Puddy
12-27-2005, 04:31 AM
Anyone you know?
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Sydney (dpa) - Australia's wealthiest man, media mogul Kerry Packer, died overnight in Sydney aged 68, it was announced Tuesday.
Packer, whose personal wealth was recently estimated at nearly 7 billion Australian dollars (5.1 billion U.S. dollars), was a powerful player in Australia's media industry, heading the free-to-air Nine Network and holding interests in pay TV and magazine publishing. His eclectic business empire also included casinos and landholdings.
A renowned sports fanatic, Packer is credited with revolutionising the game of cricket by establishing World Series Cricket in the 1970s which popularised one-day matches. Australian and South African test cricketers in Melbourne stood for a minute's silence Tuesday morning before resuming play.
Prime Minister John Howard said Packer was a great Australian. "He was a larger than life character and in so many ways he left his mark on the Australian community over a very long career in business," he said.
Rival media magnate, News Corp chief Rupert Murdoch, said Packer was one of the best media proprietors and broadcasters Australia had seen. "As a broadcaster, he had an uncanny knack of knowing what people across the country were thinking," Murdoch said in a statement.
Packer died peacefully at home, according to a statement from Nine Network's head of news Tony Ritchie. "He will be lovingly remembered and missed enormously," the statement said. dpa jw pw
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Sydney (dpa) - Australia's wealthiest man, media mogul Kerry Packer, died overnight in Sydney aged 68, it was announced Tuesday.
Packer, whose personal wealth was recently estimated at nearly 7 billion Australian dollars (5.1 billion U.S. dollars), was a powerful player in Australia's media industry, heading the free-to-air Nine Network and holding interests in pay TV and magazine publishing. His eclectic business empire also included casinos and landholdings.
A renowned sports fanatic, Packer is credited with revolutionising the game of cricket by establishing World Series Cricket in the 1970s which popularised one-day matches. Australian and South African test cricketers in Melbourne stood for a minute's silence Tuesday morning before resuming play.
Prime Minister John Howard said Packer was a great Australian. "He was a larger than life character and in so many ways he left his mark on the Australian community over a very long career in business," he said.
Rival media magnate, News Corp chief Rupert Murdoch, said Packer was one of the best media proprietors and broadcasters Australia had seen. "As a broadcaster, he had an uncanny knack of knowing what people across the country were thinking," Murdoch said in a statement.
Packer died peacefully at home, according to a statement from Nine Network's head of news Tony Ritchie. "He will be lovingly remembered and missed enormously," the statement said. dpa jw pw