Billionaire Rupert Murdoch said “I do” for the fifth time during a ceremony at his Californian vineyard on Saturday.
The 93-year-old’s publishing corporation, News Corp., on Sunday confirmed the media magnate married Elena Zhukova, a 67-year-old retired Russian biologist.
A spokesperson told the Associated Press the couple married at Murdoch’s vineyard estate in Bel Air, Calif., called Moraga.
To exchange their vows, the bride wore a white three-quarter length Emilia Wickstead gown with a square neckline. Murdoch wore a black suit with a pale mustard coloured tie and white pocket square. He paired the look with what appear to be black Hoka athletic shoes.
Murdoch announced their engagement — his sixth — in March. The couple began dating last summer, shortly after the Fox News creator called off his engagement to former police chaplain Ann Lesley Smith.
Murdoch reportedly met Zhukova through his third wife, Wendi Deng.
Zhukova was previously married to Russian-born billionaire Alexander Zhukov, founder of the international investment group Interfinance. The ex-couple have one daughter, Dasha Zhukova, an art collector and philanthropist.
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This marriage is unlikely to change any of the assets owned by Murdoch, as they are controlled by a family trust with shares belonging to Murdoch and his four eldest children. (Murdoch has six children in total.)
Rupert Murdoch’s five marriages
Murdoch has had a series of public love affairs which have often made him the subject of intrigue in the gossip tabloids News Corp. owns.
He first wed Australian flight attendant Patricia Booker in 1956 and the pair had one child, Prudence. The pair divorced in 1967 after 11 years of marriage.
Also in 1967, Murdoch married Scottish journalist Anna Murdoch Mann (born Anna Maria Torv) and had three children, daughter Elisabeth and sons Lachlan and James. Murdoch and Mann divorced in 1999. Their 32-year relationship is Murdoch’s longest.
He then married Wendi Deng, a Chinese-born entrepreneur and movie producer, only two weeks after finalizing his divorce from Mann. Deng and Murdoch had two daughters, Grace and Chloe. The couple divorced in 2016.
Murdoch’s last marriage was in 2016 to American model Jerry Hall. They divorced after six years together. He was briefly engaged to former police chaplain Ann Lesley Smith, but the nuptials were called off in April 2023.
Born in Australia, Murdoch owns News Corp., which holds hundreds of local, national and international media assets, including Fox News, the Wall Street Journal and book publisher HarperCollins.
His net worth is estimated at US$9.77 billion.
In September 2023, Murdoch announced that he would be stepping down as leader of his companies. He appointed his son Lachlan as his successor at Fox and the rest of the media empire.
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