James Packer has admitted he doesn't know what medication he’s on to manage his bipolar disorder, revealing that a full-time nurse handles his treatment in a candid interview about his decades-long battle with mental illness. Speaking from his luxury yacht in Cook's Bay, French Polynesia, James Packer sat down with 7NEWS Spotlight to discuss his ongoing battle with mental health. The 57-year-old billionaire, who is notoriously private, bravely opened up about his struggles as part of a wider conversation on mental health, linked to the upcoming release of his friend and former NSW Liberal leader John Brogden’s book Profiles of Hope.
The son of media mogul Kerry Packer candidly revealed that his mental health journey began in his twenties, around the time he started taking on the pressures of his family's media empire. Early failures, such as his investment in the now-defunct telecommunications company One.Tel and the breakdown of his first marriage to model Jodhi Meares, contributed to serious mental health issues that lingered for years.
Packer described how the stress of work, financial pressures, and personal turmoil led to manic episodes that eventually cost him his second marriage to Erica Packer, with whom he shares three children. Reflecting on his condition, Packer told Spotlight reporter Liam Bartlett: "I think it's known in the community that I've had mental health issues, and so I'm not hiding from it." He acknowledged the challenges of finding the right treatment, having worked with psychiatrists around the world.
“My experience is from having worked with psychiatrists in Israel, in Argentina, in America and all sorts of places is if you get put on the wrong drugs, it can be worse, it can be worse (than the mental illness itself)," he explained. Packer also discussed his high-profile breakup with singer Mariah Carey in 2016 , a turning point that led to a "severe hallucination" and a subsequent diagnosis of bipolar disorder at Harvard University’s McLean Hospital. The businessman described the difficult process of managing his condition, including the side effects of medications such as lithium.
He told Bartlett that within two weeks of taking the drug, he was a "complete zombie." Now, with the help of a full-time nurse who manages his medication, Packer is in a better place mentally, although he admits the journey is ongoing. "I'm really embarrassed with what I'm about to say," he started, "but I have a nurse who travels with me; I couldn't tell you what I'm on because I'm on a bunch of things, and someone does it for me.
" Despite his struggles, Packer remains determined to keep moving forward, acknowledging that he doesn’t have all the answers. "You're not interviewing someone who's saying to you: 'I've got it all worked out and I've got all the answers'," he said. "I'm here saying, 'I'm not that person.
I'm doing my best and I'm a work in progress'." As of August 2024, Packer’s wealth is estimated at $2.9 billion, placing him among Australia’s richest individuals.
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