The Hunter Sports Group boss Troy Palmer is the immediate direct beneficiary of his boss Nathan Tinkler's decision to quit Newcastle for Singapore.

Gina Rinehart doesn't particularly fit the bill, nor does Gerry Harvey or Frank Lowy. James Packer has a bit of flair thanks to his love of rich toys, but is he really cool? Even our youngest billionaire, coal baron Nathan Tinkler, would struggle to fit snugly into the cool category.

Whoever coined the phrase 'there's no such thing as a free lunch', knew what they were talking about. If something is free, odds-on it's dangerous.

Prime Minister Gillard did a decent enough job explaining the carbon tax on the ABC's Q&A last night, though as a thoroughly coached media performer she should have dwelt a little longer on one phrase in particular: in line with Treasury forecasts.

James Packer certainly can't match his famous father for clout. But the war he's waging to build a second Sydney casino shows that he comes from the same powerful gene pool. And it proves the Packer name still rings loud with the nation's decision makers.

James Packer's campaign against former Echo Chairman John Story was personal, unrelenting, aggressive and successful.

Hungry Jack Cowan's Fairfax bid provides a fascinating insight into how – or indeed why – a tycoon might enter a difficult business.

If you want to see a pretty pack of pollies, you need look no further than James Packer's new political mates. The billionaire's offices in Sydney's Park Street are now becoming a stronghold for the Labor Party in exile.

When bad news is unrelenting, as it has been for Qantas, the sense of crisis tests a company’s leaders.

James Strong knows how to keep entertained. He bikes, climbs, wears bowties, and chairs the boards of three very different entities: Woolworths, Kathmandu and the Australia Council.