venture.[34]
Personal life
Packer owns residential property in Bondi Beach and in Bellevue Hill, in Sydney's eastern suburbs.[35][36] The Packer family also have pastoral property holdings in Scone, called Ellerston Station,[36] and, since 2018, owned by his sister, Gretel.
Following the breakdown of his first marriage, and the development of a friendship with American actor
In 2020, during the public inquiry into Crown Casinos, Packer revealed he had bipolar disorder.[41]
Relationships
Packer and actress Kate Fischer separated in 1998 after five years together and a two-year engagement.[42] Packer married Jodhi Meares at his home in Bellevue Hill, Sydney in October 1999; the relationship lasted two years, and the couple separated in 2002.[43][44]
Packer later married part-time model and singer
Packer and American singer-songwriter Mariah Carey became engaged in January 2016, but had broken up by October.[52][53] At the time it was alleged that the break-up was a result of Carey's extravagant spending and rows over her reality show Mariah's World, but Packer later said that the relationship had just been a "mistake" for both sides.[54] In November 2017, Packer paid Carey a multi-million dollar settlement, in response to a lawsuit pursued by Carey citing an "inconvenience fee".[55]
In 2019, James Packer was dating Kylie Lim.[56]
Controversies
Packer was involved in a public physical brawl at Bondi Beach in 2014 with David Gyngell, a long-term friend and head of Channel Nine. Gyngell and Packer were both fined $500 for offensive behaviour over the incident.[57][58][59][60]
In late 2016, Israeli Police started looking into reports that Packer gave members of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's family gifts and benefits. Packer, who is trying to gain residency in Israel, has taken the first step and registered with Israeli tax authorities.[61][62] In February 2018, Packer was mentioned in an Israeli Police report recommending the prosecution of Netanyahu on corruption charges for accepting bribes, and acting against the interests of the state of Israel. Packer is mentioned in the report to have provided Netanyahu and his family members with champagne, cigars, jewelry and clothing valued at approximately US$100,000.[63]
In March 2019, leaked text messages showed that Kevin Tsujihara had promised auditions and acting jobs to actress Charlotte Kirk in return for sex in September 2013.[64] They also showed that the sex was facilitated by her then friend Packer for his personal influence. In September 2020 her lawyers filed a petition in the Los Angeles Superior Court to vacate a gag order that has kept her mostly silent amid the years-long battle. The petition paints a picture of Tsujihara engaging in non-consensual sex.[65]
Net worth
Packer first appeared on various
In January 2009, The Sunday Telegraph reported that due to ongoing financial problems, Packer's wealth dropped to under A$3 billion; also reporting that Packer listed for sale his Mangusta yacht and delayed the purchase of a Boeing business jet.[71] Yet by mid-2010, it was reported that Packer owned a number of assets including Ellerston Z (a superyacht), Arctic P (a luxury cruise ship and former ice-breaker), a private jet, a 12-seater Sikorsky S-76 helicopter, and a variety of cars.[72]
As of January 2019[update],
Wealth rankings
Year | Rich 200
|
Australia's 40 Richest
| ||
---|---|---|---|---|
Rank | Net worth (A$) | Rank | Net worth (US$) | |
2006[75] | 1 | $7.10 billion | 1 | $5.20 billion |
2007[76][77] | 1 | $7.25 billion | 1 | $5.50 billion |
2008[66][78] | 3 | $6.10 billion | 3 | $5.30 billion |
2009[67][79] | 6 | $3.00 billion | 1 | $3.10 billion |
2010[80][81] | 6 | $4.10 billion | 3 | $3.50 billion |
2011[82][83] | 8 | $4.16 billion | 3 | $4.40 billion |
2012[84][85] | 6 | $5.21 billion | 4 | $4.50 billion |
2013[86][87] | 3 | $6.00 billion | 3 | $6.00 billion |
2014[68][73] | 3 | $7.19 billion | 3 | $6.60 billion |
2015[70][88] | 7 | $6.08 billion | 4 | $4.70 billion |
2016[89][90] | 7 | $5.00 billion | 6 | $3.50 billion |
2017[89][74] | 9 | $4.79 billion | 9 | $3.90 billion |
2018[91] | 10 | $5.50 billion | ||
2019[92][5] | 13 | $4.94 billion | 9 | $3.60 billion |
2020[93] | 13 | $4.69 billion | ||
2021[94] | 15 | $5.72 billion | ||
2022 | 17 | $6.00 billion | ||
2023[3] | 18 | $4.95 billion |
Legend | |
---|---|
Icon | Description |
Has not changed from the previous year | |
Has increased from the previous year | |
Has decreased from the previous year |
Philanthropy
James Packer is the founder of both the Packer Family Foundation and Crown Resorts Foundation. In July 2014, the two foundations launched their A$200 million National Philanthropic Fund, one of Australia's largest philanthropic commitments.[95] According to the two foundations, they are working together to promote Indigenous education opportunities, the arts and culture, and partnerships with organisations that encourage and foster social cohesion. Underlying these priorities are learning, accessibility and engagement outcomes for young Australians – staying engaged with school and learning is the key to long-term positive outcomes, and this is the approach and message that the partner organisations are delivering.[96]
In May 2023, Packer and the Packer Family Foundation jointly donated $7 million to the University of New South Wales for mental health research, with a focus on mood disorders.[97]
See also
References
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- ^ Loewenstein, Anthony (14 February 2018). "How James Packer's gifts helped land the Israeli PM in hot water". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 14 February 2018.
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{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ Siegel, Tatiana (24 September 2020). "Charlotte Kirk, Kevin Tsujihara and a Nonconsensual Sex Allegation That Sparked a Secret Legal Saga". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 16 January 2023.
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- ^ "Crown Resorts". Crown Resorts. Retrieved 26 August 2018.[self-published source?]
- ^ "Crown Resorts And Packer Family Foundations' National Philanthropic Fund" (PDF). crownresorts.com.au. Retrieved 15 February 2019.
- ^ Carroll, Lucy (15 May 2023). "James Packer donates $7 million to UNSW to help expand mental health research". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 17 May 2023.
Bibliography
- ISBN 1-86325-338-6.
- Barry, Paul (2009). Who Wants to Be a Billionaire?. Sydney: Allen & Unwin. ISBN 978-1-74175-974-7.
- Kitney, Damon (2018). The Price of Fortune" The Untold Story of Being James Packer. Sydney, NSW: HarperCollins. ISBN 9781460756690. Retrieved 15 November 2018.
External links
- "Some Inspirational People" Profiled by Laurence MacDonald Muir.
- James Packer media profile