James Packer takes first steps to recovery

Billionaire James Packer has surfaced with his closest confidants as he steps back from business to deal with his mental health.

James Packer, right, with Consolidated Press Holdings chief executive Guy Jal­land in Cabo San Lucas. Picture: BackGrid.

Billionaire James Packer has ­appeared in Mexico, with some of his closest confidants, days after revealing he was stepping back from his business commitments to deal with mental health issues.

A spokesman for Mr Packer’s private investment vehicle, Consolidated Press Holdings, reported this week that the casino owner had resigned from the board of Crown Resorts, in which he has a 47 per cent stake, because of his health concerns.

Images of Mr Packer arriving in the resort city of Cabo San Lucas appeared yesterday, a day after his mother, Roslyn Packer, left Sydney to be with her son, with whom she has maintained a close relationship, despite his ­falling-out with sister Gretel.

Spotted with Mr Packer in Cabo was Consolidated Press Holdings chief executive Guy Jal­land and long-time friend Ben Til­ley, who have stayed close to the billionaire through his tough times.

The CPH spokesman said on Wednesday that Mr Packer’s health issues meant that he ­intended to step back from all commitments. It has been widely reported that Mr Packer has depression and anxiety.

Mr Packer’s decision to take a break from his business life came as a surprise to his friends, who thought he had been sounding more positive of late. Friends of the billionaire say that he has been reaching out to them more than he had in recent years and seemed to be happier with life.

He has also been seen on the slopes at Aspen, where he has spent the majority of the first quarter of this year at the house he co-owns with ex-wife Erica, the mother of his three children.

Mr Packer, whose wealth is ­estimated by Forbes to be $4 billion, has struggled personally in recent years, including his high-profile engagement to, and then break-up with, American pop diva Mariah Carey, which would have been his third marriage.

When The Weekend Australian Magazine visited Mr Packer last October at Ellerstina, his polo ranch an hour’s drive out of Buenos Aires, Argentina, he said the past four or five years had been tumultuous. He also acknowledged that he had lost friends, put on weight and, for the past year, become a recluse.

Mr Packer, whose last public appearance in Australia was at Crown’s annual general meeting in October, has also been caught up in a corruption inquiry into ­Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

He was interviewed by the Australian Federal Police in November about the case but there is no allegation of wrongdoing on Mr Packer’s behalf and he was interviewed as a witness, not a suspect.

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