34 Facts About James Packer

James Douglas Packer was born on 8 September 1967 and is an Australian billionaire businessman and investor.

James Packer inherited control of the family company, Consolidated Press Holdings Limited, as well as investments in Crown Resorts and other companies.

James Packer is the former executive chairman of Publishing and Broadcasting Limited and Consolidated Media Holdings, which predominantly owned media interests across a range of platforms, and a former executive chairman of Crown Resorts.

James Packer was born in Sydney, the son of philanthropist Roslyn and media mogul Kerry Packer.

James Packer's grandfather was the media proprietor Sir Frank Packer.

James Packer was educated at Cranbrook School in Bellevue Hill, Sydney.

James Packer has stated he did not attend university as he "didn't have the marks".

In March 2006, James 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.

James Packer admitted at a PBL annual general meeting that he had learned "painful lessons" from the collapse of One.

The settlement was approved by the Supreme Court of New South Wales on 17 April 2014, with A$14.93 million to be paid by the James Packer family's Consolidated Press Holdings, A$11.77 million to be paid by James Packer's Crown Resorts and A$13.3 million to be paid by News Corp.

On 21 March 2018, James Packer resigned as executive chairman of Crown Resorts.

In May 2019, James Packer sold half of his stake in Crown Resorts to Lawrence Ho.

On 6 October 2020, James Packer appeared before an independent inquiry into Crown's suitability to hold casino licence in NSW.

When questioned over impropriety, illegality and corruption, James Packer admitted that while a director of Crown he made "shameful" and "disgraceful" threats against businessman Ben Gray.

Three months later, after a dispute with Murdoch over a senior management appointment, James Packer resigned his Network Ten board seat.

James Packer sold his investment in RatPac for an undisclosed amount in April 2017.

James Packer owns residential property in Bondi Beach and in Bellevue Hill, in Sydney's eastern suburbs.

The James Packer family have pastoral property holdings in Scone, called Ellerston Station, and, since 2018, owned by his sister, Gretel.

James Packer subsequently confirmed his involvement with Scientology, saying he had found it "helpful".

In 2020, during the public inquiry into Crown Casinos, James Packer revealed he had bipolar disorder.

James 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.

James Packer later married part-time model and singer Erica Baxter, whom he wed in the equivalent of a civil ceremony on 20 June 2007.

Together, James Packer and Baxter have three children: daughter Indigo, born 27 July 2008, son Jackson Lloyd, born 1 February 2010, and daughter Emmanuelle Sheelah, born 22 September 2012.

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 James Packer later said that the relationship had just been a "mistake" for both sides.

In November 2017, James Packer paid Carey a multi-million dollar settlement, in response to a lawsuit pursued by Carey citing an "inconvenience fee".

James 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 James Packer were both fined $500 for offensive behaviour over the incident.

In late 2016, Israeli Police started looking into reports that James Packer gave members of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's family gifts and benefits.

James Packer, who is trying to gain residency in Israel, has taken the first step and registered with Israeli tax authorities.

In February 2018, James 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.

James 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.

That was the first time in 21 years that a member of the James Packer family had not topped the list.

Yet by mid-2010, it was reported that James Packer owned a number of assets including Ellerston Z, Arctic P, a private jet, a 12-seater Sikorsky S-76 helicopter, and a variety of cars.

James Packer is the founder of both the Packer Family Foundation and Crown Resorts Foundation.