Rupert Murdoch, 92, Announces His Sixth Engagement

Rupert Murdoch, at the age of 92, has announced his engagement to his girlfriend Elena Zhukova, according to a spokesperson on Thursday. This will be Murdoch's fifth marriage, with the wedding planned to take place at Murdoch's California vineyard and estate, Moraga.

The announcement comes shortly after Murdoch's retirement as chairman of Fox and News Corp, ending a remarkable career in media that continues over seven decades. Zhukova, a retired molecular biologist from Moscow, is reported to be 67 years old and the couple began dating in the summer. 

Keith Rupert Murdoch AC KCSG is an Australian native who has become an influential business tycoon, investor, and owner of media outlets in America. 

According to the Daily Mail, Murdoch met his future wife through his third wife, Wendi Deng. Murdoch's previous marriage to actress and model Jerry Hall ended in divorce in 2022 after six years. Hall had previously been in a long-term relationship with Mick Jagger of the Rolling Stones.

In 2021, Murdoch was briefly engaged to Ann Lesley Smith, a former San Francisco police chaplain, but the engagement was called off shortly after. The breakup was reported by Vanity Fair, citing sources who mentioned Murdoch's discomfort with Smith's evangelical views.

The wedding location in Moraga holds significance as it was where Murdoch and Bob Iger, CEO of Walt Disney, discussed Disney's acquisition of 21st Century Fox, a deal worth $71 billion that closed in 2019.