SYDNEY -- Billionaire Kerry Packer, Australia's richest man, is about to get much richer after the country's only known gem ruby deposit was found to lie within the bounds of one his properties, a newspaper reported Monday.

The media and gambling mogul is following a proud Australian tradition of plucky prospectors finding their fortune by tapping into the country's rich mineral deposits. But for Packer, make that fortune number two.

Sydney's ***Daily Telegraph*** said the rare gems lie beneath Packer's property in the picturesque Hunter Valley wine region in New South Wales state.

"What we've found is world class: Top quality," Cluff Resources Pacific managing director Peter Kennewell told the newspaper. "It has surprised a lot of people. "The stone is of good quality and color, ranging from deep red through deeper pinks to a very pale pink reminiscent of Argyle pink diamonds."

Australia's ***Business Review*** Magazine annually compiles a list of the country's richest 200 people and this year estimated Packer's personal fortune at 5.5 billion dollars (3.73 billion U.S.).

The rubies could be used to top up 2003's accounts, which were down about 400,000 dollars on last year.