Rupert Murdoch never stopped believing in marriage. Even though he lost a fortune in his four divorces, the media mogul still tried again… and again. But he learned lessons along the way. Murdoch’s first divorce took place in 1967, when he was in his mid-30s and not yet a business magnate. It’s unclear how much his first wife, Patricia Booker, got in the divorce, but it was likely a modest amount — 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 they broke up, Torv walked away with an eye-watering $1.7 billion. However, she certainly hasn’t seen those billions in her bank account. She received approximately $100 million in cash and several multi-million dollar properties. But most of Torv’s crazy figure revolved around the family trust, which Torv prioritized to protect her and her future. Murdoch’s childrenbecause 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. While the amount they settled for is unknown, it was likely a lot less than Torv got. But divorcing a billionaire means walking away with a pretty penny either way. Finally, Murdoch divorced his fourth wife, Jerry Hall, in 2022, a situation that unfolded in similar terms to the previous one. Hall reportedly settled for around £250 million, which is no small feat but probably didn’t hurt Murdoch’s wallet too much.
Rupert Murdoch married for the fifth time at the age of 93
Rupert Murdoch proves that he is far from ready to give up on love and married for the fifth time in June 2024 at the age of 93. His bride, retired Russian molecular biologist Elena Zhukova, was 67 when they tied the knot, making her 26 years younger. Unsurprisingly, Murdoch has had a series of health problems in recent years, including hospitalizations for pneumonia, a broken back, seizures and other ailments. It’s not outrageous to imagine that Murdoch would die before his wife, that is, if they don’t divorce first.
In either scenario, the situation should follow a similar pattern to his third and fourth divorces. While it is unknown whether he and Zhukova signed a prenuptial agreement, there is a good chance that they did. He’s certainly learned his lesson at this point. As divorce lawyer Raoul Felder put it succinctly Bloomberg after Murdoch’s 2013 divorce from Wendi Deng: “If he doesn’t have a prenup, he should go to a psychiatrist and not a lawyer.” Either way, Zhukova will likely receive a hefty sum.
All this aside, Murdoch plans to be around for a while. ‘Our companies are in good health, just like me. Our opportunities far exceed our commercial challenges. We have every reason to be optimistic about the coming years. I certainly am and I intend to participate in this,” he wrote in a letter read on “America’s Newsroom” in September 2024, after settling the family dispute that made his eldest son, Lachlan, his sole successor (via People).
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