Kerry Packer
Australian media tycoon who founded World Series Cricket and built a vast media and gambling empire.
Parliament of Australia · via Wikipedia: Kerry Packer · Fair use
Kerry Francis Bullmore Packer, an Australian media magnate, was regarded as one of the nation's most influential twentieth-century press and television owners.[1] Internationally, Packer gained recognition primarily for establishing World Series Cricket.[2]
Quick Facts
- Birth name
- Kerry Francis Bullmore Packer
- Born
- 17 December 1937
- Birthplace
- Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
- Died
- 26 December 2005
- Resting place
- Ellerston, New South Wales, Australia
- Education
- Geelong Grammar School
- Cranbrook School
- Canberra Grammar School
- Occupation
- Media proprietor
- Years active
- 1960−2005
Facts from the source article.
Life and work
Packer sold the Nine Network to Alan Bond in 1987 for $1.2 billion and bought it back in 1990 for $250 million.[3] Packer suffered a heart attack in 1990 while playing polo and was revived by paramedics.[4] At school, Packer participated in boxing, cricket, and rugby, but his academic performance was poor.[5] He provided funding for the World Rugby Corporation, an entity created by lawyer Geoff Levy and former Wallaby Ross Turnbull to establish a professional global rugby union competition in 1995.[6]
What the cited sources add
The Age reported that Packer's personal wealth was estimated at $6.9 billion at his death.[7] The Age noted that Packer inherited control of one of Australia's biggest media empires and never shrank from the challenge.[7] Boss Hunting described Packer retaining a private room at The Ritz in London for card games, once ending a session £19 million poorer.[8] Boss Hunting stated that after surviving a heart attack, Packer gave $1 million each to his ambulance drivers and EMS workers.[8]
Inside Story recounted that in 1960, thugs bankrolled by Rupert Murdoch violently evicted Clyde and Kerry Packer from a printing press.[9] Inside Story noted that Kerry Packer emerged from that brawl with black eyes and a badly swollen face.[9]
References
- Wikipedia, "Kerry Packer" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Rowe, "Rugby league in Australia: The super league saga", Journal of Sport & Social Issues, p. 221–226 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Kerry Packer" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Skeffington, Robert, "The richest list of all", The Age, 24 May 2004 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Kerry Packer" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Barrett, Chris (13 April 2018), "'No crying in television': Packer would be pragmatic about switch", The Sydney Morning Herald. (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Kerry Packer" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Bull, "Tall tales and a big vision: Kerry Packer's World Series Cricket 40 years on", The Guardian, 2017-05-02; Riley, "From the Archives, 1990: Kerry Packer fights for life after heart attack", The Sydney Morning Herald, 2020-10-06 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Kerry Packer" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Giants of Tourism", CABI, 2010, p. 182 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Kerry Packer" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Howitt, "SANZAR Saga: Ten Years of Super 12 and Tri-Nations Rugby", Harper Collins Publishers, 2005 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
- "Kerry Francis Bullmore Packer 1937–2005", The Age, 28 December 2005, p. 7. facts only, no text reused. theage.com.au
- Lu, "The Outrageous Billionaire Antics Of Kerry Packer", Boss Hunting, 2021-08-19. facts only, no text reused. bosshunting.com.au
- "Nine-tenths of the law", Inside Story, 3 June 2010. facts only, no text reused. inside.org.au
Each numbered sentence above was checked against the source it cites before publication. Sentences citing Wikipedia adapt text from the English Wikipedia article Kerry Packer (contributors), used under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is available under the same licence. Other sources were used for facts only; no text or images are copied from them.
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