Australian billionaire James Packer has been pictured enjoying a day out on his superyacht in Italy with none other than legendary actor Robert De Niro and his family.
The high-flying group, including De Niro’s girlfriend Tiffany Chen and his daughter Helen Grace, were seen soaking up the sun onboard the businessman’s epic $283 million Italian-built superyacht, IJE.
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While Packer and Oscar-winning actor De Niro seem unlikely company for a European sea jaunt, the pair have a history as friends and business partners.
Their relationship first because public when Packer bought a stake in the actor’s world renowned Japanese restaurant and hotel chain, Nobu, in 2015.
It was also reported in 2016 by Forbes that the luxury-loving pair had teamed up to build a resort in Barbuda, in the Eastern Caribbean.
Featuring a nightclub, 11 cabins, swimming pool and a theatre, casino mogul Packer purchased IJE in 2019 for $200 million. It is named after his three children, Indigo, Jackson and Emmanuelle.
Despite trying to sell the jaw-dropping vessel last year, Sunday Confidential reported in March that Packer had decided to keep the yacht, having received just “one paltry low-ball offer” since he put it on the market.
The reclusive billionaire recently became $3.2 billion richer after cashing out the astronomical value of his Crown shares.
Shareholders in the casino company unanimously voted on May 20 in favour of a takeover by US private equity giant Blackstone, which offered them $13.10 a share.
That offered Crown shareholders a huge 32 per cent premium on the closing price of Crown shares on November 18, 2021 of $9.90 a share. That was the last trading day prior to Crown receiving an acquisition proposal from Blackstone at a price of $12.50 a share.
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It meant that shareholders in the company received a healthy premium for the $8.9 billion takeover on June 24.
The biggest beneficiary, naturally, was Crown’s biggest shareholder – Packer — who is already one of Australia’s richest people with an estimated net worth of $5.72 billion.
For his massive 37 per cent stake in the company, he reportedly walked away with a $3.36 billion payday which, like for all Crown shareholders, is more than what his shares were previously worth.
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