Billionaire James Packer has revealed how a simple act of friendship by fellow media magnate’s son Lachlan Murdoch profoundly touched him.
In a wide-ranging interview with Channel Seven’s Liam Bartlett, Mr Packer also opened up about the strong role Scientology previously had in his life, his one-time close friendship with Hollywood superstar Tom Cruise, whom he still speaks highly of and the surprising A-list star who came to the rescue when Mr Packer was at his lowest point.
The Seven Spotlight interview which aired on Sunday night coincided with Mr Packer’s 57th birthday.
The Aussie billionaire told Bartlett he suffered his first mental health breakdown at the age of 33 after his upstart telco One.Tel collapsed in May 2001 in a deal he had taken to good friend Mr Murdoch.
For both men it was a chance step out of the shadows of their famous fathers, Kerry Packer who was boss of Channel Nine and Rupert Murdoch who headed the media behemoth News Ltd, but the start-up sank under $327million worth of debt.
Just months after the prolonged spectacle of the two men spectacularly failing in their first major business endeavour, Mr Packer was stunned to be invited to Mr Lachlan’s exclusive birthday party of just 30 people.
‘The last thing in the world I was expecting was an invitation to this birthday party,’ an emotional Mr Packer recalled.
‘He (Mr Murdoch) makes this speech he says, ‘I also want to say ‘It’s James’ birthday (also)’ you know, I just… so… anyway’.
Billionaire James Packer has given a wide-ranging interview on the struggles he has had with mental health issues down the years
‘I have never forgotten it. It’s one of the nicest things anyone has ever done’.
Both men were born on September 8, but Mr Packer is four years older.
Mr Packer also opened up about his previous involvement in Scientology after being introduced to it by one-time close pal Cruise.
Mr Packer, who has been diagnosed as bipolar, said he spent much of 2002 in a manic stage.
It was that this time he became a Scientologist.
He left Scientology several years later following the death of his father Kerry in December 2005.
‘Scientology helped me for a period of time. Scientology helped me deal with my mental health issues,’ Packer said.
‘I am no longer a member of the Church of Scientololgy. I was good friends with Tom Cruise. It’s Tom’s choice, not mine that we are not friends anymore.’
He wouldn’t delve into why the pair weren’t friends anymore after Cruise attended Packer’s wedding to Erica while he attended the Hollywood star’s nuptials to actress Katie Holmes.
‘I’ll never say a bad word about him. He was a wonderful friend to me. He is an amazing person,’ Mr Packer said.
However, it was another Hollywood A-lister who offered Mr Packer an extraordinary helping hand during his mental health battles.
Actor Warren Beatty opened his guest house for the Australian to live in for ‘two to three years’ at Packer’s lowest point.
Mr Packer (pictured centre left) said Lachlan Murdoch’s (pictured front left) simple act of friendship is something he has never forgotten
Talking to Bartlett aboard his $300million superyacht moored off Tahiti, Mr Packer revealed how Beatty had been a very generous host to him during his darkest days.
The pair remain friends to this day.
‘Well, he’s a wonderful man Warren Beatty, and he is a wonderful friend to me,’ Mr Packer said.
‘I saw him recently. I lived in his guest house for about two to three years and he really was wonderful to me and when I was unwel, he tried to help me.
‘I’ve been very lucky. I’ve come across some amazing people in my life … I’ve crossed paths with… a series of amazing people. Warren’s one of them.’
Mr Packer said his wildly swinging moods and sometimes being on the wrong the medication led to the breakdown of his two marriages, first with Jodhi Meares and then Erica Packer, who he had three children with.
‘I think my downs coincided with either being on the wrong medication or having too much stress at work and that’s code for too much debt and problems with the business,’ he said.
Mr Packer (pictured back centre left) said he was no longer friends with Tom Cruise (pictured front centre) since leaving the Church of Scientology
He told Bartlett that being on the wrong drug ‘can be worse than the mental health issues they are meant to combat.
However, Mr Packer admitted he did not know what his current medications were because he has a private nurse prepare it for him.
‘I am on a bunch of things and someone does it for me,’ he said.
The interview also featured a segment with UK pop star Robbie Williams, who has also been open with his mental health struggles.
Williams, who joined Mr Packer on the yacht, said his ‘natural state of being would be being in bed all day and not seeing anybody’.
Mr Packer said that was also true for him.
Asked what advice he would give people struggling with mental health issues, Mr Packer said the message he would like to convey is to ‘try and keep going’.
‘If you are depressed try and keep going,’ Mr Packer said.
‘I worry that people are overmedicated and try and do a little bit of exercise.’
Mr Packer also urged people battling mental health issues to ‘reach out if it becomes too overwhelming’.
‘I’ve been very lucky when it’s been too overwhelming,’ Mr Packer said.
‘For me it was hugely important that I had a couple of people who I could turn to in the darkest stages of my life, who were there for me they were hugely important.’
For free mental health support call Lifeline Australia: 13 11 14
For support with anxiety and depression call Beyond Blue: 1300 22 46 36
***
Read more at DailyMail.co.uk