Packer says he'll pack it in when senile

RUPERT Murdoch says he will be carried out in a box before retiring but Australia's richest man, media mogul Kerry Packer, says he will step down at 'the beginning of senility'.

Packer, 65, has been a non-executive director of his family's media and publishing empire since 1996, but proved again that he has not taken a back seat in the running of listed company Publishing & Broadcasting.

He told shareholders at the annual meeting in Sydney that he has no plans to quit, despite health scares following his kidney transplant in 2000. He joked that he was 'getting old, tired, lazy and run down', but sprang to life when asked about the re-election of some veteran directors. 'I've been on [the board] for more than 10 years, do you want to get rid of me too?' Packer asked. 'No one can tell me that Warren Buffett is too old to be in charge of Berkshire Hathaway. He is 88 years of age and has been running it for 50 years and he's been the most successful person in American business.'

Asked when he thought directors should step down, he replied: 'The beginning of senility.' And in response to criticism from the floor, he told his critic: 'I've got my opinion, and you've got your opinion, and I've got more shares than you.'