Richest Australian man Kerry Packer dies
(AP)
Updated: 2005-12-27 08:50

Australia's wealthiest man, media and gambling mogul Kerry Packer, has died, his family said in a statement Tuesday. He was 68.

Packer — ranked as the world's 94th wealthiest person by Forbes magazine, with a $5 billion fortune — died Monday at his Sydney home, according to the statement released through his Nine Network television.

Australia's richest man Kerry Packer (R) walks past journalists at the Media and Gaming group Publishing and Broadcasting Ltd annual general meeting in Sydney in this October 31, 2001 file photo.[Reuters/file]

"Mrs. Kerry Packer and her children, James and Gretel, sadly report the passing last evening of her husband and their father Kerry," according to a statement from Tony Ritchie, a Nine Network executive. "He died peacefully at home with his family at his bedside."

Packer had long been plagued by ill health, battling cancer and receiving a kidney transplant.

His media and gambling empire was centered on Publishing & Broadcasting Ltd., which owns Nine as well as Melbourne's Crown Casino. The company also is developing casinos in Macau with Asian businessman Stanley Ho.