Media titan Rupert Murdoch to marry again at 93, eight years after last divorce
By Jeph Ajobaju, Chief Copy Editor
Rupert Murdoch (who will be 93 on March 11), has announced plans to marry another wife for the fifth time, eight years after divorcing Jerry Hall, the British supermodel and actress who had previously married Rolling Stones singer Mick Jagger with whom she had four children.
Murdoch is in the league of world billionaires – Elon Musk, Bill Gates, Jeff Bezos, Aliko Dangote, et all – who have married more than once or are divorced and making out with other women outside marriage.
By his latest foray into marital bliss, the nonagenarian would have married from at least three continents; from Asia, across Europe and Oceania, to the United States.
Murdoch is the founder of Fox News whose publishing empire spans the US (The Wall Street Journal, The New York Post), the United Kingdom (The Sun and The Times), and Australia (The Daily Telegraph, Herald Sun, and The Australian).
Besides Fox News, he also owns other cable networks as well as movie studios.
CNN reports that within a year of calling off his last wedding, nonagenarian billionaire Murdoch has popped the question to another partner, months after they started dating.
The former News Corp chairman’s media representative confirmed the news to CNN on Friday, just days before the billionaire’s 93rd birthday on March 11.
It’s the second time Murdoch has been engaged in a year.
Last March, the media titan announced plans to marry Ann Lesley Smith, a former dental hygienist and conservative radio host. But the wedding was called off weeks later.
This time, Murdoch will wed Elena Zhukova, a 67-year-old retired molecular biologist, according to The New York Times, which first reported the impending nuptials.
Murdoch and Zhukova reportedly started dating in the summer and plan to marry at Moraga Bel Air, Murdoch’s luxury vineyard and estate in California.
Images of the couple together have been published in recent months on news sites. Zhukova is the mother of Russian American art collector Dasha Zhukova, the former wife of Russian oligarch Roman Abramovich.
Murdoch was recently listed as #280 on Bloomberg’s Billionaire Index, with a net worth of $9 billion.
He stepped down as chairman of News Corporation, the print publishing arm of his media empire, last November, handing control of the business to his eldest son, Lachlan.
At the time, Murdoch said he would continue an “active role” in the company, adopting the title of chairman emeritus of Fox Corporation, the parent company of Fox News and other broadcasting assets.
Murdoch was previously married to former flight attendant Patricia Booker, journalist Anna Murdoch and entrepreneur Wendi Deng, who reportedly introduced him to Zhukova.
He married his fourth wife, former model Jerry Hall, in 2016. Their divorce was finalized in August 2022.
It’s unclear why Murdoch’s last engagement was called off.
At the time, he said of the proposal to Smith: “I was very nervous …. I dreaded falling in love – but I knew this would be my last. It better be. I’m happy.”
__________________________________________________________________
Related articles:
Jeff Bezos back on top of Elon Musk as world’s richest person
Jeff Bezos sells $4b shares of Amazon he founded
Billionaires Bezos and Musk dodge US tax to stay rich
Bill Gates lauds his buddy, Dangote, as ‘invaluable partner’ for decades
__________________________________________________________________
Age no barrier to new love or new marriage
The New York Times adds Murdoch decided that at 92, it was time to give up the reins of power at his media empire – but it seems he believes age is no barrier for new love, or a new marriage.
On Thursday, Murdoch’s office said that he planned to marry his girlfriend, Elena Zhukova, 67, a retired molecular biologist whom he started dating in the summer.
The nuptials, scheduled for June, would culminate a topsy-turvy romantic journey to a fifth marriage for Mr. Murdoch, whose personal dramas have frequently made him the focus of the tabloid gossip industry he helped create.
After he divorced Jerry Hall in the summer of 2022, he became engaged to Ann Lesley Smith, a retired dental hygienist, in the spring of 2023. He abruptly broke off that engagement, however, after about two weeks.
He met Zhukova through his third wife, Wendi Deng, The Daily Mail reported in August, when it broke the news of the relationship.
Zhukova distinguished herself as a molecular biologist studying diabetes, including at the University of California, Los Angeles. But she also has an intriguing pedigree.
Having come to the United States from Moscow toward the end of the Soviet Union, her ex-husband, Alexander Zhukov, became a billionaire energy investor (he now resides in London as a British citizen).
Her daughter, Dasha Zhukova, is a prominent philanthropist, entrepreneur and arts patron who, until 2017, was married to the Russian oligarch Roman Abramovich.
A representative for Murdoch confirmed that invitations to the wedding have already gone out; the event is to be held at Murdoch’s California vineyard and estate, Moraga.
Moraga was where Murdoch first hatched his deal with Bob Iger to sell a large portion of his media empire, his movie studios and cable networks, to Disney. That deal looks especially keen this year as the industry continues to be rocked by the evolution to streaming.
Murdoch announced he was retiring as the chief of his businesses last year, maintaining an emeritus role as his son Lachlan took over the reins more fully.
Murdoch’s marriage would be unlikely to affect the future of the company, which is effectively controlled through a family trust whose shares belong to him and his four eldest children – one with his first wife, Patricia Booker, the other three with his second wife, Anna Murdoch Mann.
