{"id":858501,"date":"2026-08-17T13:32:14","date_gmt":"2026-08-17T13:32:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/858501\/"},"modified":"2026-08-17T13:32:14","modified_gmt":"2026-08-17T13:32:14","slug":"james-packers-bets-on-ai-pay-off-after-sell-down-in-gaming-shares","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/858501\/","title":{"rendered":"James Packer\u2019s bets on AI pay off after sell-down in gaming shares"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Kishor<\/p>\n

August 17, 2026 \u2014 6:25pm<\/p>\n

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Billionaire James Packer has shifted his investment focus from gaming back to artificial intelligence, with his stake in computer chip manufacturer Nvidia now worth almost $US300 million ($422 million).<\/p>\n

Filings with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission made last week by a Cayman Islands-based holding company controlled by Packer show that the former Crown owner increased his holdings in Nvidia to 1.5 million shares in the March quarter of 2026.<\/p>\n

\"BillionaireBillionaire businessman James Packer has shifted his investment strategy towards artificial intelligence.Seven News<\/p>\n

That stake rose in value to $US296 million ($417 million) in the quarter ending June 30, a 14 per cent increase in value. Nvidia, which manufactures specialised computer chips used by artificial intelligence companies, has soared thanks to the boom in that technology. With a market capitalisation of $US5.45 trillion ($7.67 trillion), it is the world\u2019s most valuable public company, a crown it briefly lost to Apple last month.<\/p>\n

Packer has consistently shuffled his American portfolio through a tangled thicket of companies linked to his private investment vehicle, Consolidated Press Holdings, making it difficult to track its true value. However, recent filings show he has made a major bet on the technology.<\/p>\n

Palidye Holdings (Caymans) Ltd, which holds the Nvidia shares, and also has a $US121 million stake in Facebook owner Meta Platforms and a $US115 million position in Microsoft. Palidye reports to the SEC on behalf of Consolidated Press International Ltd, another of Packer\u2019s companies. Under the US regulator\u2019s rules, a single investment manager can file quarterly reports on behalf of another where the two entities share investment discretion or have a parent-subsidiary relationship.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

Palidye\u2019s total portfolio is currently valued at $US558 million. The company also has shares in Reddit, Afterpay owner Block, and e-commerce platform Shopify.<\/p>\n

Packer\u2019s latest investments also reflect a shift in focus away from gaming and back towards artificial intelligence over the past year. A year ago, his company, Consolidated Press International Holdings, sold down its stake in Nvidia and bought 2.7 per cent of Las Vegas-based pokie machine manufacturer Light & Wonder, which is planning to move its listing from Wall Street\u2019s Nasdaq to the ASX. He also bought a $US121 share in Flutter, the parent company of online bookmaker Sportsbet.<\/p>\n

Those purchases were Packer\u2019s first foray back into gambling since he sold his shares in casino operator Crown Resorts to American private equity giant Blackstone for $3.3 billion in 2022. Packer\u2019s exit from gaming came after a bruising series of state-based inquiries following allegations of money laundering at Crown casinos.<\/p>\n

But recent filings indicate a pivot from gaming back to technology. The Light & Wonder stake, worth $US243 million as of last September, has been sold, as have his shares in Flutter. Palidye, the Caymans-based company, also sold a $US21 million stake in US sports betting company Penn Entertainment. It also bought shares in Las Vegas casino giant Wynn Resorts that was worth as much as $US147 million last year, which has since been sold.<\/p>\n

Related Article\"<\/a><\/p>\n

In 2019, Wynn sought to engineer a takeover of Crown which would have given Packer a 10 per cent stake in the company. But Wynn pulled out of the deal after discussions were prematurely leaked to the media.<\/p>\n

Consolidated Press International made just two small purchases in the last quarter, buying circa $US1 million stakes in school bus manufacturer Blue Bird Corporation and nuclear energy start-up Deep Fission Inc.<\/p>\n

In several interviews, Packer has chalked down some of his recent investment strategy to the influence of Canadian-born Daniel Nadler, a billionaire artificial intelligence entrepreneur and poet.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn truth, the only reason I\u2019ve had some wins recently is because I\u2019ve taken his [Nadler\u2019s] advice,\u201d he told The Daily Telegraph in 2024.<\/p>\n

Packer\u2019s representatives were contacted for comment.<\/p>\n

In May, Consolidated Press Holdings settled a Federal Court lawsuit brought by former general counsel Catherine Davies, who departed last year after more than a decade. Packer was not a party to the lawsuit.<\/p>\n

Last week, the billionaire tied the knot for the third time, marrying Canadian model Kylie Lim on the Italian island of Sardinia.<\/p>\n

The Business Briefing newsletter delivers major stories, exclusive coverage and expert opinion. Sign up to get it every weekday morning<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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\"KishorKishor Napier-Raman<\/a> is a senior business writer for The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age. Previously he worked as a CBD columnist and reporter in the federal parliamentary press gallery.Connect via X<\/a> or email<\/a>.From our partners<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"August 17, 2026 \u2014 6:25pm Save You have reached your maximum number of saved items. Remove items from…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":858502,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[20],"tags":[256,254,255,64,63,105],"class_list":["post-858501","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-artificial-intelligence","tag-ai","tag-artificial-intelligence","tag-artificialintelligence","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-technology"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/858501","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=858501"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/858501\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/858502"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=858501"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=858501"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=858501"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}