James Packer will open up about his mental health in an upcoming episode of The New York Times. 7NEWS in the spotlight.
The billionaire is joined by his good friend, English singer Robbie Williams, in the conversation with journalist Liam Bartlett.
Packer confesses in a preview of the episode, which airs Sunday, that “money is no guarantee of happiness.”
“I’m not here to play the victim… it’s a journey,” Packer tells Bartlett in the footage.
“You don’t interview someone who says to you, ‘I’ve solved it and I have all the answers,’” he continued.
“I’m not that person. I’m here saying I’m doing my best.”
Williams will also speak candidly about his own journey, saying in the preview that he can identify with Packer’s struggles.
‘[It’s] the same kind of disease that we share. It’s a disease of isolation,” Williams says.
James Packer will open up about his mental health in an upcoming episode of 7NEWS Spotlight (pictured).
Packer says he’s been “happier” than ever in recent years, after losing 50 pounds in 75 days and going off the seven mood-altering medications he took to improve his mental health.
“I’m about 130kg now and I want to be back to 100kg by the end of 2022. I want to swim with my kids in Bondi when we’re all in Sydney next year and we’ll be 100kg then,” he told The Weekend Australian at the time from his home in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico.
The businessman said he stopped taking the antidepressants and antipsychotics he had been prescribed in March and is now trying to “rehabilitate” his reputation in Australia.
In the biography The Price of Fortune: The Untold Story of Being James Packer, the casino magnate discusses his mental health issues.
The billionaire is joined by good friend, English singer Robbie Williams, in the chat with journalist Liam Bartlett. All in the picture
The book also describes some of the darkest moments in his life and how he went from inheriting a fortune to battling anxiety and depression, having returned from nervous breakdowns three times.
There were several factors that contributed to his downward spiral.
Scandals marred his jet-set lifestyle, from a deal that left him under fire for his political ties in Israel to a legal quagmire in China when officials from Crown Resorts, where he was a director, were arrested on illegal gambling charges.
Even his Tinseltown dreams were tarnished by the collapse of his $100 million production company RatPac with Hollywood producer Brett Ratner.
Packer confesses that ‘money is no guarantee of happiness’ in a preview of the episode, which airs on Sunday
Williams will also be candid about his own journey, and in the preview he said he can identify with Packer’s struggles
In the midst of his despair, Packer reveals that he turned to his old friend Warren Beatty and lived in the Hollywood star’s guest house for years, eventually calling him ‘Dad’. He is keen to stress, however, that this is no disrespect to his future father, Kerry, who built so much of the family business.
Packer counts a host of famous names among his friends – from Robert De Niro to Leonardo DiCaprio – and has been firmly entrenched in the celebrity world since he was a child. He even flirted with Scientology for a while before distancing himself from the church, in the style of so many blockbuster actors and actresses.
The book details Packer’s personal torment, drinking and mental health problems, which the billionaire describes as “very scary.”
He said he came to realise his problems were only “getting worse”, which left him “extremely worried”, according to the excerpt in The Australian.
Beatty is known for shying away from media interviews, but for the book he decided to talk to him about Packer, a sign of how much he cares about him and appreciates him.
The actor was the one who helped Packer finally seek help. He referred him to a prominent psychiatrist, who immediately asked him, “Are you trying to commit suicide?”
“I don’t know if I started crying, but I thought to myself, ‘I don’t want to be $1.4 billion in debt anymore. Why am I doing this?’” Packer said at the time.
The father of three says he is now excited to embark on his ‘third act’ and plans to slowly re-enter public life in Australia.
Crisis Supporter on 13 11 14 (24 hours/7 days)
Send a message to Lifeline on 0477 13 11 14 (6pm – midnight, 7 nights)
Chat online at www.lifeline.org.au (7pm – midnight, 7 nights)