The cousin of billionaire businessman James Packer has been found dead at his home on Sydney’s Lower North Shore.

Francis Packer, 64, was a visual artist living a quiet life separate from the wealthy dynasty.

He was found dead in his two-bedroom Cammeray unit, owned by his mother Angela Raymond, on Sunday, police told The Sydney Morning Herald.

While a report will be prepared for the coroner, police have said they believe this is a medical episode. 

Mr Packer’s father Clyde had been the original heir to the family’s casino empire before a bitter falling out between him and his grandfather, Frank, saw him quit the family and move to America in 1976.

This in turn led to the business being handed down to Kerry Packer and then his son James.

Speaking to the Sydney Morning Herald in 2014, Francis said he knew from a young age he was expected to continue the family’s legacy.

‘For a long time I was the heir apparent and that was made very clear to me … I was the little Packer prince,’ he said.

Artist Francis Packer (pictured) was found dead at his home on Sydney’s Lower North Shore

Francis announced in 2020 that he intended to write a tell-all about his life as a member of the Packer dynasty (pictured, James Packer (C) shares a joke with his father Kerry Packer (L), and Indian partners Ketan Parekh (2nd R) and Vinay Maloo (far R) in 2000)

‘I can assure you I don’t envy James at all. He has the head for business, casinos are not my thing. My passion is art and photography, it’s where I can express myself.’

Francis announced in 2020 that he was hoping to write a tell-all book detailing his life and what it could have been.

He had admitted his childhood growing up in grand estates and being waited on by butlers was ‘magical’.

But Mr Packer added that he knew his life as an adult would be vastly different if he was to carry on the empire.

An openly gay man, he described himself as the ‘black sheep’ of the family because his father never wanted to know about his sexuality. 

‘There is a great pressure that goes along with having the Packer surname in this country, a pressure I was made aware of from a very young age,’ he said.

‘I was told that people would be watching me, to be wary of people’s motives … we have been burned before.’

Francis lived with his father after he moved to California in the late 1970s. He only returned to Australia after the September 11, 2001 tragedy. 

Mr Packer had said he never envied the life of his cousin – billionaire businessman James Packer (pictured)

Clyde Packer had died just six months earlier and Francis’ partner was killed during the attack after attending a meeting at the World Trade Centre’s Windows on the World restaurant.

While his older cousin lived away from the spotlight, James was thrust into it from an early age, with his life splashed across the pages of every major newspaper.

James’ father, media mogul Kerry Packer, was one of the richest and most influential people in Australia at the time of his death in 2005.

Mr Packer had controlled the Nine Network and founded World Series Cricket – a private tournament involving some of the world’s leading players in the sport.

He inherited the fortune after his father, Frank Packer, died in 1974, leaving Kerry to run media company Publishing and Broadcasting Limited.

Upon his death, Kerry’s estate was split between his son James and daughter Gretel Packer.

James was the majority owner of Crown, which operates casinos in Melbourne, Sydney and Perth, until the company was sold to Blackstone. 

More to come.