James Packer and sister Gretel end feud over Ellerston
THE bitter feud between two of Australia’s wealthiest siblings has come to an end after James Packer extended a $90 million olive branch to his sister, Gretel.
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JAMES Packer has reportedly ended his feud with his sister, Gretel, with a $90 million peace offering.
The Australian reports that Mr Packer has signed over control of the family’s polo estate, Ellerston, detailed in a new biography The Price of Fortune: The Untold Story of Being James Packer.
Things between Mr Packer and his sister became strained in 2015 when she hired lawyers to divide up the family fortune, angering her billionaire brother.
In September 2015 they agreed that Gretel would received $1.25 billion and a lump sum of $200 million, as well as smaller cash payments over time, in a deal negotiated with the help of the Packers’ school friend, Will Vicars.
“Ellerston is a painful subject for me. Gretel has exclusive rights to it now and in the future will own it 100 per cent. It is where my father is buried. Will (Vicars) and Gretel won it from me,” Mr Packer said, according to The Australian. “Even though we have a framework arrangement that spans many years, I separately arranged, without obligation, to make funds available to Gretel and her children early. To do that put me under financial pressure.”
“I accept at times my words were unforgivable to Gretel and Will. I hope my actions were better than my words,” he said. “I can understand my sister wanting to be bought out. I can understand my sister saying, ‘James, Will Vicars is going to be a better custodian of my money than you.’ I just wish we had all done it better, and I certainly take my share of the blame for that.”
“My sister and I have made up. I want to thank David Gonski, Matthew Grounds and my mother for helping both Gretel and I make peace. I’m so happy. I love my sister,” Mr Packer said.
Ms Packer said she was proud of her brother.
“I love my brother very much and am very happy that he and I have been able to negotiate this settlement,” she said. “I don’t think there was ever going to be an ‘easy’ time for us to do this and it was always, more likely than not, going to be difficult. The short-term easier option would have been to leave it for our six children to work out … and that would have been unfair to them and lazy of us.
“The fact that we didn’t take that route is something I think we should both be proud of,” she said.
To read more visit The Australian