JAMES PUTS HEALTH BEFORE BUSINESS
Townsville JAMES Packer has known before the black cloud of depression. But his decision to step away from his treasured gaming business and make his mental health struggle public yesterday was sudden and unexpected.
One of the nation’s richest men, with a fortune estimated at $ 3.8 billion, surprised his closest confidants overnight from the United States with the news he is resigning from the board of gaming giant Crown.
“Mr Packer is suffering from mental health issues. At this time he intends to step back from all commitments,” Mr Packer’s private investment vehicle CPH said a statement yesterday.
A source close to Mr Packer added: “His priority is getting over this, his relationship with his family and his relationship with his kids.”
It is not the first time Mr Packer, 50, has discussed publicly his mental health, saying in a 2013 interview he suffered from depression after the collapse of OneTel cost him $ 380 million.
“I became depressed. I was emotionally exhausted. My marriage ( to former bikini model Jodhi Meares) had broken up. I felt isolated. I felt like a failure. It was not a great time in my life. Sometimes you need time and sometimes you need some new influences in your life.”
Mr Packer, although selling some shares in the company recently, remains Crown’s largest shareholder with a 47 per cent stake.
His board resignation follows a tumultuous few years, personally and professionally, blighted by the jailing in China of 16 Crown employees over illegal casino marketing activities and the messy breakup with singer Mariah Carey, a relationship he has since described as a “mistake”.
Friends say Mr Packer was devastated the welfare of Crown’s employ- ees was in peril in China and carried the burden of responsibility heavily.
His relationship with best man David Gyngell, while on good terms, has never been as close as prior to their ugly punch- up on a Bondi footpath in 2014.
Mr Packer rarely visits Sydney, di- viding his time in the United States between remote Cabo and Aspen and in South America at his polo estate Ellerstina outside the Argentinian capital Buenos Aires, where he marked his 50th birthday last year with just a small group of friends.
His three children with second ex- wife, Erica Packer, live in Los Angeles and they joined Mr Packer for Christmas in Aspen last year.
A decade after their father Kerry died, Mr Packer and his sister Gretel in 2015 entered year- long and “difficult” negotiations to split up his estate. The $ 1.25 billion settlement with Gretel also coincided with a time of great debt stress at Crown.
“Two years ago I was terrified,” Mr Packer said in a rare interview with The Australian in October last year.
“I had $ 2.3 billion of debt at CPH, over $ 3bn of debt at Crown, I’d just appointed Rob ( Rankin as chairman of Crown), Macau was falling over and Gretel was on my doorstep.
“Then a year later, I’ve got China falling apart ( Crown’s staff were arrested in China for gambling crimes), the Australian casino businesses missing budgets by big amounts, I’ve got Mariah breaking up with me and I’m thinking ‘ f.. k’.”
Mr Packer had resigned from Crown’s board in late 2015 but resumed his place a year ago.
Executive chairman of Crown John Alexander said in a statement yesterday: “We have appreciated James’s contribution to the board and respect his decision to step down from his role as a director at this time.”
A source close to Mr Packer said: “He will still be very, very interested in what is happening in Crown.”
Shares in Crown fell 1.8 per cent after the announcement before closing 0.9 per cent lower at $ 12.95.
Mental health awareness organisation Beyondblue said revealing mental health issues could have a positive effect on others who are suffering.
“When anyone, including a highprofile person, is prepared to talk publicly about these matters, it encourages others to have the conversation,” Beyondblue chief Georgie Harman said yesterday.