Rupert Murdoch is a global media czar who has founded many media outlets, from publishing to radio and television, including News Corporation, Fox News Channel, 21st Century Fox, The Sun, The Herald and Weekly Times Ltd., British Sky Broadcasting and Fox Television stations. Read on to learn more about the media titan.
Rupert Murdoch’s biography
Well-known media tycoon Keith Rupert was born in Murdoch on March 11, 1931 in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. He is one of the four children of Dame Elizabeth Greene and Sir Keith Murdoch and goes by the following names of his other siblings. Anne Kantor, Janet Calvert-Jones and Helen Handbury. Rupert Murdoch graduated from Geelong Grammar School in Geelong, Victoria, Australia in 1949. While at school he was Associate Editor of the school magazine The Corian and Editor of the student magazine If Revived.
He also led their cricket team to the national team junior final. At the same time, his father taught him how to take over the publishing business and worked part-time at the Melbourne Herald. He then went to Oxford, England for higher education, graduating with a BA in Philosophy, Politics and Economics from Worcester College, Oxford, England. During his college years, Murdoch was in charge of Oxford Student Publications Limited, Cherwell’s publishing house, and a member of the Oxford University Labor Party.
After his father’s death in 1952, Murdoch returned to Australia and took over his father’s publishing business. He took the business to a whole new level, acquiring a number of newspapers in Australia and New Zealand including The Perth Sunday Times, Sydney’s The Daily Mirror and New Zealand The Dominion. He expanded and restructured his business, launching tabloids with a focus on scandal, sex, sports and flashy headlines. With this, his business prospered and became widely read newspapers.
Soon after the purchases, the media titan spread its tentacles to the UK in 1969, acquiring ownership of the News of the World and The Sun newspapers before moving to America in 1973 to continue its publishing business by purchasing ExpressNews in San Antonio. Additionally, Rupert Murdoch ventured into media broadcasting by founding News Corporation, which later included his many media outlets, including Twentieth Century Fox, World Street Journal, HarperCollins, and many others. As of 2000, News Corporation has more than 800 companies in over 50 countries.
Rupert Murdoch’s family – his spouse and children
The media mogul’s personal life is quiet interesting as he’s been through four marriages. Rupert Murdoch exchanged vows with Patricia Booker in 1956. The union produced one child, Prudence, in 1958 before hitting the rocks in 1967. Shortly thereafter he walked down the aisle with Anna Maria Torv and the union produced three children in 1967. Elizabeth born August 22, 1968, Lachlan born September 8, 1971 and James born December 13, 1972. Unfortunately, they separated in June 1999 when Anna received a fortune of $1.2 billion in child support.
Seventeen days later, Murdoch married his third wife, Wendi Deng, on June 25, 1999. The union was blessed with two children; Grace and Chloe. However, the couple went their separate ways in June 2013. Murdoch tied the wedding knot to Jerry Hall on March 4, 2016 after they got engaged a few months ago, on January 11, 2016 to be exact.
Rupert Murdoch’s eldest child, Prudence, was born On January 28, 2011, he was a board member of Times Newspaper Ltd. His first son, Lachlan, former Deputy Chief Operating Officer of the News Corps and editor of the New York Post, resigned from his managerial positions in late July 2005, only agreeing to remain on the News Corps board of directors. His younger brother James has been Chief Executive of British Sky Broadcasting since November 2013.
Facts about the media mogul
1. Murdoch’s Australian citizenship
The media czar announced his Australian citizenship in 1985 and in turn became a US citizen in order to be eligible to own television stations in the US.
2. Its controversies
Rupert Murdoch was accused of hacking the phones after initially denying the allegations, admitting them on July 15 and apologizing in several UK newspapers on July 16 and 17.
3. Rupert Murdoch Net Worth
The media mogul has broken the bank through his media conglomerate. Rupert Murdoch’s financial worth is a landmark $20.1 billion.
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4. Its size
Rupert Murdoch is quite tall as he stands at a height of 1.78m. His other body measurements are not yet available in the media.
5. His achievements
The mogul was awarded the Companion of the Order of Australia (AC) in 1984 for his immense contributions to the publishing sector.