James Packer hospitalised after shock cardiac health scare

Billionaire James Packer spent two weeks in hospital following a serious cardiac episode that echoes his father's famous heart attack.

Billionaire James Packer is recovering after suffering a serious cardiac episode.

On Thursday a representative for the businessman-investor confirmed Packer had a heart scare in May that saw him hospitalised.

The representative said Packer was admitted to Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Centre and spent two weeks under the care of top doctors.

He is now resting up at his sprawling and private Argentina polo ranch La Ellerstina where he has been joined by his ex-wife Erica and their three teenage children, Indigo, 17, Jackson, 15, and Emmanuelle, 13.

Billionaire businessman James Packer is recovering after suffering a serious cardiac episode. Picture: Jeff Rayner/Coleman-Rayner

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The 58-year-old, who plans to remain in Argentina until December, is said to be focused on his recovery, walking more and dieting to lose weight.

The Argentina property holds a special place in Packer’s heart as a cherished retreat for he and his children who these days live in London with their mother.

Heart disease has stalked the Packers for four generations.

The billionaire’s father Kerry famously survived a massive heart attack in 1990 while playing polo at Warwick Farm Racecourse.

He was 53 at the time and according to reports had been receiving ongoing treatment at Sydney’s St Vincent’s Hospital for a heart condition.

His only son James, then 23, was on the polo field that day and rushed to his father’s side when he saw the imposing media magnate clutch his chest and slump over on his horse.

James Packer’s ex-wife Erica and their three teenage children Indigo, Jackson, and Emmanuelle, have joined him in Argentina while he recovers. Picture: Michael Tran/FilmMagic

Packer is recuperating at his sprawling and private polo ranch La Ellerstina near Buenos Aires.

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Kerry survived after medics from a passing ambulance worked on him administering cardiac massage and mouth-to-mouth resuscitation until paramedics arrived with a portable defibrillator, which were not standard in ambulances in 1990.

Afterwards Kerry famously made a $2.5 million donation to the NSW Ambulance Service after calling NSW Premier Nick Greiner and putting to him a proposal.

“I’ll make you a deal, I’m told it costs about $5 million to put one in every ambulance, I’ll go you halves,” Greiner later recalled Packer saying.

The philanthropic gesture resulted in the devices, soon colloquially dubbed the “Packer Whacker”, being placed in ambulances.

Kerry would live another 15 years before submitting to kidney failure in 2005 at 68.

His older brother and only sibling Clyde died in 2001 of heart and lung disease, at 65.

James’ father Kerry Packer famously survived a massive heart attack in 1990 while playing polo at Warwick Farm Racecourse in Sydney’s south west.

In September 2024, James Packer appeared on Channel 7’s Spotlight where he opened up about his mental health and private struggles. Picture: Channel 7.

The pair’s grandfather, Tasmanian-born journalist Robert Clyde Packer, had been 54 when he died in 1934 of arteriosclerosis following a trip to England to seek treatment for the condition.

His son and heir, Sir Frank, grandfather of James Packer, would buck the trend and die of cancer in 1974 aged 68 however his wife Gretel, James’ grandmother also battled heart disease which claimed her in 1960 at Minnesota’s Mayo Clinic at age 53.

Last year James Packer opened up about his health battles, among them depression and bipolar disorder, in an interview on Channel 7.

He revealed he travelled with a nurse who administers a number of medications including for weight loss: “I couldn’t tell you what I’m on because I’m on a bunch of things and someone does it for me.”

Originally published as James Packer hospitalised after shock cardiac health scare