James Douglas Packer (born 8 September, 1967) is an Australian businessman and currently Australia's second richest man.^[1] J. I. Packer James Innell Packer (born July 22, 1926 in Gloucester, England) is a British-born Canadian Christian theologian in the Reformational Anglican tradition. ... For other uses, see 8 (disambiguation). ... For other uses, see September (disambiguation). ... Year 1967 (MCMLXVII) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display full calendar) of the 1967 Gregorian calendar. ... A businessman (sometimes businesswoman, female; or businessperson, gender neutral) is a generic term for a wide range of people engaged in profit-oriented enterprises, generally the management of a company. ...

Packer is the son of the late billionaire media mogul Kerry Packer and grandson of Frank Packer. James Packer is the Executive Chairman of Publishing and Broadcasting Limited (PBL), which owns some stations of the Australian commercial television network Nine. He also inherited the family company, Consolidated Press Holdings Limited, which controls investments in Crown Limited, Consolidated Media Holdings and other companies.^[2] A media proprietor is a person who controls, either through personal ownership or a dominant position in a public company, a significant part of the mass media. ... Kerry Francis Bullmore Packer AC (17 December 1937 – 26 December 2005) was an Australian publishing, media and gaming tycoon. ... Sir Frank Packer (December 3, 1906–May 1, 1974), was an Australian media proprietor who controlled Australian Consolidated Press and the Nine television network. ... Publishing and Broadcasting Limited, or PBL, is one of Australias major media companies. ... The Nine Network, or Channel Nine, is an Australian television network based in Willoughby, a suburb on the North Shore of Sydney. ...

Biography

James was born in Minsk, Belarus, and was educated at the Tudor House School in Moss Vale and at Cranbrook School. After obtaining the Higher School Certificate (HSC) at Cranbrook, Kerry decided it was time to toughen his son up to prepare him for the world of business. He was sent to his father's extensive Newcastle Waters cattle station in the Northern Territory, where he worked as a jackeroo. His father dismissed the idea of sending young James to university by saying "Why would he want to go there [to University]. To go learn to smoke marijuana?"^[3] The Tudor House School, is a private day and boarding, preparatory school for boys in Moss Vale, New South Wales, Australia. ... Moss Vale is the first major town when coming in the Southern Highlands from the South, on the main Southern Railway with direct access to the South Coast via the Illawarra Highway. ... Cranbrook School is located in Bellevue Hill in Sydney, Australia. ... This article is about the New South Wales Higher School Certificate. ... Cattle station is an Australian term for a large farm (Australian ranch), usually in the outback, whose main activity is the raising of cattle. ... For similar terms, see Northern Territories (disambiguation) Slogan or Nickname: The Territory, The NT, The Top End Motto(s): none Other Australian states and territories Capital Darwin Government Constitutional monarchy Administrator Ted Egan Chief Minister Clare Martin (ALP) Federal representation  - House seats 2  - Senate seats 2 Gross Territorial Product (2004... Jackaroo may refer to: Jackaroo, a male trainee Australian stockman Jackaroo, the first novel of the Kingdom series by Cynthia Voigt This is a disambiguation page: a list of articles associated with the same title. ...

Besides his father, his toughest mentor has been Albert J. Dunlap. Dunlap is known in American business circles for shedding massive numbers of company workforces to improve the finances of corporations; his tenure at Sunbeam is a specific example. Albert J. Dunlap: corporate downsizer suspected psychopath. ... Look up sunbeam in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ...

One.Tel

Main article: One.Tel

James Packer was a director of Australian Telecommunications company One.Tel, which was declared insolvent during May 2001. The collapse of One.Tel cost PBL AU$327 million. Packer admitted at a PBL Annual General Meeting that he had learned "painful lessons" from the collapse of One.Tel. Later at the liquidator's inquiry over the collapse he denied that he was apologising for his own personal conduct; instead he claimed, "I was making an apology for accepting the bona fides of Mr. Rich and a Mr. Heaney, and the executive directors of One.Tel." One. ... This article is about the year. ... In law, a liquidator is the officer appointed when a company goes into winding-up or liquidation who has responsibility for collecting in all of the assets of the company and settling all claims against the company before putting the company into dissolution. ... Jodee Rich was a co-founder of the company One. ...

Current interests

Since his father's death, James has moved away from the family's traditional media businesses, and focused on creating a worldwide gambling empire. The purchase of the Burswood Entertainment Complex in Perth, Australia adds to PBL's gaming business. James now wishes to add further gaming assets in Macau, in partnership with Lawrence Ho. He is also teaming up with Damian Aspinall, son of John Aspinall, in creating a group of casino complexes in Great Britain called Aspers. He already has a stake in casinos in London's West End, Swansea, and Newcastle.^{[citation needed]} Unfortunately for Packer, his bid for a UK "supercasino" based in Cardiff fell through when only one licence was granted to the northern city of Manchester.^[4] PBL also owns 50% of the online gambling company Betfair. Packer also owns Melbourne's Crown Casino, Australia's largest casino. Packer reportedly toyed with the idea of building a competing website to Wikipedia, however when Jimmy Wales was in Sydney in April, he scoffed at the idea^{[citation needed]}. Burswood Resort and Casino The Burswood Entertainment Complex ( ) is located on the Swan River some five minutes from the city of Perth, Western Australia, and is owned by the gaming and media conglomerate PBL. The Complex includes a 24hr Casino, seven restaurants, seven bars, a multi-storey nightclub, two international... People called John Aspinall include: John Aspinall, zoo owner John Aspinall, engineer This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists other pages that might otherwise share the same title. ... Betfair Logo Betfair is the worlds largest Internet betting exchange. ... Wikipedia (IPA: , or ( ) is a multilingual, web-based, free content encyclopedia project, operated by the Wikimedia Foundation, a non-profit organization. ... Jimmy Donal Jimbo Wales, (born August 7, 1966)[2] is an American Internet entrepreneur best known for his role in founding Wikipedia, as well as other wiki-related projects, including the charitable organization Wikimedia Foundation, and the for-profit company Wikia, Inc. ...

Wealth

James Packer was reportedly worth over AUD$7.1 billion, however due to falling profits, a television report on Thursday 21st June 2007, revealed that Mr Packer has lost over $1 billion over the last six months. It was also revealed that due to this loss he is now Australia's second richest man.

He recently purchased a new Canadair Global Express for $40 million and spent a similar amount on the first ever Mangusta 167 motor cruiser. Whilst waiting on delivery of the Mangusta 167, he has been loaned a Mangusta 108.^{[citation needed]}

Personal life

Packer is married to model and singer Erica Baxter^[5], whom he wedded in the equivalent of a civil ceremony on June 20, 2007 after dating on and off for four years. The wedding was at the Antibes town hall, and the second ceremony took place at Hotel du Cap - Eden Roc in Cap d'Antibes on the French Rivera. ^{[6] [7]} They are currently expecting their first child who will be born in June. ^[8] Erica Baxter is an Australian singer and model. ... Antibes (Provençal Occitan: Antíbol in classical norm or Antibo in Mistralian norm) is a resort town of southeastern France, on the Mediterranean Sea in the Côte dAzur, located between Cannes and Nice. ... The Promenade des Anglais in Nice on the French Riviera at night. ...

Packer's past girlfriends have included Tania Bryer and Joan Severance. After breaking off a two year engagement to Kate Fischer, in October 1999, he married swimsuit model Jodhi Meares with whom he separated in June 2002. He currently resides in the plush suburb of Bellevue Hill, in Sydney's luxurious Eastern Suburbs. He lives in the same estate (known as Packer Estate) that his late grandfather, Frank Packer, did. At the centre of this estate is the "Cairnton" mansion. Kate Fischer, Australian model and actress, one of the stars of the movie Sirens. ... Events of 2008: (EMILY) Me Lesley and MIley are going to China! This article is about the year. ... Jodhi Meares is an Australian fashion designer, former model and ex-wife of Australias richest man James Packer (she was known for a time as Jodhi Packer). ... Bellevue Hill is a suburb in Sydney, Australias Eastern Suburbs. ...

Scientology

In 2002, Packer began attending the Church of Scientology in Australia, taking courses on the Church's Dundas business center. It was reported in the Australian media that Tom Cruise had pressured Packer to join Scientology and begin auditing sessions. The Sydney Morning Herald said "the bond between the two men strengthened in the wake of the collapse of the telephone company One.Tel last year and his separation from wife Jodhi in June". During this time, Packer travelled extensively to the Scientology Celebrity Centre in Los Angeles.^[9][10] It has been reported by the Australian Daily Telegraph that Packer was an extra in Cruise's film The Last Samurai.^[11] According to The Sydney Morning Herald, Packer is no longer taking courses and has distanced himself from the Church of Scientology.^[12] Scientology has been in Australia since the mid 1950s. ... Dundas is a suburb of Sydney in the Parramatta City Council Local Government Area. ... Tom Cruise (born Thomas Cruise Mapother IV on July 3, 1962) is an Academy Award-nominated, Golden Globe Award-winning American actor and film producer. ... ... Celebrity Centres are Church of Scientology centers that are open to the public but serve mostly artists and celebrities and other professionals, leaders and promising new-comers in the fields of the arts, sports, management and government, and for those are the people who are sculpting the present into the... The Daily Telegraph is a tabloid newspaper published in Sydney, New South Wales, by Nationwide News, part of News Corporation. ... In drama, an extra is a performer in a film, television show, or stage production who has no role or purpose other than to appear in the background (for example, in an audience or busy street scene). ... The Last Samurai is an action/drama film written by John Logan and Edward Zwick & Marshall Herskovitz based on a story by Logan. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ...

Notes

2008 (MMVIII) is the current year, a leap year that started on Tuesday of the Anno Domini (or common era), in accordance to the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 130th day of the year (131st in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... 2008 (MMVIII) is the current year, a leap year that started on Tuesday of the Anno Domini (or common era), in accordance to the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 129th day of the year (130th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ...

References

• Paul Barry, Rich Kids, Bantam Books, 2002, ISBN 1-86325-338-6

Paul Barry reporting for Four Corners in 1993 Paul Barry (1952 - ) is a British-born, Australian-based journalist, who has won many awards for his investigative reporting. ...

External links

Scientology Portal

• Packer/Baxter wedding in Antibes
• James Packer's $6m wedding
• "Apprentice emerges to become master of an empire"
• Tom Cruise "Grooming his successor?"