James Packer

Early life

James Packer was born in Sydney, the son of philanthropist Roslyn (née Weedon) and media mogul Kerry Packer. His grandfather was the media proprietor Sir Frank Packer. Packer was educated at Cranbrook School in Bellevue Hill, Sydney. After obtaining the Higher School Certificate (HSC) at Cranbrook, he began working at his father's extensive Newcastle Waters cattle station in the Barkly Tableland of the Northern Territory, where he was a jackeroo. Packer has stated he did not attend university as he "didn't have the marks". His mentors, he has said, include his father and corporate executive Albert J. Dunlap.

The fortune

Following the dotcom crash of 2000–2001, Packer acquired stakes in the online classified sites Seek and Carsales.com, believing that newspaper companies relying heavily on classified advertising were vulnerable to online companies in categories including employment and vehicle listings. 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. 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. The deal, initially valued at A$100 million, was eventually worth A$462 million to Packer-controlled entities.

Packer has supported a number of Australian medical institutions such as the Victor Chang Cardiac Research Centre and Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre, and mental wellbeing programs such as Lifeline. 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. 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. The Packer Family Foundation has provided $50 million to support Australia's arts and cultural institutions as well as arts education programs throughout lower socio economic communities. The arts education funding has supported schools throughout areas like Mt Druitt, Liverpool, Campbelltown, Penrith and Blacktown to provide arts, music and literacy programs which support educational outcomes, teachers, and school engagement. Packer and the Packer Family Foundation continue to provide support for mental wellbeing programs. In March 2023, Packer and the Packer Family Foundation gave $6 million to Lifeline International to work towards decriminalizing suicide globally. 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.

Packer first appeared on various wealth lists in 2006, following the death of his father the previous year and the intergeneration transfer of the bulk of Kerry Packer's wealth to his son, James. James Packer's wealth was valued at A$7.25 billion. The 2008 BRW Rich 200 listed Packer as the third-richest person in Australia with a personal wealth of A$6.1 billion, behind Fortescue Metals Group chief executive Andrew Forrest and Westfield Group's Frank Lowy. That was the first time in 21 years that a member of the Packer family

Career

Packer purchased an 18% stake in Network Ten in 2010, quickly offloading half to Lachlan Murdoch. Three months later, after a dispute with Murdoch over a senior management appointment, Packer resigned his Network Ten board seat. There was also speculation that he resigned due to a conflict of interest with his interests in Consolidated Media Holdings. Following the implementation of CBS's restructure of Network Ten announced in August 2017, Packer will no longer have an interest in Network Ten. 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. 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. Packer sold his investment in RatPac for an undisclosed amount in April 2017. 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." 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. In 2022, following the sale of his $3.3 billion stake in Crown Resorts, Packer sought to simplify his investment portfolio concentrating on big tech stocks, AI and property. As at 30 June 2024, Packer holds almost $500 million of Nvidia, $452 million of Meta and $366 million of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company.

Sanctions & controversy

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. 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. 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, jewellery and clothing valued at approximately US$100,000. 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. 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.

Personal life

Packer owns residential property in Bondi Beach and in Bellevue Hill, in Sydney's eastern suburbs. The Packer family also have pastoral property holdings in Scone, called Ellerston Station, and, since 2018, is owned by his sister, Gretel. In March 2025, Packer purchased the “Le Belvedere” property in Bel Air, Los Angeles from real estate developer Mohamed Hadid for US$110 million. Following the breakdown of his first marriage, and the development of a friendship with American actor Tom Cruise, Packer began attending the Church of Scientology in Australia, taking courses on the Church's Dundas business centre in 2002. He subsequently confirmed his involvement with Scientology, saying he had found it "helpful". He later distanced himself from the church. In 2020, during the public inquiry into Crown Casinos, Packer revealed he had bipolar disorder.