The Media Mogul Who Transformed Cricket

Kerry Packer, Australia's wealthiest man whose media empire dominates its television and magazine landscape, died at his Sydney home last night after battling a long illness. He was 68.

Listed by Forbes magazine as the 94th richest man in the world, Mr Packer amassed a US$5bn (£2.8bn) fortune on the back of a family business that he ran for three decades.

He was also instrumental in transforming the world of cricket through his World Series gambit of the late 1970s that introduced coloured clothing, white balls, floodlights - and better pay - to the international game.

A spokesman for his Publishing and Broadcasting group confirmed in a statement that Mr Packer had died peacefully at home with his family at his bedside. "Mrs Kerry Packer and her children James and Gretel sadly report the passing last evening of her husband and their father Kerry," the statement said. "He will be missed enormously."

Mr Packer, a heavy smoker, had suffered a series of health scares over recent years. He underwent a kidney transplant in November 2000, receiving an organ donated by his helicopter pilot and long-term friend Nicholas Ross. His other kidney was removed after it was found to be cancerous in 1986.

In 1990, he suffered a near-fatal heart attack that saw his heart stop during a polo match. He commented after the incident: "The good news is there's no devil. The bad news is there's no heaven. There's nothing."

Mr Packer had a heart bypass operation the following year and has been in hospital in both Sydney and New York several times since.

Peter Costello, the treasurer in John Howard's Liberal government, said Mr Packer was a giant of Australian business and society. "Kerry Packer was a giant of the TV and publishing business in Australia," Mr Costello said. "He had an instinctive feel for public opinion which allowed him to build the Nine Network with a galaxy of popular shows and entertainers. He was also a philanthropist who was generous in giving to charity. He was one of Australia's most successful ever businessmen."

Former England captain Tony Greig, covering the Test match between Australia and South Africa at the MCG, where the crowd observed a minute's silence, said the world had lost a truly great Australian. "He was a bloke with such an incredible sense of fun and there was that charisma whenever you were associated with him. We'll all miss him greatly."

The commentator Richie Benaud said: "There was never anything mundane or orthodox about him."

The second son of Sir Frank and Lady Gretel Packer, Kerry entered the family business, Australian Consolidated Press, in 1956. In 1974 he took over running the conglomerate. Just three years later he was taking on the cricket establishment, signing the game's top players under the banner of World Series Cricket.

He gained full control of the media company in 1982, in a move which ultimately allowed him to make his multi-billion dollar fortune. After the sale of the Nine Network to Alan Bond for $1bn in 1987, Mr Packer began investing widely.

He also indulged his passions of gambling and horses. An impulsive gambler he is rumoured to have once lost £13m in a three-day session in Las Vegas.

Mr Packer combined his media and gaming interests into Publishing & Broadcasting in 1994, eventually handing over to his son James in 1998. The empire includes Australia's Nine television network, top-selling magazines and Melbourne's Crown Casino. He recently acquired a 50% stake in the British gaming company Betfair's Australian and New Zealand operations.

Packer's 70s revolution

Kerry Packer was the man who dragged cricket kicking and screaming into the modern media era. His World Series instituted gaudy uniforms and replaced red balls with white ones in spotlit day-night matches, to cater for television viewers.

Still in his late teens when he joined the family business, Australian Consolidated Press, one of Mr Packer's first moves after taking control was to take on the cricket establishment. "My life was sport. I was academically stupid. My method of surviving through school was sport," he once said.

In 1977, he became furious at the Australian Cricket Board's refusal to accept an A$1.5m bid for the television rights to Australian Test matches and Sheffield Shield Cricket, a domestic competition.

So he exclusively signed up more than 50 of the game's top players - including England captain Tony Greig - under the brand of World Series Cricket, angering traditionalists with his fast-moving version of the game. He described his action as "half-philanthropic" and some of his proteges, such as Pakistan captain Javed Miandad, dubbed him "Uncle Kerry".

He was willing to pay cricketers at unprecedented levels to win their loyalty, ushering in the fully professional era in the sport. He split the game: the International Cricket Conference portrayed him as divisive and lacking respect for the game's traditions.

But Mr Packer was unperturbed: "I've read about Genghis Khan: he wasn't very loveable, but he was bloody efficient," he reportedly said.

He ultimately achieved his goal: the Australian Cricket Board surrendered and awarded him television rights to top matches.

Jonathan Milne