Billionaire James Packer spotted in Sydney for first time in three years

Gaming billionaire James Packer has touched down in Sydney today via private jet as builders race the clock to complete renovations on his One Barangaroo apartment.

James Packer is back in the Harbour City as workers rush to complete a swish new penthouse apartment for him in Barangaroo.

The billionaire touched down in Sydney on Sunday on a ‘rent-a-jet’ flight from Saudi Arabia, with his ex-wife Erica Packer and their two daughters, Indigo, 14, and Emmanuelle, 10.

The Packer clan were spotted disembarking the jet, along with a trailer load of luggage, ahead of a rumoured 10-day Australian holiday.

This is the gaming magnate’s first return to his hometown after a three-year hiatus.

Mr Packer was last in Australia in January 2020, when Crown’s Barangaroo operation was just a building site.

James Packer back in Australia, after a three-year hiatus from his hometown of Sydney. Picture: Media Mode.

He was last publicly seen in October 2020 when he appeared – on video – at an inquiry investigating Crown’s fitness to hold a ­casino licence in NSW.

Mr Packer admitted making “shameful” threats to a potential buyer of Crown Resorts and also revealed he had sought treatment for a bipolar disorder during bombshell evidence he gave in the hearing.

Mr Packer in 2020. Picture: Aaron Francis

Last year, the NSW Independent Liquor & Gaming Authority granted Crown a conditional licence for the casino at Barangaroo.

Mr Packer, 55, revealed his plans to return to Australia in June of last year, after kicking ‘mood-altering drugs’ and a dramatic 33kg weight loss.

“I’m roughly 130kg now and want to be back to 100kg by the end of 2022. I want to swim with my kids at Bondi when we’re all in Sydney together next year and be 100kg,” he told The Weekend Australian from his home in Mexico.

He also told the publication that he is keen to “rehabilitate his reputation”:

The Packer clan were spotted disembarking the jet, along with a trailer load of luggage, ahead of a rumoured 10-day Australian holiday. Picture: Media Mode.

The billionaire touched down in Sydney on Sunday on a ‘rent-a-jet’ flight from Saudi Arabia, with his ex-wife Erica Packer and their two daughters, Indigo, 14, and Emmanuelle, 10. Picture: Media Mode.

“I have a great family, I inherited a fortune and I’ve lived a full and varied life and met some of the most incredible people in the world,” Mr Packer said.

“I got off all my antidepressants and antipsychotic drugs in March [2022],” he said, adding he had previously been taking numerous mood-altering drugs prescribed to him by his doctors.

Stepping out of the jet in trackies and a black T-shirt, however, Packer appears to have regained some of that weight since he was pictured jogging around the French Riviera last year.

Speaking to local media after the casino group his family has been associated with for decades – Crown Resorts – was sold to American private equity firm Blackstone, the gaming billionaire said he was the happiest he had been “in years”.

The sale gave him and his family a $3.3bn windfall.

This arrival comes as builders are working at a frenetic pace around the to complete renovations at Packer’s uninhabited One Barangaroo apartment.

One of Crown Barangaroo’s sumptuous apartments.

Almost 12 months after renovations began on the lofty two-storey apartment — a consolidation of two apartments located on levels 48 and 49 of the 75-floor skyscraper — every car spot in Packer’s large six-car parking bay is occupied with a workman’s car while other work vehicles park nearby as builders pick up the pace to meet the magnate’s deadline and his exacting standards.

The businessman foresaw the luxury $72m apartment would become a base for himself, his ex-wife Erica and their three children during their infrequent visits home, but it’s unclear if it has been completed in time for their arrival today.

These days they live in a series of mansions and compounds in the US although family matriarch Ros and extended family remain in Sydney and in regional NSW.

He said his former wife, Erica, would decorate the apartment.

“It’s going to be a family apartment that I will use when I’m in Sydney, Erica will use when she’s in Sydney, and our kids will also use when they’re in Sydney,” he said.