Rupert Murdoch is stepping down as chairman of Fox and News Corp after a career spanning seven decades. Here's how the billionaire media mogul spends his money.
The 92-year-old billionaire media mogul has made headlines as a face of conservative media — and Murdoch family drama is said to be the inspiration for the hit TV show "Succession." He's worth an estimated $8.26 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.
Here's a look at how he spends that fortune:
Rupert Murdoch will leave his current roles at Fox and News Corp after a career spanning seven decades.
Rupert Murdoch at his annual party at Spencer House, St James' Place in London. Picture date: Thursday June 22, 2023.
"For my entire professional life, I have been engaged daily with news and ideas, and that will not change," Murdoch said in the memo. "But the time is right for me to take on different roles, knowing that we have truly talented teams and a passionate, principled leader in Lachlan who will become sole Chairman of both companies.
Lachlan Murdoch, Rupert Murdoch's eldest son and successor to his empire, was most recently executive chairman and CEO of Fox Corporation, and co-chairman of News Corp.
The 92-year-old has three children from his marriage to Anna Murdoch — James, Elisabeth, and Lachlan.
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And he has a fortune worth $8.26 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index as of Sept. 20.
The media mogul has long been the chair of News Corp and Fox Corporation., which are both listed in New York. The former has newspaper subsidiaries including The Wall Street Journal, the New York Post, The Times of London, and The Sun, as well as titles in Australia.
Fox Corp. includes Fox News, America's most popular cable-news network, and the Fox TV stations.
Murdoch inherited a newspaper in Adelaide, Australia, in 1952 at the age of 21 when his father, Keith, died.
Murdoch with a copy of Sydney's Daily Mirror in 1960.
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He embedded himself in every facet of production and soon bought up more newspapers in the country.
After starting Australia's first national paper, The Australian, in 1964, Murdoch expanded into the UK.
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He bought the News of The World in 1968 and The Sun a year later.
Murdoch then set his sights on the US.
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He purchased the San Antonio Express-News in 1973 and the New York Post three years later.
In 1985, he expanded into television.
Murdoch made the Fox network into a powerhouse. He also birthed Fox News.
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Murdoch bought the Fox film studios and a group of local TV stations that would evolve into the Fox network.
Murdoch was able to take more control of Fox stations after becoming a US citizen in 1985.
He went on to make Fox the fourth broadcast network in the US and established Fox News as a dominant force in cable news.
Murdoch's latest blockbuster acquisition came in 2007 when News Corp launched a bid to take over Wall Street Journal owner Dow Jones for $5.6 billion.
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But 14 months after the deal closed, News Corp had to write down the value of its $5.6 billion purchase by $2.8 billion, The Guardian reported.
Murdoch sold most of his Fox empire to Disney in 2019 in a $71 billion deal after a bidding war between Disney and Comcast.
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This handed Disney the rights to Fox's famous movie studio and the lucrative Marvel Cinematic Universe.
Murdoch holds a stake in Fox worth $2.98 billion, shares in News Corp worth $1.58 billion, and $142 million in a Fox Corp. pension plan, according to Bloomberg.
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The remaining $3.55 billion of his fortune are held in cash assets, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.
Murdoch bought a $200 million Montana ranch in 2021 with his then-wife, Jerry Hall, The Wall Street Journal reported.
The mogul's biggest outlays, though, might have come from divorce settlements.
Rupert Murdoch was married to Anna Torv for 32 years.
Kevork Djansezian/AP
The end of his 32-year second marriage to Anna Torv, with whom he had three children, is reported to have set him back $1.7 billion, making it one of the most expensive divorces on record.
Two biographers, Neil Chenoweth and Michael Wolff, said the amount Torv received was likely lower because some of the stock she received in the settlement went to their three children.
Murdoch had two more children, Grace and Chloe, with his third wife, Wendi Deng.
Murdoch and Wendi Deng had two children, Grace and Chloe.
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Murdoch married Deng 17 days after his divorce from Anna was finalized in 1999, and they divorced in 2013.
The dissolution was settled out of court for an undisclosed sum thanks to one prenuptial and two postnuptial agreements.
He also has another daughter, Prudence, who was born in 1958 from his first marriage.
Murdoch married his fourth wife, Jerry Hall, in 2016.
Jerry Hall and Murdoch divorced
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The couple spent $15 million to buy Great Tew Manor in Oxfordshire, England. It was estimated that another $30 million would be needed to renovate the property.
Murdoch also owns a private jet, a Gulfstream G650.
Gulfstream G650ER aircraft by Gulfstream Aerospace Corp., like the one owned by Murdoch.
In March, Rupert Murdoch told the New York Post that he was "looking forward to spending the second half" of his life with Ann Lesley Smith, a former model and police chaplain.
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However, Vanity Fair reported that the engagement with Smith was called off two weeks later.
"Jerry, sadly I've decided to call an end to our marriage," the email said, according to Vanity Fair, which cited a screenshot of the exchange. "We have certainly had some good times, but I have much to do…My New York lawyer will be contacting yours immediately."
Four months after breaking off the engagement, Murdoch reportedly started dating again.
News Corp Chairman Rupert Murdoch.
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The Guardian reported that Murdoch started seeing Russian retired biologist, Elena Zhukova, 66, whom he met at a family gathering hosted by one of his ex-wives, Wendi Deng.
Murdoch's sons Lachlan and James, pictured at their father's wedding to Hall in 2016, have competed to take over the media empire.
Lachlan, left, and James Murdoch with their father.
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The creator of "Succession," Jesse Armstrong, told the Radio Times he started out writing a show about Murdoch that never got made, which led him to write "Succession," based on him and other media moguls, such as Robert Maxwell.
