James Packer reveals the FIRST thing he wants to do when he returns to Sydney next year

James Packer is looking forward to jumping in the ocean at Bondi Beach and seeing the finished Sydney Crown casino when he returns to Australia for the first time in two years.

The billionaire said he is now the ‘happiest’ he’s been in years, after shedding 25kg in 75 days and ditching the seven mood-altering drugs he was taking to help with his mental health.

The 54-year-old former executive chair of Crown Resorts will return to Sydney next March with his ex-wife Erica and their three kids Indigo, 13, Jackson, 12 and Emmanuelle, nine.   

It will be the first time Mr Packer is in Australia since January, 2020. 

‘I’m roughly 130kg now and want to be back to 100kg by the end of 2022. I want to swim with my kids at Bondi when we’re all in Sydney together next year and be 100kg,’ he told The Weekend Australian from his home in in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico.

The businessman said he quit the antidepressants and antipsychotic drugs he was prescribed in March, and is now looking to ‘rehabilitate’ his reputation in Australia.

James Packer is looking forward to jumping in the ocean at Bondi Beach and seeing the finished Sydney Crown casino when he returns to Australia for the first time in two years 

‘I am very much looking forward to seeing Crown Sydney … it hasn’t been appropriate for me to be in Australia for the last few years,’ he said. 

Mr Packer sold Crown to private investment company Blackstone for $8.9billion in a deal that was finalised last week, with the businessman pocketing $3.3billion.

The sale marked the end of a major chapter in his life which at times was mired by controversy amid inquiries into the company and allegations of money laundering. 

Despite the investigations, the billionaire credited his casinos in Melbourne, Perth and Sydney for changing the cities ‘for the better’. 

The father-of-three said he is now excited to begin his ‘third act’ and plans to ease back into public life in Australia.

Mr Packer, pictured last year, is now hoping to embrace a life of health and wellbeing after shedding 25kg in just over two months

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Mr Packer’s ex-wife Erica and their three children are seen in Bondi beach. The family will stay at the Crown Sydney next March

When he arrives in Sydney next year, he will stay in his former company’s new luxury skyscraper overlooking the harbour with his family.

Erica will renovate the $72million apartment which will serve as a home for whenever members of the family are in the NSW capital.

The last time Mr Packer saw the monumental building was in January 2020, and he was last seen publicly just eight months later where he appeared on video link from his $250million yacht during the inquiry investigating Crown’s casino licence in NSW.

Packer said he will be visiting Crown Sydney (above) for the first time next March in his first Australian trip since January 2020

Mr Packer is seen with former flame Mariah Carey in 2016

Mr Packer said he was enjoying life more than he ever had, and was prioritising family and his wellbeing.

‘The sale of Crown is the end of my Act 2 and the beginning of my Act 3. I want to learn from my mistakes and I’m hoping for a meaningful and successful Act 3,’ he said.

He also wants to become involved in public debate in Australia including on topics like China, mental health and artificial intelligence. 

Mr Packer acknowledged he’d been ‘incredibly lucky’ in his life with a current estimated net worth of $5.72 billion, and is now hoping to help those ‘a lot less fortunate than me’. 

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Mr Packer is seen with the late Shane Warne and ex-wife Erica Packer at the races in Melbourne in 2012