James Packer
Australian businessman and investor in Crown Resorts
Latest Stories
Media
Packer’s verdict on Nine: Costello is a dud
Following a torrid fortnight at Nine, James Packer – whose family history will forever be linked to the media giant – has taken a swipe at chairman Peter Costello.
Margin Call
Packer’s Nvidia nirvana as he piles into property
James Packer’s deals in property are piling up by the week, with the latest play at a developing precinct in the shadow of Melbourne’s West Gate Bridge.
Margin Call
Packer dumps stake in Ten’s US parent
James Packer has sold his entire stake in Paramount Global, which owns Australia’s Ten Network.
Companies
‘In for the long haul’: Crown’s Wall Street owner vows
Turning the ship around at the casino was always expected to be measured in years, says its new $US1 trillion owner Blackstone.
Property
Packer forges into Sydney’s building scene
The billionaire is putting his stamp on developments across the city and is backing the top end of the residential market.
Margin Call
Packer’s hot property in Toorak
James Packer’s pivot to property development will pump some of the billionaire’s hard earned into the salubrious Melbourne suburb of Toorak.
Technology
GoCatch vs Uber: Rideshare’s battle of the decade
A showdown is under way in a Supreme Court where allegations of hacking and corporate espionage have been aired. Uber’s defence? Its rival would have failed, regardless.
Legal Affairs
Uber admits it used spyware against GoCatch
Uber admits it used spyware against a competitor but denies the way in which it obtained contact details its drivers resembles a break and enter.
Technology
‘Hackings and espionage’: What Uber’s secret emails show
A now defunct rideshare business which once landed backing from James Packer has exposed internal Uber emails where executives shared their plans to ‘crush’ Australian rivals.
Retail
Wipe out: Tigerlily collapses for a second time
It had Kerry and James Packer at its launch and model Kristy Hinze famously wore a diamond-encrusted bikini with a diamond python around her neck, now Tigerlily has collapsed for a second time.
Margin Call
Packer bets the house always wins
James Packer’s metamorphosis into property developer has continued with news he and his co-investors want to spend $32m on a new residential precinct in Melbourne’s east.
Technology
Australian investors surf $16bn Nvidia wave as value soars
Billionaire James Packer is among those holding almost $16bn worth of shares in the $2 trillion AI chipmaker. Find out who else has taken a big punt.
Margin Call
Packer vs. planners: $100m developments headed to VCAT
Who is David and who is Goliath in this battle of titans between the City of Greater Geelong and James Packer and his wealthy associates?
Margin Call
James Packer bets billions on US tech stocks
The billionaire’s headlong dive into tech and the sudden reshaping of his portfolio has seen about a quarter of his wealth moved from 24 companies to just three listed companies.
Wealth
Packer recruits new boss for CPH
James Packer is looking to be a passive investor in his post-Crown days and has hired well-connected Sydney adviser Lawrence Myers to run his family office CPH Group.
Trading Day
ASX dips; Packer names new right-hand-man
ASX falls, staves off US-level losses. James Packer names Lawrence Myers new CEO of CPH. Liontown flags legal challenge at Kathleen Valley. Pacific Smiles shares rise after rejecting Genesis bid.
Margin Call
Oh, to have friends in high places
Unsurprisingly, it pays to be close to James Packer, as proved by right-hand-man Ben Tilley’s luxury 51st floor apartment in Sydney’s Crown Residences — above Packer on floors 48-49.
Business
Winning bet: Packer’s $5bn Crown coup
By selling Crown at exactly the right time and at a spectacularly high price, James Packer has ‘made’ at least $5bn and possibly as much as $7bn.
Margin Call
Rabbitohs now worth a hefty $46m
The James Packer, Russell Crowe and Mike Cannon-Brookes-owned South Sydney Rabbitohs have a new valuation for their rugby league club of almost $46m.
Business
Packer’s worth half a billion dollars more
Billionaire James Packer is still thought of by many as a casino king but he sold out of Crown Resorts in 2022 and now has investments in property, shares and football teams.
Margin Call
Debt-averse Packer fires up finance vehicle
He’s long been averse to borrowing money and billionaire James Packer was terrified by the size of debt he once accumulated, so why has he cooked up a new finance vehicle?
Margin Call
PwC now hot on Scale founder’s tail
PwC and global law firm Sidley Austin have been added to the list of creditors seeking payment from Scale and its chief scoundrel David Collard.
Margin Call
Packer business bromance with finance man over
Theo Onisforou used to advise Kerry Packer and since 1994 has had a business association with scion James. But apparently that’s all come to and end – and not entirely amicably.
Property
Surf’s up: Packer backs new-wave Manly development
The latest addition to Sydney’s beachside apartment scene by developer Tim Price will eschew chandeliers for surf board racks and comes with the financial backing of tycoon James Packer.
Companies
Crown bets the house on $13m gambling reform package
As the company formerly backed by James Packer fights to keep its casino licences, it has unveiled its own gambling reforms aimed at re-establishing its reputation as a resort destination.
Margin Call
Packer and pals answer the Balwyn call
Glam rockers Skyhooks sang of Balwyn Calling and, while that was about a one-night stand, apparently James Packer is invested in a strong relationship with the suburb of the same name.
Companies
Crown Resorts cops $20m fine over unpaid taxes
The latest fine takes the total penalties that Victoria’s new gaming regulator has issued Crown to $250m as it cleans up after the state’s royal commission into the group.
NewsWire
‘No secret’: Packer’s $7m gift
Billionaire James Packer has made a multimillion-dollar donation to a cause that’s very close to his heart.
Higher Education
Packer’s $7m for mental health unit
James Packer, who has struggled with bipolar disorder, is giving $7m to the University of NSW to boost mental health research.
Margin Call
Curious homecoming for old Packer family favourite
Why is James Packer going out of his way to return one of his most healthy-looking entities from Barbados to tax-heavy Sydney?
Margin Call
Cracks starting to show for tiles supremo
It’s a delicate time for home building companies and Frank Walker’s National Tiles could be sweating on a fast-closing deadline for its $33m borrowings from NAB.
Margin Call
Hands-off trust part of the new game for Packer
Billionaire James Packer has removed all directorial oversight from first wife Jodhi Meares’ company, The Upside Corp – signalling growing trust in a more streamlined empire.
Nation
Packer returns to home town
The billionaire mogul has been photographed touching down in Sydney for the first time in three years.
Margin Call
James Packer’s new push into real estate
The billionaire is trying his hand at apartment development in Sydney’s Potts Point – at the ‘Paris end’ of Macleay St, as locals describe it.
Margin Call
Charlton lifts the veil further on wife’s interests
The Labor MP, who owns so many properties he scribbled down the wrong address on his electoral paperwork, has been conspicuously quiet about his wife’s direct interests — until now.
Companies
Crown says its money laundering program was compliant
The casino group, formerly backed by James Packer, has released its legal response to the lawsuit Austrac launched last March.
Margin Call
Packer’s $72m digs ‘like an episode of The Block’
James Packer’s imminent arrival at his Barangaroo penthouse has workers frantically cracking on to get the fit-out finished.
Margin Call
Corporate Australia digs deep for our politicians
Nothing like a massive dump of political disclosures to measure corporate Australia’s appetite for flicking cash at the major parties.
Business
Post-Crown Packer hunts place to invest as CPH falters
The billionaire is scouring the world for investment opportunities but is not finding it easy to hold assets that are appreciating in value.
Companies
Crown fined $120m for flouting gambling obligations
The casino group, formerly backed by James Packer, has been hit with two fines totalling $120m for failing to honour its responsible gambling commitments over a 12-year period.
Margin Call
Packer’s praise for ‘misunderstood’ Saudi prince
James Packer could cause some to squirm after declaring Mohammed bin Salman deserves ‘some credit’ for his achievements.
Business
Packer, Baird and O’Farrell face Barangaroo inquiry call
The former premiers and billionaire, along with ex-PM Paul Keating, have been asked to appear at NSW parliamentary hearings into the development of the precinct.
DataRoom
Packer helps MA Financial hit deal fee record
The Australian corporate advisory firm sees a solid transaction pipeline after benefiting from billionaire James Packer’s Crown Resorts interests.
Margin Call
Packer’s cash splash on townhouses
When you have $3.3bn burning a hole in your pocket you have to search far and wide for investment opportunities.
Nation
Packer: Costello called treasurer on my behalf
Peter Costello ‘made an important call’ to the then Victorian treasurer on behalf of James Packer in 2014, the businessman alleges.
NewsWire
Nine executive’s explosive Packer email
An SMH executive has sent an extraordinary staff email in response to claims from James Packer, following leaked emails involving Nine’s prime time TV presenters.
Media
Nine hits back at Packer emails
The company’s publishing boss says “mental health sensitivities” made him reluctant to respond to the billionaire’s claim that Peter Costello acted as his “secret lobbyist”.
Business
Packer: ‘I paid Costello $300k to be secret lobbyist’
Peter Costello acted as an undisclosed Crown lobbyist working for James Packer, the billionaire alleges in private correspondence with the former treasurer.
Business
Showtime: Crown opens Sydney casino, targets high rollers
Sydney’s VIP-only casino is finally opening – more than a decade after James Packer dreamt up the idea over lunch with former NSW premier Barry O’Farrell at Alan Jones’s house.
Companies
Crown to open Barangaroo gaming floor on August 8
The gaming giant, which recently cut ties with James Packer, taps into China’s lucky day with plans to finally open its gaming floor at its new $2.2bn casino in Barangaroo on August 8.
NewsWire
Sad downfall of James Packer’s ex
An ex-model and former fiancee of billionaire James Packer has broken down after revealing her daily financial struggles.
Business
Betting on a casino future with no Packer or ‘whales’
With no James Packer or Chinese high rollers, the big question is whether Australian casinos can build their futures on local punters in an ever-more digital age.
NewsWire
Inside Tziporah’s explicit online rant
An ex-model and former fiancée of billionaire James Packer has learned her fate after making expletive-laden social media posts.
Companies
Blackstone’s ‘aggressive funding mix’ weakens Crown
Just days after James Packer cut ties with Crown, S&P Global Ratings warns of ‘uncertainty regarding the gaming group’s capital structure, funding mix, and financial policies’.
Margin Call
Packer’s men in exodus from Ellerston board
The ties that bind James Packer to his long-trusted lieutenants run deep and are difficult to break.
Margin Call
A $3.3bn quandary for Packer
The billionaire has recruited long-time lieutenant Guy Jalland and ex-Magellan Financial stockpicker Hamish Douglass to sit on his family company’s new investment committee.
Business
James Packer: ‘I’ve made too many mistakes’
Dropping seven mood-altering drugs – and a significant amount of weight – James Packer wants to return to public life.
Business
Crown gets licence ‘under tight rein’
James Packer’s dream of opening a new casino in Sydney, worth these days around $2.2bn, will soon be a reality just as the billionaire sells Crown Resorts.
Companies
States give green light to Blackstone-Crown deal
Blackstone has moved one step closer to ownership of the James Packer-backed Crown after the Victorian and NSW gaming regulators approved its $8.9bn takeover.
Companies
Cashed out Packer’s new private life
The Packer name and influence is unlikely to be meaningfully involved in Australian corporate life for a very long time.
Business
Final hurdle for Packer’s $3.3bn Crown sale payday
Most shareholders, including Crown’s biggest investor James Packer, backed Blackstone’s $8.9bn takeover, despite gaming regulators not yet approving the deal.
Property
Parliament lifts lid on Barangaroo view blue
A flying visit by billionaire James Packer helped spur the top echelons of NSW’s Baird administration into action on Barangaroo and shaped the precinct’s planning.
Business
Blackstone, Crown delay $8.9 takeover deal
The private equity firm was hoping for an accelerated turnaround in its bid to acquire the James Packer-backed casino group.
Margin Call
AFL’s tight defence on cyber risks
If ever nefarious actors try to take a peek under the hood of the Australian Football League, boss Gillon McLachlan and chair Richard Goyder have it covered.
Companies
Crown faces $100m fine over Union Pay cards
Crown Resorts is facing another blockbuster fine, which could derail its $8.9bn takeover and a $3.3bn payday for major shareholder James Packer.
Business
Blackstone could score extra $1.5bn from Crown deal
US private equity giant Blackstone has strong form with casino sales and leasebacks, with Grant Samuel revealing how much it could make from Crown Resorts.
Companies
Budget banks Crown’s Austrac fines
The budget has banked potential windfall fines set to be levied against Crown Resorts after the gaming giant was hit with Austrac charges after alleged anti-money laundering failures.
Business
Final hurdles to clear before Packer’s $3.3bn payday
The Packer family’s long-time links to Crown Resorts are closer to ending after no objections were raised to Blackstone’s $8.9bn takeover of the group.
Nation
Crown ‘unfit’ to hold Perth casino licence
The James Packer-backed gaming group has two years to get its Perth casino into order after the WA Royal Commission found it was not suitable to hold the state’s gaming licence.
Margin Call
Mark McInnes raises eyebrows with return home
The former CEO of Premier Investments is back and is wasting no time settling back into business, while Austrac boss Nicole Rose negotiates with James Packer.
Business
Star’s directors must go, as Crown’s did
The directors of Star Entertainment must go following revelations at royal commission-like inquiry, similar to the clear out at James Packer’s Crown Resorts.
Companies
Austrac sting is Crown’s final blow
Will another blockbuster case by the financial crimes regulator be enough to derail the $8.9bn Blackstone bid?
Business
Austrac could derail Crown bid: 500 ‘breaches’
James Packer’s Crown Resorts faces a blockbuster fine from the financial crimes watchdog, in a move that threatens its $8.9bn takeover from Blackstone.
NewsWire
Casino mega-merger all but snuffed out
A merger between two of Australia’s most powerful gambling companies looks increasingly unlikely after a comment made during an earnings call on Thursday.
Companies
No deal: Crown keeps dividend suspension as losses deepen
Steve McCann says Crown has turned a corner after battling Covid shutdowns and border bans but uncertainly continues to shroud the James Packer-backed company.
Margin Call
Rankin in sights of ASIC probe
The Australian Securities & Investments Commission is formally investigating the conduct of former James Packer right-hand-man Robert Rankin during his time as chairman of Crown Resorts.
Business
End of a colourful era in corporate history
The sale of Crown Resorts closes a chapter of history that could vie with the best yarns from the late 80s and early 90s of Bond, Elliott and Kerry Packer.
Business
What Packer will do with his $3bn
When James Packer gets his cheque for $3bn-plus his investment focus will most likely be in some area of tech because it will reward the same skillset that took him so successfully into gaming.
Companies
Packer’s new challenge: how to stop boredom
James Packer has no desire to run an operational business again and would rather invest his billions with experts. But how does he stop boredom becoming a permanent feature of his existence?
NewsWire
Packer’s $3.2b payday from Crown sale
Reclusive billionaire James Packer now has an easy exit from Crown Resorts and will walk away $3.2bn richer if a takeover offer succeeds.
Companies
$3.28bn Packer payday as Crown accepts Blackstone bid
The Packer family’s decades-long ties to Crown Resorts are set to end after the company agreed to sell its casinos in Melbourne, Sydney and Perth to Blackstone.
Margin Call
Packer pack slumming it in new digs
While Crown shareholder James Packer awaits a binding offer from Blackstone for the troubled casino operator, the billionaire’s ever loyal lieutenants have been far from idle.
Companies
Packer’s Crown influence ‘extinct’
James Packer’s legal team has made a final plea to the royal commission into Crown Resorts’ Perth casino in a bid to avoid the introduction of a cap on shareholdings.
Business Breaking News
Packer lawyer’s extraordinary backflip
James Packer’s barrister has taken aim at a royal commissioner’s call to slash his stake in Crown, but conceded a challenge would be virtually impossible.
DataRoom
Blackstone unlikely to face opposition for Crown
Macquarie analysts believe that Star Entertainment will not come forward with a compelling offer for Crown that will trump what is already on the table from Blackstone.
Companies
Packer encouraged by Blackstone bid increase
James Packer’s private company, Consolidated Press Holdings, says it is encouraged by the higher $8.9bn Blackstone bid for Crown Resorts.
Business Breaking News
Packer’s way out of embattled Crown
Crown shareholders including reclusive billionaire James Packer may finally have a way to get out of the beleaguered casino operator.
DataRoom
Star bid for Crown expected
Star Entertainment is expected to emerge with a rival bid for Crown Resorts in February, with other suitors possibly waiting in the wings.
Nation
Vision for Packer’s city legacy
James Packer’s punt on the Barangaroo complex could pay off even if he exits Crown Resorts.
Companies
Crown spruiks Sydney potential as Blackstone looms
Crown Resorts has put its best foot forward to US private equity giant Blackstone with the embattled gaming group saying its performance is getting back on track.
Companies
Packer earns $500m as tech investor
The billionaire’s private investment company returned to profit this year, thanks to buying and trading technology stocks as well as an uplift in his Crown shares.
Companies
Blackstone presses Packer on the Crown bid
Blackstone has begun direct discussions with James Packer’s Consolidated Press Holdings – Crown Resorts’ largest shareholder – to back a $8.5bn takeover bid.
Companies
Crown push to open amid bid
Officials from the NSW regulator met with Crown Resorts on Monday as the James Packer-backed casino operator pushes to re-open its shuttered Sydney gaming floor.
Business
It will be the end of an era when Packer cashes in his chips
More than 50 years of Packer history will reach its end point when James Packer sells out of Crown Resorts.
Companies
Crown takeover deal all over bar the shouting
I suggest the die is now cast; that ownership of the Crown casino group will pass to Blackstone. It’s in everyone’s interest that it does and it will, relatively smoothly.
NewsWire
Fresh $8.5bn bid for Packer’s Crown
US private equity giant Blackstone is back at the bargaining table with a fresh takeover offer for James Packer’s troubled casino company Crown.
NRL
Cannon-Brookes buys in to Rabbitohs dream
Atlassian co-founder Mike Cannon-Brookes has signed on as co-owner of the South Sydney Rabbitohs with Russell Crowe and James Packer.
Business
‘Lack of physiological safety’ for Crown Perth Staff
A cultural review of Crown Resorts has revealed a large number of employees at its Perth casino fear they will be penalised for raising concerns.
DataRoom
Blackstone quits tilt at Crown
Blackstone is understood to have walked away from James Packer-backed casino operator Crown Resorts.
Leadership
Independence of casinos ‘a problem’ for Crown
Crown Resort interim chairman Jane Halton says she is struggling with some recommendations of a recent royal commission into the casino group.