James Packer seeking $280m for prized superyacht IJE

Billionaire James Packer is selling his prized gigayacht IJE. Picture: Supplied.

Could it be that the purse strings are beginning to tighten in the Packer camp?

Just this week billionaire James Packer has put his gigayacht IJE on the market, with an asking price of more than $280m.

The yacht has been Packer’s place of refuge for the past two years, where he has hosted a bevy of famous names. Star billionaire fund manager Hamish Douglass was on board only last month.

Packer even beamed into the Crown Resorts inquiry from his yacht last year. Picture: Supplied.

Packer’s turbulent romance and doomed engagement to pop star Mariah Carey was in part played out on the decks of the luxury vessel.

IJE was last spotted en route to San Remo, Italy after spending some time floating off the coast of Turkey and likely headed to the Monaco Yacht Show later this month.

The yacht was bought only two years ago from Italian shipbuilder Benetti and named after Packer’s children Indigo, Jackson and Emmanuelle.

The 108m vessel accommodates 22 guests in 11 suites as well a crew of 28, has a private owner’s deck, dedicated gym, cinema and even a nightclub.

IJE has hosted numerous famous faces since 2019, most recently including instafamous blogger Maja Malnar. Picture: Supplied.

Sale agent Burgess describes the superyacht as “the ultimate world-cruising family yacht for a very experienced owner”.

Closer to home, Packer is yet to settle on the $60m apartment he has committed to buy at his newly-developed Crown Resorts at Barangaroo.

Packer has signed on for two apartments that are being converted into one with the assistance of celebrity interior designer Blainey North, who is married to movie star Russell Crowe’s personal assistant Keith Rodger.

Crowe and Packer are co-investors in the NRL’s South Sydney Rabbitohs, which could be another personal asset that the billionaire might consider divesting if cash gets tight.

The crisis playing out at Packer’s $6.5bn casino empire has seen the suspension of the payment of lucrative dividends to the billionaire, who has a major portion of his personal wealth tied up in his 37 per cent Crown stake.

The multimillion-dollar Crown dividend has been a key source of income for the troubled investor as he travels the world enjoying his billionaire lifestyle.

In 2019, Packer put his previous super yacht, EJI, up for sale with a price tag of about $70m, declaring to friends that the vessel was “too small”. He shortly after took delivery of IJE, whose construction came in over time and well over budget.

The significant overruns saw the demise of Packer’s long-time friendship with Matthew Csidei, who was overseeing the construction project for his former Cranbrook school mate.

Packer is also building a $50m luxury home on the coast of Mexico’s Cabo San Lucas, and owns abodes in Aspen, Los Angeles and Mexico.