[News Inside] Divorced 3 Times... The 'World Media King' Who Says at 90, "I'm Not Ready to Stop Yet"

News Corporation Chairman Rupert Murdoch

▲Rupert Murdoch [Photo by Bloomberg]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kwon Jae-hee] New York Post, Fox, Times... The king of global media operating in 780 businesses across 52 countries worldwide.

This is the story of Rupert Murdoch, who turned 90 on the 11th.

Recently, News Corporation, chaired by Murdoch, announced the acquisition of the American economic media Investors Business Daily (IBD) for $275 million (approximately 312 billion KRW). Even at an age when most would enjoy retirement, he continues his relentless pace, seemingly proving his own words that he is "not ready to stop yet."

Born in Melbourne, Australia in 1931, Rupert Murdoch earned a Master of Arts degree from Worcester College, Oxford University in 1953 and began his career as an editor at the London Daily Express. There, he learned the practical skills of yellow journalism.

He officially entered the media industry in 1952. After the death of his father, Sir Keith Murdoch, a war correspondent and newspaper publisher, he inherited and operated two newspapers in Adelaide, the Sunday Mail and News. Leveraging his practical experience, Murdoch dramatically increased newspaper circulation by focusing on sensational issues such as sex, scandals, sports, and crime.

Starting from Australia, Murdoch began to encroach on media markets worldwide in the order of the UK, the US, Asia, and Latin America. In the UK, he acquired popular tabloids advocating sensationalism such as News of the World, The Sun, and The Times. The extramarital affair of Prince Charles and Camilla, which shook the world in the 1980s, as well as the scandals involving the late Princess Diana, were all revealed to the public through Murdoch-owned tabloid The Sun. The 168-year-old British tabloid News of the World was eventually shut down after it was revealed that its reporters engaged in phone hacking and bribery of police officers to obtain information.

In the US, Murdoch acquired a 50% stake in 20th Century Fox film studio in 1981, followed by an additional 50% in 1984. In 1985, he purchased Metro Broadcasting, which owned stations in six cities, for $2 billion and launched Fox Broadcasting. At that time, foreign ownership of broadcasting companies was restricted in the US, so Murdoch obtained American citizenship to own this broadcasting company. In 2007, he bought Dow Jones & Company, which owns The Wall Street Journal (WSJ), for $5 billion.

Subsequently, Murdoch split his media empire into News Corporation, focused on news organizations, and Fox Corporation, centered on entertainment. In 2019, he sold 21st Century Fox and its film and drama content, which belonged to Fox Corporation, to Disney for $71 billion. Recently, after a decade-long dispute with global IT giants like Google and Facebook, he succeeded in passing a law in Australia requiring these companies to pay fees to display news from News Corporation’s media outlets.

▲Rupert Murdoch (left) and his fourth wife, Jerry Hall

Murdoch is also famous for having been married four times. His most recent marriage was in 2016 to Jerry Hall, a former American top model 25 years his junior. The Times reported that they first met in Australia through introductions by Murdoch’s sister and niece. Jerry Hall lived with Mick Jagger, the lead singer of the Rolling Stones, for over 20 years and had one son and three daughters.

Previously, Murdoch married Patricia Booker, an Australian stewardess, in 1956 and had one daughter. In 1967, he married Anna Torv, a Scottish journalist 13 years his junior, and had two sons and one daughter. In 1999, he married Wendy Deng, a Chinese-American businesswoman 37 years his junior, and had two daughters. The marriage to his third wife, Wendy Deng, was particularly notable because it took place only 17 days after his divorce from Anna. Murdoch and Wendy met at a party in 1997, where she worked as an interpreter and personal assistant, and their relationship developed from there.

Perhaps due to such a colorful history, the future of News Corporation after Murdoch remains uncertain. Murdoch and his four children hold 40% of the shares in News Corporation and Fox Corporation through a family trust, with voting rights distributed as four votes for Murdoch and one vote each for his children. The two daughters from his marriage with Wendy Deng hold no shares. The most likely successor is his eldest son Lachlan, CEO of Fox Corporation. The Economist reported that "after Murdoch’s death, infighting among the children could occur, allowing other media groups to take advantage and buy Murdoch’s legacy." This is exactly the method Murdoch used when he purchased Dow Jones & Company from the Bancroft family.

The 90-year-old veteran still says, "I am not ready to stop yet." While this reflects his confidence in continuing his relentless pace even at 90, some view it as an expression of anxiety about who will succeed him in protecting this vast media empire after he is gone.