In Australia, billionaire businessman, James Packer (pictured), has reportedly resigned his seat on the board of Consolidated Press Holdings Proprietary Limited as he continues to seek treatment for ‘mental health issues.’
According to a Sunday report from the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, Packer holds a 47% stake in local casino operator, Crown Resorts Limited, said to be worth approximately $3 billion but stepped down from the firm’s board in March to leave Sydney-headquartered Consolidated Press Holdings Proprietary Limited in sole control of his interests in this and several other businesses.
The broadcaster described Consolidated Press Holdings Proprietary Limited as an investment vehicle that now controls the entrepreneur’s stake in the local operator, which is responsible for casinos in Melbourne, Perth and Sydney, along with up to $5.1 billion of the Packer family’s fortune.
“There are responsibilities that come with being a director and James Packer is offshore, he’s seeking help and clearly he’s putting all of his effort into his health and so he’s withdrawn from all commercial interests, both public and private,” senior Consolidated Press Holdings Proprietary Limited shareholder Stephen Mayne reportedly told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.
Packer only re-joined the board of Crown Resorts Limited in January of 2017 after having left 13 month earlier in order to concentrate on the firm’s planned developments in Las Vegas and its home city of Melbourne. However, the casino operator has since been forced to pull the plug on its Nevada investment while December saw the 50-year-old voluntarily agree to be interviewed by Australian Federal Police as part of an investigation into bribery allegations levied against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
“James Packer’s interests will still be looked after by trusted lieutenants, he just won’t be directly on the board and calling the shots as a director,” Mayne reportedly told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.
In detailing the billionaire casino magnate’s recent tumultuous personal life, The Australian newspaper reported that Packer had split with his wife of six years, Erica, in September of 2013 before being photographed by paparazzi eight months later publicly brawling with close friend David Gyngell. He purportedly closed out 2015 by agreeing a multi-million-dollar settlement with older sister, Gretel, regarding their late father’s estate before the following October saw him call off his nine-month engagement with American singer, Mariah Carey.
“I’ve got China falling apart, the Australian casino businesses missing budgets by big amounts, I’ve got Mariah breaking up with me and I’m thinking, ‘F**k’,” Packer reportedly told The Australian in a late-2017 interview.