Kerry Packer

RichKid · 3 January 2006

I think this article is worth extracting in full, words from Kerry himself, that once you read this you may think that James has a better chance than ever of succeeding at PBL as he had the good fortune to work with his father for a long period. The only question now is will he be a good pilot for the jumbo jet? (also see this article which says that Kerry was a fortunate man, not just another Aussie bloke despite his liking for the vernacular http://blogs.smh.com.au/thecontrarian/archives/2006/01/kerry_packer_wa_1.html)

I'd like to see how James comes across in an interview on the same topics (dad, childhood, business, family etc) in a few years.

Chip off the old block

SMH December 31, 2005 http://www.theage.com.au/news/natio...1135915692196.html?page=fullpage#contentSwap2
Like father, like son: Clyde, Frank and Kerry Packer. (caption, photo attached)

In a rare and revealing interview in the 1970s, Kerry Packer opened up to Terry Lane on growing up with a legendary father, and his influence on his own children.

TO TELL about my childhood I must, right at the beginning, say something about my father. I believe that in every generation there are great and outstanding men, and that perhaps there were 60 or 70 or 100 other men born in Australia about the same time as my father who were capable of creation. They're not always lovable or understood by the public, but for a man to be great he has to have a lot of compassion and understanding. He's usually busy, and that creates conflicts. But, nevertheless, my father was a great man.

The best way I can describe such men is to say that there are any number of people who can go out and fly a jumbo jet, but there's a very elite group of people who can design it and make it work, and my father was a designer and a person who could make things work. If I've had any success it's because I was able to fly the plane he built, but I couldn't have built it.

My father built Consolidated Press from nothing. At about 20-odd years of age, when he was a journalist, he got what he was going to get as an inheritance, which was, I think, about 10,000 quid and he came out and started Consolidated Press. He got lucky, and nothing works in life without luck. It's the ultimate thing and the greatest man in the world gets nowhere without it.

So, what was my father? What were my feelings towards him? I was a bit scared of him. He was a strong man. He was a just man. I remember in my early life (he was a great believer in corporal punishment, as I am) he took me aside and said: "Sometimes I have a bad day at the office and I'm angry. I'm going to come home, and if you believe that what you've done isn't worthy of the punishment that I decide you should have, you can have a stay of execution. All you've ever got to say is, 'Look, I think you're in a bad mood and I'd like to discuss it with you tomorrow', and that'll stop it."

He said that it may not alter the punishment ”” that he may decide on the next day that I was wrong and he was right ”” but I had that option. And for a man who was supposed to be tough I don't ever remember one occasion on which I used the stay of execution. I got a lot of hidings, because that's the sort of person I was and the sort he was. I don't ever remember getting one I didn't deserve and there's a stack I didn't get that I should have got.

He wasn't a family man ”” he was a creator and he paid the penalty of all those who create. He devoted up to 20 hours a day to his business until he had built it. There are a lot of stories about him being a tough, hard man who wandered around the building turning lights off. And I'm sure you've heard the stories about how he used to personally sign the petty cash dockets. He did all those things for the reason that he never knew if he was going to have enough money at the end of the week to pay everyone.

I don't want you to think of him as a mean man; he wasn't. He was probably the most generous man that I've ever met, but he believed that you run a business as a business and you run it efficiently, and you run it tight and you run it hard. But in personal life, he was the most generous man.

If any of his friends had a problem or needed help he was always the first man there. Very quietly. I think he believed and I believe (I'm sure I got it from him) that if you were lucky enough to have a few bob then you should be as hard as is right within the organisation, but if you're mean with it in your personal life then you're the lowest form of animal life.

My father had a lot of influence on me in my early life. It would be pretty presumptuous to claim that I inherited any of his characteristics. I'm a great believer in the effects of environment. I was lucky enough to see my father running the business. I saw his decision-making processes. When I came to work at 18 I had already been exposed to the business for 12 years. That was what the house revolved around. Whatever concessions had to be made to be efficient within that business area, I'd seen him make them. His attitude was that the job comes first and you've just got to get it done and it doesn't matter if it's three o'clock in the morning.

I think it's a tremendous edge for anybody who starts off in life to see that sort of thing because it allows them to understand that you don't get there just by luck. You get there by being lucky but then accepting your luck and trying to make it work.

I went to boarding school in Sydney when I was about five for a short time and then, when people thought the Japanese invasion was imminent, I was sent to live with my mother's sister and two kids in Bowral and I went to school there. It was wartime, of course, and hard to get into a school, so I went to a girls' school with my aunty's daughters. I lived there for two years, until one morning I got out of bed and just fell flat on my face. I had polio and rheumatic fever and I was sent straight down to Sydney.

They put me in hospital there for about nine months, in an iron lung. When I got over that and made a good recovery, I was sent to Canberra, where the company had a place. The altitude was supposed to be the right thing for what I'd been through, so I was sent there with a nursing sister. I was lucky that my problem was diagnosed quickly and that I didn't try to strain myself, because I understand that's where the damage is done. But I couldn't walk and they thought I was trying to get out of school, because I loathed school.
.......

....contd in next post...

RichKid · 3 January 2006

contnd from previous post

I was academically stupid and my way of surviving through school was sport. I used to play everything. I was never a great natural talent, but I worked hard at all the sports that I played and I became reasonably competent at all of them. In Canberra, where I was looked after by the nursing sister, I went to a public school but I was obviously behind in my work. Then they got me into Canberra Grammar for a while and at the end of two years I came back to Sydney, and that's really the first time that I remember living with my parents.

For the four years since I had been sent to Bowral, I had seen nothing of them, except for seeing my mother perhaps half a dozen times. It was the war and my father was working for the army and my mother worked hard in the Red Cross. It wasn't a matter of their not wanting to see me, it was a matter of getting on and doing things, which is something that I believe was right. I think they had to.

The most influential adult in the first few years of my life was my mother's sister, Mary Horden, who was a wonderful woman. After that there is a vacuum. The nurse, who was a nice woman, didn't really have a lot of influence.

That was a fairly lonely, difficult period. Then when I went back to my first school, when I returned to Sydney, I was hopelessly behind everyone else and became a bit of a laughing stock because of it. My method of fighting against that was to devote myself to sport, where I had more ability than most. Being an academic failure was very painful and this was a very tough period for a kid. It was probably the hardening of the shell, because kids are pretty unkind to kids.

After a few years at Cranbrook, where I wasn't doing very well, I went to Geelong Grammar on the recommendation of the headmaster of Cranbrook. I was 12 or 13 when I went to Geelong and I used to see my parents only at the holidays.

My mother was one of four daughters in her family and a woman of beauty and intellect. She was devoted to her husband. He came first, as is right. I don't mean by that that she neglected us ”” she didn't. She believed that her function in life was to look after my father and I don't disagree with that.

I had a disrupted childhood, which was nobody's fault. My father worked bloody hard to survive and I didn't see him because he paid a price for success. That price had to be paid in the Consolidated Press building in long hours. It wasn't that he didn't adore us, he did. Life's like a see-saw to me: if you get it that end, then you've got to pay for it this end, because one side goes up and one goes down. And he was a competitor; he couldn't help it. He had to get in there and fight.

How do I bring my own two children up? Well, funnily enough, I spend pretty long hours in the Consolidated Press building too. I want them to know only one thing, really ”” that I adore them. I'd do anything for them and they know that. They know they're loved. They're excited and happy to see me as I am to see them. That doesn't mean I don't put them over my knee ”” I do, but I hope fairly and never in anger. It's a belief that when you've done something wrong you've got to pay a price. Then we talk about it after it happens and say: "It's paid now, but let's learn the lesson and not do it again."

My children have been lucky in life. I have a wife who has brought the children up and she's done a fine job. They really are great kids. I'm very proud of them and I'm proud of her, because she's the one who's done it. You're very lucky in life if you've got good kids and a good wife.

The quality or characteristic which I think I have learned from my father and other people who have influenced me, which I think is important, is loyalty. You have to give loyalty in order to receive it. I believe you offer loyalty to everyone, which is not as big a strain as it sounds, because very few people pick it up. It's a two-way street. It's looking after one's friends when it is inconvenient or difficult for you to do so. Anyone can look after someone if it's no problem, but it's real loyalty when you have to choose between something which you wanted or wanted to do, and their need. Then you have to choose to serve their need. I believe that's above everything else. You kid yourself if you think you can buy loyalty. You can't. You earn it through consideration and through being there when other people need you, regardless of what other commitments you have. I believe that you've got to be true to your beliefs, loyal to your friends and be a winner.

As I said before, I know full well that I couldn't have done what my father did, build a great enterprise from nothing. I don't have those talents. I realised early that it takes a certain type of man to do what he did and I don't look at myself as a failure because I can't measure up to him. He was one of the exceptional people and I think you're damned lucky if you know one and you've seen how they operate.

Just having known such men gives you a tremendous edge, which in itself should be enough without ever trying to aspire to be what they are, because you won't be. You'll fail, and that's the thing that cuts people around ”” the fact that they think they could have done what their father could have done, and not realising that it is a gift which is given to very few people. Don't feel ashamed if you're not given it.
My father was a gambler. Every man who ever created anything was a gambler. I am also, but there's a difference. What I risk on World Series Cricket is not going to put this company into jeopardy. It's not going to send it broke. I could close it down and the place would not even hiccup.

What my father did was to take everything he had, all the prospects of everything he ever had and put it on one roll of the dice. And what happens with great men and creators is that they work so hard with so little. Now I might risk more than the next guy, but I've never risked the lot. I've never risked anything that's going to put Consolidated Press at risk; might knock it around for a year or two, but we don't take the sort of risks where everything depends on it going right.

I believe I was a pretty lucky child. I was born with all the advantages ”” all the good things that could happen to me did happen. I had a bit of sickness, but how lucky I was to be able to get the right doctor. How lucky I was to be able to get into the right hospital. How lucky I was that I wasn't left with any scars. I can't tell you the happiest memory of my childhood, but I was lucky enough to have fantastic parents.

If I have one unhappy memory of childhood, it was the loneliness. The opportunity to make friends wasn't there. Some of the holidays were lonely because of those sorts of things, but that is the luck of the draw. If I hadn't been sick and there hadn't been a war on it mightn't have worked out that way.

I've got a few mates who are very important to me, whose company I like, whose opinion I respect and whose friendship I value. Then I suppose one could say that there's maybe one or two people out there who don't approve of me, but my early existence insulated me against those people pretty well. Maybe that was the way it was meant to be.

Reproduced from As The Twig Is Bent: The Childhood Recollections of Sixteen Prominent Australians. By Terry Lane, Dove Communications.

Julia · 3 January 2006

Thanks for posting that, Rich.

KP was clearly a "glass half full" bloke - no negativity or whining.

It will be interesting to see how well James fills the space.

Julia

tech/a · 3 January 2006

Packer was a legend.
The Bulletin is putting out a 100 page story on him.
I'd book a copy if your interested.

I certaintly admired his contempt for Beauracratic,waste and in competence.
His absolute disregard for pointless rules and his zero tolerance of fools.
A powerful man who was privately enormously charitable.

James will more than fill his fathers shoes.

visual · 3 January 2006

Richkid,thanks for posting that article ,now I know where the quotes come from.Certainly they make more sense having read the whole article.

RichKid · 3 January 2006

visual said:
Richkid,thanks for posting that article ,now I know where the quotes come from.Certainly they make more sense having read the whole article.

Thanks, that's one of the reasons I posted it, a lot of the younger journos writing articles out there are just rehashing old material and adding bits to jazz it up. Straight from the source is always best. There's a book I've seen around and heard mentioned on air called "The Rise and Rise of Kerry Packer" by Paul Barry, a few years old but worth a read I think- there may even be a revised edition published in 2005.

Thanks for the Bulletin info Tech, I bet it'll be sold out in no time. btw, was he really that generous compared to his net worth? Especially as he didn't contribute to society as much as most of us do tax wise. That's one reason people complain vociferously about the large sums of money spent on a state funeral.

visual · 3 January 2006

Richkid,I was thinking also sure he was very generous but would`nt that generosity also come useful during tax time.So not only did he employ a good deal of time making sure the government did`nt mispend his money ,when he chose to spend it on what he thought needed to be spend on,he also got a tax break at the end of the financial year.
Also why the state funeral,because he was Australia richest man? He himself admitted that he did`nt like how the government spend our money, hence his relutance to pay his fair share.Now if the government had done a better job of spending our money his included of course, would he have needed to be so generous!And would that lack of generosity!than preclude him from receiving a state funeral.(the need for a state funeral escapes me ).However I wonder what he would`ve thought of it,the man wanted only the closest family at his proper funeral now people are insisting on a spectacle.

On another somewhat unrelated matter,how long before Ros starts work on the book that explains her life with Kerry.A la Janet Holmes a Court.Apparently she could`nt leave the house until Robert had gone in case he needed something,and in decades of marriage he only ever made her one cup of tea,which turned out to be a misunderstanding.In the book she wonders how could one man have so much power over her.And look at her now the richest woman in Australia.I don`t suppose though that can happen with Mrs. Packer seeing that her kids are much older and trained to take over.

RichKid · 3 January 2006

visual said:
On another somewhat unrelated matter,how long before Ros starts work on the book that explains her life with Kerry.A la Janet Holmes a Court.Apparently she could`nt leave the house until Robert had gone in case he needed something,and in decades of marriage he only ever made her one cup of tea,which turned out to be a misunderstanding.In the book she wonders how could one man have so much power over her.And look at her now the richest woman in Australia.I don`t suppose though that can happen with Mrs. Packer seeing that her kids are much older and trained to take over.

With the funeral (actually it's supposed to be a 'state memorial service' as he's been buried already), I think it's only the Liberal party's sycophants (and maybe some Labor people) that want it, just to show they care I bet.

Interesting about Janet Holmes a Court, I didn't know that. They said on TV that Frank Packer's wife bought her clothes from Paris- she also sent them back to Paris for dry cleaning. That's what happens when you have too much money, talk about wasted expenditure.

tech/a · 3 January 2006

Do you honestly believe that a man who's nett worth was/is $7 Billion didnt pay $100S of Millions in tax over 40 yrs of business?
He minimised his tax at every opportunity.So should every tax payer.

The government offered the State funeral.

Rich.
I'm certaintly suprised at your narrowness and contempt for such an Australian Business legend. When you perhaps read up on some of the untold truths of this man it maybe possible that you'll have an altered view.
However if your an Aussie Knocker then nothing will alter your view as no one deserves such wealth!!

Would you rather he not employ the 1000s he does?

You know nothings ever good enough for some people.

I notice particularly on this site that most are trying to make excess funds from trading yet anyone with any hint of wealth is frowned upon and treated as if they are nothing more than greedy self centered selfish money hungry braggards,and people wonder why exactly the sort of people budding entrepenuers could learn most from keep away from these sort of sites.

pete152 · 3 January 2006

visual said:
.
Also why the state funeral,because he was Australia richest man? He himself admitted that he did`nt like how the government spend our money, hence his relutance to pay his fair share .

Mate I am sure he paid his "fair"share,just like every one else.But I agree,I personally,do not think he would of liked a State Funeral.

But hey if any one thinks it is bad to have too much wealth, I am only too happy to help out. pm me for my details, for you to forward money jewellery, gold etc.
Cheers,
Peter

visual · 3 January 2006

Tech, don't include me in that little diatribe. It was well acknowledged that KP paid cents in the dollar due to tax minimisation, seeing that he obviously got away with it, good luck to him, but my point remains would he have been as generous as he supposedly was if he had paid his 51cents in the dollar like your average man, without the advantage of an accounting firm behind him.

And no one is saying that money is bad, personally I believe money gives you choices, however it shouldnt in turn canonise you unless you deserve it.

And as for him being a big employer, of course he was, why else would he have had the need to tax minimise?

brerwallabi · 3 January 2006

tech/a said:
I notice particularly on this site that most are trying to make excess funds from trading yet anyone with any hint of wealth is frowned upon and treated as if they are nothing more than greedy self centered selfish money hungry braggards,and people wonder why exactly the sort of people budding entrepenuers could learn most from keep away from these sort of sites.

Tech what the ---- is that about.

tech/a · 3 January 2006

visual said:
Tech, don't include me in that little diatribe. It was well acknowledged that KP paid cents in the dollar due to tax minimisation, seeing that he obviously got away with it, good luck to him, but my point remains would he have been as generous as he supposedly was if he had paid his 51cents in the dollar like your average man, without the advantage of an accounting firm behind him.

And no one is saying that money is bad, personally I believe money gives you choices, however it shouldnt in turn canonise you unless you deserve it.

And as for him being a big employer, of course he was, why else would he have had the need to tax minimise?

Comments from people who have never been in the position to make a difference.
Yet willing to judge where judgement is from ignorance.
The us vs them mentallity is seen time and again.
Visual
or Rich.
Name one thing each that you know of that Packer did without wish for recognition to benefit ORDINARY people.
I know of 5. How much do you REALLY know about this guy!
How much is hearsay?

brerwallabi
Your kidding.

Smurf1976 · 3 January 2006

tech/a said:
Packer was a legend.
His absolute disregard for pointless rules and his zero tolerance of fools.

Sounds like I have something in common with Kerry Packer.

As for tax, you can't blame anyone for using the rules to their advantage. It's the government's job to make those rules so that everyone pays their fair share. If KP wasn't paying much tax then, as long as what he was doing was legal, then it's the government's fault. I doubt anyone on this forum sends extra money to the ATO beyond what they are legally required to.

brerwallabi · 3 January 2006

tech/a said:
brerwallabi
Your kidding.

What do you want a statue next to Opera House and a belated knighthood and a hymn we can sing on Sundays.
This is getting out of hand.

phoenixrising · 3 January 2006

Tax minimisation sounds good to me.
If I had shares subject to capital gains and was going to sell mid June and was taking 6 mths of next year, I'd be nuts not to wait till nxt fin. yr.
Just smart biz not avoidance

Kerry was tough as nails in biz and generous in private.
He made a huge donation to the Ambulances to put a defribulator (Spelling?) in every one after his life was saved 15 yrs ago by one at Warick Farm after Polo heart attack.
His tips were to die (excuss pun) for around where ever he gambled.

The council for Bondi Bch decided to not fly the Aussie flag on Xmas day, so as not to offend visitors, can you imagine if Kerry was asked to do the same at PBL. I'm sure he would say go $@@$&*#&^

James is finding relationships vastly diffrent
From a short liason with Kate, which she got the Sth Bondi Bch pad plus cash (lots) to moving across the sreet, developing an old servo site successfully, getting married, not long after a divorce, I think he will be quite tough enough for his role as Kerry's successor. And hopefully capable of good personal relationships, not let the failures to get to him.

RichKid · 3 January 2006

tech/a said:
Do you honestly believe that a man who's nett worth was/is $7 Billion didnt pay $100S of Millions in tax over 40 yrs of business?
He minimised his tax at every opportunity.So should every tax payer.

The government offered the State funeral.

Rich.
I'm certaintly suprised at your narrowness and contempt for such an Australian Business legend. When you perhaps read up on some of the untold truths of this man it maybe possible that you'll have an altered view.
However if your an Aussie Knocker then nothing will alter your view as no one deserves such wealth!!

Would you rather he not employ the 1000s he does?

You know nothings ever good enough for some people.

I notice particularly on this site that most are trying to make excess funds from trading yet anyone with any hint of wealth is frowned upon and treated as if they are nothing more than greedy self centered selfish money hungry braggards,and people wonder why exactly the sort of people budding entrepenuers could learn most from keep away from these sort of sites.

Tech, you've gone overboard again. Did I say I have anything against people making money? I'd like an accurate portrayal of Packer, that's why I cite what I did, and it's not a thinly veiled attack against you personally either so don't go off the deep end just because I'm commenting on another successful businessman. Last time I checked Packer wasn't beatified so don't tell me he's beyond reproach (besides, he didn't believe in Heaven so there's no point praying at his alter mate).

And don't even try that 'Aussie Knocker' line, I wont wear it, sounds a lot like George Bush's anti free speech lines (eg you're either with us or against us). We'll never grow as a nation if we can't fully appreciate the character of our important citizens- both the good and the bad. Plain aggro is not enough, so calling me narrow minded without some substance to back it up will not take your argument any further than ground level- even if you write it in bold.

A lot of what I've posted about him is very positive, it is testament to the Australian character that you can work had and succeed, that is evident from the posts but it has to be taken in context, Packer himself says his father set him up but he did the rest, so good on him for running with the ball and for surviving a somewhat tortuous childhood. But clearly there are characteristics and flaws which many humans share, we can observe and learn from them, this is more than mere criticism or character assassination.

When we hear that Kerry had a good reputation for being charitable and benevolent it's important to note his attempts to minimise tax- good business wise but there is a point to be made there and we're free to make it without some silly allegation of Aussie bashing being brought up (sound like a politician's catch cry).....and where's the evidence suggesting my 'narrowness and contempt' and that I'm implying no one deserves such wealth?? Get rid of that chip on your shoulder Tech and your judgment will improve, maybe your psyche slips into defensive gear too quickly when we appear to criticise one of your heroes or cherished beliefs.

Really, just look over the posts, here and on the PBL thread, everyone acknowledges his achievements, the debate is mainly about how James will measure up- it's implicit that there's a lot to measure up to. The criticism of the government's decision to have a memorial service had nothing to do with Kerry's choices, he requested a low key event so there's no Kerry bashing there either but we should be free to debate how our money is spent especially if it comes from the tax pool.

I'm looking forward to your positive stories and anecdotes about Packer as that'll provide a well rounded view of the man. I know of the good things he's done from the ambulances to donations to hospitals etc, no doubt he has intimate knowledge of how useful those devices and donations are.

Also, a lot of people have respect for the many successful traders and investors here (including you) so don't be so quick to feel targeted because of success (your name isn't Kerry Packer btw), it's not class warfare between the rich and poor or average income earners and high income earners....and I'm not Kris Barry either, sorry, time to try a new tape Tech, I've heard this one before.

So, looks like we've warmed up for the new year, never a dull moment.

Kerry Packer

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