Rupert Murdoch has never stopped believing in marriage. Although he lost a fortune in his four divorces, the media mogul still tried again… and again. But he has learned lessons along the way. Murdoch’s first divorce came in 1967, when he was in his mid-30s and not yet a business tycoon. It’s unclear how much his first wife, Patricia Booker, got in the divorce, but it was likely a modest sum — at least by billionaire standards. But normal divorces ended there for him. Murdoch’s second – and most expensive – divorce cost him billions.
It was during his marriage to Anna Torv, between 1967 and 1999, that Murdoch consolidated his media empire and achieved billionaire status. When their paths diverged, Torv walked away with an eye-watering 1.7 billion. However, she certainly did not see these billions in her bank account. She received about $100 million in cash and various multi-million dollar properties. But the main part of Torv’s crazy figure revolved around the family trust, which Torv prioritized to protect the future for her and Murdoch’s childrenas it ensured that the children would inherit his company.
Soon after, Murdoch married Wendi Deng and divorced her in 2013. This time, he had an ironclad prenuptial agreement. Although the amount they settled for is unknown, it was likely much less than Torv got. But divorcing a billionaire means walking away with a pretty penny regardless. Eventually, Murdoch divorced his fourth wife, Jerry Hall, in 2022, a situation that played out in similar terms to his previous one. Hall reportedly settled for around £250 million, which isn’t peanuts, but probably didn’t hurt Murdoch’s pocket too much either.
Rupert Murdoch married for the fifth time at the age of 93
Proving he’s nowhere near giving up on love, Rupert Murdoch married for the fifth time at the ripe old age of 93 in June 2024. His bride, retired Russian molecular biologist Elena Zhukova, was 67 when they tied the knot, making her 26 years his junior. Unsurprisingly for someone of his age, Murdoch has suffered a series of health setbacks in recent years, including hospitalizations for pneumonia, a broken back, seizures and other ailments. It’s not outrageous to assume that Murdoch may die before his wife – if they don’t divorce first, that is.
In either scenario, the situation should follow a similar pattern to his third and fourth divorces. While it is unknown if he and Zhukova have signed a prenuptial agreement, it is highly likely that they have. At this point, he has definitely learned his lesson. As divorce lawyer Raoul Felder succinctly put it Bloomberg after Murdoch’s 2013 divorce from Wendi Deng, “If he doesn’t have a prenup, he would have to see a psychiatrist and not a lawyer.” Either way, Zhukova is likely to get a handsome sum.
All that aside, Murdoch has every intention of being around for some time. “Our businesses are in solid health, as am I. Our opportunities far exceed our commercial challenges. We have every reason to be optimistic about our years ahead. I am and certainly plan to be here to participate in them,” he wrote in a letter read aloud on “America’s Newsroom” in September 2024, after he settled the family dispute that established his eldest son, Lachlan, as his sole successor (via his sole successor). People).
