Benjamin Netanyahu still values James Packer ties
There were six billionaires in the crowd but no sign of Benjamin “Bibi” Netanyahu’s Australian bestie James Packer.
Although the Crown billionaire did make an awkward cameo of sorts at yesterday’s pre-business lunch press conference when Bibi was asked about the investigation by Israeli police into allegations of lavish gifts allegedly given by Packer to Bibi’s 20-something son, Yair, including tickets to a gig by his former fiancee, Mariah Carey.
Netanyahu said he wouldn’t go into the details.
“But I will say that I think nothing will come of it because there is nothing there,” said Netanyahu. “Except friendship.”
It is believed that Packer has not returned to Israel since the investigation indicated it wanted to interview him over the matter, although his team are not chatty on the subject.
Billionaires abound
Back to the six billionaires who were along at the Sydney convention centre to here Bibi speak with PM Malcolm Turnbull.
There was Australia’s richest man, Meriton apartment king Harry Triguboff (last valued at $10.62 billion), Jeanne Pratt (the matriarch of the Pratt family whose fortune was last put at $10.35bn), Jeanne’s daughter Fiona Geminder (who with her husband Raphael is worth $1.22bn), iron ore queen Gina Rinehart (valued at $6.06bn before iron ore rebounded), Melbourne shopping centre mogul John Gandel (with $5.4bn built on Chadstone Shopping Centre), and with Roza, his newish blonde partner Solomon Lew (whose clothing and stationary fortune is worth $2.13bn).
The sextet of richies — who weighed in at a combined $36-plus billion — seemed impressed with the Turnbull-Bibi bromance.
“A very good speech,” said a spritely Triguboff, whose broken foot seems to be completely healed.
“Good for Australia. Good for Israel,” was Lew’s pithy summation.
“Even Bill Shorten spoke well,” added Gandel.
Also among the 450 strong crowd were Kerry Stokes-adviser Warwick Smith, chairman of investment bank Rothschild Australia Trevor Rowe (who sat next to Rinehart, his almost-neighbour on luxury cruise ship The World), Estia chairman Gary Weiss (whose troubled listed aged-care business reports today), Labor’s most outspoken defender of Israel Michael Danby (who hopped straight into a waiting Comcar after exiting) and former prime minister John Howard, whose car was held up — presumably in the security congested roads — but waited happily in the taxi rank.
Howard, donning a Kippah, was later among the crowd at The Central Synagogue at Bondi Junction, along with Energy and Environment Minister Josh Frydenberg, Labor’s Mark Dreyfus, NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian, Melbourne law king Mark Liebler, Pratt Foundation CEO Sam Lipski, the Turnbulls, the Netanyahus and, just to keep the seat planners on their toes, Margie and husband Tony Abbott, who, to go by the applause-ometer, was something of a crowd favourite.
Gonski from Coke
Also attending Netanyahu Fest was David Gonski, who had just told the market his almost 20-year reign as a director on the Coca-Cola Amatil board had come to an end. Good news for those backing him in the race to replace James Spigelman, the outgoing ABC chairman, although the ANZ chair’s ticket still looks pretty full. After 16 years as CCA chairman, Gonski will be replaced by Ilana Atlas, one half of a corporate power couple with Tony D’Aloisio, the former ASIC boss now incoming chair of listed fundy Perpetual.
Gonski’s departure will leave 72-year-old Wal King as the longest-serving director on the CCA board. King joined 15 years ago. Nothing lasts forever.
Packer in probity
James Packer couldn’t officially participate in his Crown Resorts board meeting in Melbourne yesterday either, the first for his new executive chair and chief knife wielder John Alexander.
Packer is yet to pass probity checks in NSW, so his return to the Crown board remains outstanding.
While bureaucratic processing means the paperwork can take some time, the application comes as Packer faces myriad personal issues, including close scrutiny of his relationship with Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu.
Our own Federal Police are keeping a watchful eye on inquiries in Israel and any potential breaches of commonwealth law that may flow.
Instead, Packer had to be satisfied attending only as an observer, along with his new Consolidated Press boss Guy Jalland, who will join when a vacancy becomes available.
The man Jalland replaced at CPH, Rob Rankin, endures (for now) as a Crown director and was seen yesterday roaming the halls of the Melbourne casino, where he still looked almost welcome.
Operative Karl Bitar was keeping close to the board, with Helen Coonan cocooned in the comfort of Crown’s Crystal Club.
Alexander’s axe
Don’t expect too much fun and games as James Packer’s lieutenants unveil Crown’s results this morning.
Chair John Alexander has found cost savings in every nook and cranny, with veteran chief executive Rowen Craigie, 51, who will be one of the numerous human casualties of the new regime.
He and Alexander couldn’t be more different.
Craigie has been a Packer man for 23 years and CEO for almost a decade.
His contract expires in November next year, and boasts a year’s base pay in lieu of notice, amounting to $3.1 million.
Crown is also expected to confirm that it will no longer be the marquee sponsor of the Victorian Racing Club’s Oaks Day as part of the Melbourne Cup carnival in November.
A question mark also hangs over what presence Crown will maintain trackside at Flemington.
Last year’s event was marred by the ongoing detention of Crown employees in China, a situation which is still unresolved, despite the expensive hype generated by guest Usain Bolt.
Crown’s ladies lunch in Sydney hosted by Packer’s mother Ros Packer and sister Gretel Packer has also been canned, while the group is expected today to also shed light on the future of its sponsorship of the South Sydney Rabbitohs.
Sounds like Alexander’s the fun police.
Blackmore sails away
Vitamin millionaire Marcus Blackmore has made a lifestyle choice.
The septuagenarian is leaving his $1.8bn pills business in the capable hands of CEO Christine Holgate and taking a six-month-long sabbatical.
After 50 years toiling at Blackmores, it seems the businessman wants some time to reflect on the world, sail on his boat and — top of the list — clean out the garage.
“I was going to put that in the announcement,” Blackmore, 71, told us after the business yesterday released a set of half-year results that were not well received by the market.
“But the problem is when you do all those turkeys in the city say, ‘It looks like he’s getting off the board so he can sell the business’. But nothing could be further from the truth.”
Blackmore said he got the sabbatical idea from his deputy chairman, investment banker Stephen Chapman, who did it to great success last year.
“I love coming to work, but it doesn’t allow time to stop and think what else is going on in the world and what else I could do,” Blackmore said. “I’m looking for other things to do other than tread on Christine’s toes.”
Cadet settles
Finally, to billionaire Kerry Stokes and his Seven West Media where we have some good news.
Turns out legal chief Bruce McWilliam has authorised settlement (confidential, of course) with former cadet reporter Amy Taeuber in Adelaide, who claimed she was sacked after she formally complained of sexual harassment by newsroom colleague Rodney Lohse.
At least that’s one off McWilliam’s desk as the Amber Harrison sex-drugs-and-expenses scandal grinds on in the Supreme Court.
Meantime, we now know that Greg Medcraft’s corporate watchdog is keeping a close eye on Stokes. Turns out it was ASIC that encouraged Seven West to take a closer look at the carrying value of Yahoo7 ahead of its results, which saw the group then take a $75.5m writedown of the asset.
Seven West’s accounts are audited by KPMG, with the accounts signed off by lead partner Bruce Phillips. Oops!
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