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According to former Prime Minister Bob Hawke, Packer "preferred winners to losers."Ī giant of a man who was said to live on hamburgers and milkshakes, Packer was nonetheless a keen sports fan and in the 1980s began devoting his time and money to polo. Packer was undoubtedly a powerful businessman, courted by prime ministers and credited with using his media empire to make or break governments. He was "a larger-than-life character, and in so many ways he left his mark on the Australian community over a very long career in business." Packer passed on in 2006 leaving a legacy in which he helped to transform the sport and the fortunes of its player. He did not play the game seriously but few people have made a bigger impact on the game of cricket than the late Kerry Packer, the Australian business mogul.
KERRY PACKER CRICKET SOUTH AFRICA SERIES
Prime Minister John Howard also applauded him as a great Australian. PACKER, KERRYRevolutionized the game by introducing World Series Cricket. He was the most successful businessman of our generation. media empire, praised his rival as "a lifelong friend and a tough competitor. Sunil Gavaskar, the legendary Indian opener-turned commentator, has reckoned he may have been stripped off his duties as Indian captain in 1979 as he was open to accepting the offer made by Kerry Packer to join the World Series of cricket.
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His Australian properties were said to cover an area bigger than Belgium. Packer also invested in real estate, becoming one of Australia's largest landowners and cattle barons by the late 1980s.
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When his father died in 1974, Packer inherited two television stations, five radio stations, nine provincial newspapers and the biggest magazine publishing company in the country.īy the late 1980s, Packer had acquired another magazine business, bought and sold the nation's largest engineering company and expanded programming at Nine Network.
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Packer was also enjoyed gambling and owned Melbourne's Crown Casino complex, Australia's largest.
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