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Andrew Neil, a former editor of The British Sunday Times, once wrote about the best advice he had ever received while working for media billionaire Rupert Murdoch. “Don’t fall in love with Rupert,” they told him. “He turns on his lovers and cuts them off.”
The advice may have been given not only to Murdoch’s courtiers, but also to the women he has married over the years.
On Wednesday, The New York Times reported that Murdoch, 91, was divorcing his fourth wife, former model and actor Jerry Hall, who is 65.
Murdoch and Hall met in Australia in 2015 when Hall was touring on the stage adaptation of The Graduate, playing Mrs. Robinson. The first public confirmation of her courtship came the same year when Murdoch was photographed kissing Hall at the Rugby World Cup final in Twickenham in October 2015.
Rupert Murdoch and Jerry Hall attended the 2015 Rugby World Cup final between Australia and New Zealand in Twickenham on 31 October 2015. Credit: Max Mumby
The couple got married in 2016 and on their wedding day, Murdoch, who had a brief flirtation with Twitter, tweeted, “Feel like the luckiest and happiest man in the world.”
The English poet Samuel Johnson once wrote that a second marriage is the triumph of hope over experience. Perhaps a fourth marriage is best described as a triumph of the imagination over intelligence.
In March this year, Murdoch, who is worth about $ 7.62 billion ($ 11 billion) in the Bloomberg Billionaire Index, put his New York penthouse up for sale for $ 78 million. In retrospect, it has been speculated that Murdoch may have tried to sell the property before the divorce.
New York’s penthouse, located in front of Madison Square Park and an island on Fifth Avenue, was said to have 360-degree views of the city, including iconic buildings such as the Empire State Building and One World. Trade Center and the Hudson and East Rivers.
Murdoch’s wealth comes primarily from his stakes in News Corp and Fox, which owns assets of newspapers, publications, and television worldwide, as well as Disney. Disney bought Murdoch-controlled 21st Century Fox in a $ 71 billion stock deal in March 2019.
Murdoch’s latest divorce has come as a surprise. Just last October, Hall was seen adoring Murdoch at his late 90th birthday party at a Tavern on the Green restaurant in Central Park, New York. The party was attended by 130 power agents, longtime lieutenants, friends and family, including media titans Barry Diller and Peter Chernin and at least two of Murdoch’s six children, Lachlan and Elisabeth.
Rupert Murdoch’s Fox News channel helped elect US President Donald Trump in 2016. Credit: AP
Murdoch’s fourth divorce has quickly become headlines around the world, with good reason. For more than half a century, Murdoch has been central to the state of world affairs. His media companies have reshaped governments thanks to his influence, with his Fox News channel helping to elect U.S. President Donald Trump in 2016, while his British tabloid The Sun led the fight for Great Britain is leaving the European Union, in what became known as Brexit.
In Australia, former Prime Ministers Malcolm Turnbull and Kevin Rudd have called for a reduction in Murdoch’s power and influence.
Now that Murdoch is in the news, the paparazzi are trying to take pictures of him and Hall, and there is feverish speculation about the payment he will receive.
Will Hall get the UK home where the couple spent £ 11.25 million in 2019? He signed a prenuptial agreement, as did Murdoch’s former wife, Wendi Deng?
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Murdoch divorced Deng after a 14-year marriage and the agreement included cash and property, and also said that his two children would become equal beneficiaries of the Murdoch Family Trust, but without the right. of vote. The trust controls the voting actions of the family in News Corp.
Murdoch was married to Deng from 1999 to 2013. His longest marriage was to Anna Torv from 1967 to 1999, with whom he had three children. Their first marriage was to Patricia Booker, from 1956 to 1967, and they had a son.
Murdoch’s fourth divorce is unlikely to change the ownership structure of his empire. And it is unknown at this time what he will do after leaving the post. However, he is almost certain to receive a payment greater than the £ 10 million he received in 1999 after his 22-year relationship with Rolling Stones leader Mick Jagger ended. The couple had four children.
Murdoch is not the only billionaire who has walked the aisle several times.
Larry Ellison, the 11th richest person in the world and founder of Oracle, has been married four times. Elon Musk, the richest man in the world and chief executive of Tesla, has been married three times, including twice to the same woman.
Even Warren Buffett, the seventh richest man in the world, who is the same age as Murdoch and is often considered a model of virtue, has had unconventional relationships. He married his first wife in 1952 and was married to her for five decades. However, for much of this time Buffett lived with another woman, whom he would later marry after the death of his first wife.
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Murdoch enters the last years of his life alone but with his power, influence and wealth intact. Like all billionaires, he has never had to worry about the “poorest” part of his wedding vows.
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