Rupert Murdoch completed his fifth wedding in his California mansion last Saturday. The bride is 67-year-old scientist Elena Zhukova, whom he met at a party hosted by Deng Wen Di. Zhukova's ex-husband is Russian energy tycoon Alexander Zhukov, and her daughter Dasha Zhukova is also the former spouse of Russian oligarch Abramovich.
On June 3rd, Caixin reported (Editor: Shi Zhengcheng) that News Corp, the American media giant, confirmed that its founder, 93-year-old Rupert Murdoch, achieved the fifth milestone of his life by entering the realm of marriage.
It is reported that the wedding was held at Murdoch's Bellair winery in California last Saturday. According to pictures provided by News Corp, Murdoch, 93, wore a smart suit and was cuddled by Elena Zhukova, 67, by his side. The couple announced their engagement in March this year before Murdoch's 93rd birthday.
(Source: News Corp, Reuters)
Last year, Murdoch announced his retirement as chairman of News Corp and Fox Group, with his son Lachlan Murdoch taking over. Although his 70 years of pioneering journey in the business world has come to an end, his pursuit of personal emotions has not stopped.
Due to the Murdoch family's super control over the media industry, many Western media outlets emphasized when reporting on Murdoch's new marriage that the groom is our (former) boss.
Legendary media figure and love guru
In 1952, Murdoch inherited several newspapers in Australia from his father, which expanded over several decades into a global media conglomerate spanning the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia, and other countries. Well-known subsidiaries of News Corp include the Wall Street Journal (financial information service provider Dow Jones), The Times, The Sun, The Telegraph, Fox News, and HarperCollins publishing house.
While expanding his media empire, Murdoch's love life has also been a frequent guest in major media headlines. The complexity thereof even exceeds the historical evolution of many SOE prospectuses.
In 1956, a 25-year-old Murdoch married Australian stewardess Patricia Booker and had a daughter, Prudence Murdoch. In 1967, they ended their marriage of 11 years. Patricia is reported to have died in 1999. Although Prudence holds multiple positions within News Corp, she rarely appears in public and has always been low-key.
After the end of his first marriage, Murdoch quickly entered into a second marriage with 23-year-old Scottish female journalist Anna Murdoch. This marriage lasted a total of 32 years. The couple gave birth to two sons and a daughter within five years of their marriage, with their eldest son Lachlan and second son James being the fiercest rivals in the "succession war".
From a business perspective, including eldest daughter Prudence, these four people also constitute the four pillars of the "Post-Murdoch era" of News Corp- in the family trust set up by Murdoch, only Murdoch and these four children have voting rights, and only these four people can inherit voting shares in the trust fund.
(In 1968, Murdoch and Anna appeared at London airport holding their daughter Elizabeth)
After Murdoch's marriage with Anna ended in 1999, he entered into his third marriage just two months later with 30-year-old Deng Wendi. The couple gave birth to two daughters, Grace and Chloe, in 2001 and 2003, respectively, and ended their marriage in 2013. Worth mentioning is that Grace and Chloe can also receive the non-voting shares of Murdoch's family trust.
(Murdoch and Deng Wendi)
After a rare many-year hiatus, Murdoch entered into his fourth marriage just a week before his 85th birthday in 2016, marrying 59-year-old American supermodel and actress Jerry Hall. Hall is the former wife of Rolling Stones frontman Mick Jagger. The couple ended their marriage in the summer of 2022.
(Murdoch with Jerry Hall)
Until then, the 91-year-old Murdoch remained a "crazy lover." In an interview with his own media outlet The New York Post, he revealed that in September 2022 he met a former model and police pastor, Ann Lesley, who is 66 years old, but also frankly stated, "This may be the last time in his life he fell in love." The two were engaged last year but canceled the wedding two weeks after announcing their engagement.
According to British media reports, after a brief disappointment, Murdoch rebounded last summer. At a party hosted by his third wife Deng Wendi, the 92-year-old old man ignited the spark of love with Zhukova.
Easter Egg: Zhukova's background is also not simple
Zhukova's life experience is also not simple. Her ex-husband was Russian oil tycoon Alexander Zhukov - reportedly also a relative of former Soviet Marshal Zhukov. After the disintegration of the Soviet Union in 1991, Zhukova moved to the United States with her daughter and worked as a biologist at the University of California, Los Angeles
Zhu Kewa's daughter Dasha Zhukova moved to the USA with her mother when she was 10 years old. In 2008, she married famous Russian oligarch Roman Abramovich and had a son and a daughter with him, but the two divorced in 2018. In 2019, Dasha Zhukova married Stavros Niarchos III, grandson of the 'Greek Shipping Tycoon', and they had a son together. According to reports, Dasha is a good friend of Murdoch's third wife, Deng Wendi, in the New York social circle. Therefore, Elena Zhukova and Murdoch's relationship cannot be without the help of this relationship as a go-between.
(Dasha Zhukova and Abramovich)