The Australian media and casino billionaire James Packer has resigned from his private investment company Consolidated Press Holdings, as the mogul continues to battle his mental health issues. The company, which is engaged in the investment activities on the territory of Australia, has long been in Mr. Packer’s family and holds his 47% shareholding interest in Crown Resorts estimated to AU$4.4 billion, as well as his private investments.
It seems that Mr. Packer officially resigned from the CPH Board on June 27th, according to a notice lodged with the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC). The resignation of Mr. Packer was confirmed by a CPH spokesman, who also shared that the Australian billionaire continues his recovery, from the mental health problems which also made him step down as director of Crown Resorts earlier in 2018.
As mentioned above, the resignation now comes after Mr. Packer’s unexpected leave from the board of Australia’s largest gaming and entertainment group, Crown Resorts, in March. Only a few days after stepping down from the Crown Resorts’ board, the media and casino mogul checked himself into a Boston-located psychiatric hospital.
Over the past few years, both the CPH and the Crown Resorts businesses have been facing certain difficulties which are considered some of the most stressful issues recently experienced by the 50-year-old businessman. Both companies needed consolidation, with Mr. Packer now being reliant on a small group of deputies to deal with the two businesses.
Back in January 2017, John Alexander was appointed as the Executive Chairman of Crown Resorts. Around the same time, Guy Jalland took over the position of Chief Executive Officer of Consolidated Press Holdings.
Packer’s Crown Resorts Face Increasing Difficulties
Undoubtedly, it is the resignation of Mr. Packer from his casino business at Crown Resorts which came as pretty much the culmination of a particularly difficult period for the Australian billionaire.
The tension escalated, as it was not only the crisis which Mr. Packer was dealing with in his personal life. In October 2016, a group of Crown employees got detained in China under allegations in participation in illegally promoting gambling in order to attract local high-rollers. The situation led to a thorough transformation of Mr. Packer’s gambling business run under the Crown brand, with the company choosing to retreat from its worldwide operations and become more focused on its Australian business.
Previously, in 2015, the businessman left the company’s board and then got back to the management team of Crown Resorts at the time when the casino and gambling operator was facing the staff arrest crisis in 2016.
At a later time, the 50-year-old Australian casino mogul has been associated with a corruption scandal involving the Prime Minister of Israel Benjamin Netanyahu. The latter has faced an investigation for receiving high-value gifts from a number of businessmen, including the owner of Crown Resorts. Still, no suggestion of any wrongdoing by Mr. Packer emerged.
Recently, the Crown Resorts’ business in Australia saw a number of whistleblowers claiming that the company’s Melbourne property staff has tampered with the poker machines offered there, facing allegations of pokies misconduct and irresponsible behaviour. The Crown Melbourne casino, which is currently the largest gambling facility on the territory of Australia, has suffered a fine amounting to AU$300,000 imposed by the Victorian Commission for Gambling and Liquor Regulation (VCGLR).
- Author
Olivia Cole
