James Packer Walks Away From Business Life Due To Depression

James Packer Walks Away From Business Life Due To Depression July 23, 2018 July 23, 2018 David Walker
 Australia July 23, 2018 by David Walker

James Packer is one of the top casino tycoons in Australia as his company Crown Resorts runs some of the biggest and most popular casinos down under. The Australian billionaire was the chairman of Crown Resorts and played a key role in running the company and its
expansion plans.

Packer has stepped away from the directorship role of 22 Australian companies and is also no longer a board member of any Australian company as the casino tycoon has decided to step away from corporate and business life for some time and focus on getting his personal life together.

Packer is reportedly suffered from depression and anxiety and will spend time in the United States to get help. There is no indication as of now as to where he will get his treatment or if he plans to return to corporate life in the near future.

Professional Problems Take Their Toll

Crown Resorts has taken a beating in the last 24 months as the brand has been hit with a number of scandals that has tarnished its reputation, caused the company to lose a lot of money and left its shareholders infuriated.

Packer has felt the pressure of these scandals and while he and the Crown Resorts board have done their best to get things going in the right direction, they have been hit with multiple challenges over the course of the last 12 months.

Some of these challenges including Crown Resort employees getting arrested in China for illegal promotional activities, Crown Resorts being pulled up by Australian legislators for pokie machine tampering, Crown Resorts dropping its Alon Las Vegas casino project, shutting down operations across Asia, dissolving its partnership with Melco Entertainment and dropping out of the race of obtaining a casino resort license in Japan.

Personal Problems Don’t Help Packer

While Packer has had a hard time with Crown Resorts, he has also had to battle personal issues which have received a lot of publicity. One of those is his much publicized break up with R&B diva Mariah Carey whom he was engaged to.

In a statement, Angus Gluskie, managing director of White Funds Management, a Crown investor

It appears Mr Packer is stepping back for health reasons. It’s definitely a change because for decades you’ve had a strong family personality at the helm of these businesses.

David WalkerAuthor

David is our resident 'down under' contributor, letting us know what is going on in the southern hemisphere, he is also keen blackjack player