Billionaire businessman James Packer has announced heโs stepping down as the director of his company Crown Resorts, citing โpersonal reasons.โ
The news was confirmed on Wednesday morning via a short statement.
โWe have appreciated Jamesโ contribution to the Board and respect his decision to step down from his role as a director at this time,โ Crown Resorts boss John Alexander said.
While a spokesperson for the 50-year-oldโs private investment company Consolidated Press Holdings also released a statement, which read: โMr Packer is suffering from mental health issues. At this time he intends to step back from all commitments.โ
According the the Herald Sun, Packer is currently in America while he focuses on his health.
The businessman, whose late father was media mogul Kerry Packer, has previously opened up about his battle with depression.
โMy marriage [to Jodhi Meares] had broken up. I felt like a failure. When I was at my lowest Tom Cruise reached out to me. He believed in me when other people didnโt,โ he revealed in a 2013 interview with Sunday Night.

50-year-old James Packer is stepping down as the director of Crown Resorts.
Jamesโ shock resignation comes amid a disastrous run for the father-of-three.
Most recently, he was caught up in a corruption scandal with the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
In October 2016, Packer called off his whirlwind engagement to pop superstar Mariah Carey.

James Packer was briefly engaged to Mariah Carey in 2016.
In October last year, the casino heavyweight spoke to the The Weekend Australian about what went wrong.
James said that he was in billions of dollars worth of debt when he met the hitmaker after borrowing big in the hopes of providing his sister Gretel with some of the money left in their father Kerry Packerโs estate. He was also losing money on a separate Hollywood venture.
โI was at a low point in my personal life,โ he said.
โDocumenting the negotiations with my sister was taking longer than expected. Brett Ratner put Mariah and me together. She was kind, exciting and fun. Mariah is a woman of substance. She is very bright.โ
He added: โBut it was a mistake for her and a mistake for me.โ
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