Rupert Murdoch Marries for Fifth Time

Rupert Murdoch has gotten married for the fifth time. The 93-year-old media mogul wed 67-year-old retired molecular biologist Elena Zhukova on Saturday, The Hollywood Reporter has confirmed. The ceremony took place at Murdoch’s California vineyard, reportedly the Moraga estate in Bel Air.

The couple announced their engagement in early March.

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Murdoch’s marital history includes four previous marriages. His first marriage was to Patricia Booker in 1956, which ended in divorce in 1967. That same year, he married Scottish journalist and novelist Anna Torv. They had three children together but ultimately parted ways in 1999.

Shortly after divorcing Torv, Murdoch married Wendi Deng, then vice president of Star TV, a company acquired by News Corp in 1993. They had two daughters before divorcing in 2013. Three years later, Murdoch married Jerry Hall; their marriage was short-lived, as Hall filed for divorce in July 2022. A month after their divorce, the business magnate moved on with Ann Lesley Smith. They got engaged in the spring of 2023, but Murdoch called off their engagement less than a month afterwards.

Murdoch reportedly started dating Zhukova last summer after meeting her through Deng.

This is not Zhukova’s first marriage. She was previously married to billionaire entrepreneur Alexander Zhukov, who is the founder of Interfinance. Their daughter, Dasha, was previously married to Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich.

Last year, Murdoch stepped down as chairman from Fox Corp. and News Corp., with his son Lachlan Murdoch taking over the title. As reported by The New York Times, his marriage to Zhukova will likely not affect the future of his media empire, as it is controlled through a family trust.

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