Mariah Carey has always embraced excess. With a massive 35-carat diamond engagement ring, the Grammy-winning songstress said yes to her billionaire fiancé, James Packer last Thursday in New York City. Estimated to be the fourth-richest person in Australia with a net worth of $4.7 billion, Packer, 48, "is powerful and successful and that is attractive to her", a friend of the superstar tells People in this week's issue. "Mariah is someone who likes to be taken care of."
After meeting at the 2014 Hercules premiere, the couple were first photographed together in Italy on his family yacht, the Arctic P, last summer. Previously married to music executive Tommy Mottola, 67, and America's Got Talent host Nick Cannon, 35 (their divorce is still pending), "she is super excited", says the friend of her latest engagement. And while no wedding plans have been announced yet, "It's a match made in heaven because he's unafraid of an alpha woman," adds an insider. "He's an alpha male."
In December, Carey and Packer spent Christmas in Aspen with her 4½-year-old twins, Monroe and Moroccan, from her marriage to Cannon. "It's obvious that James cares about Mariah's kids," says a source. Packer - the son of the late media mogul Kerry Packer - has three children with his second wife, Erica Baxter, who is now dating Seal. "He is a businessman first," adds the source. "But when he is around, he is great with the kids."
Linked with Aussie model Miranda Kerr in the past, Packer has Hollywood connections - Tom Cruise was a guest at his wedding to Baxter - and he even explored Scientology. "I think aside from Tommy, James is the only guy she's been with who's more successful than she is," says Carey's friend. "She likes that."
(People)
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