Johnathan Walker:Rupert Murdoch marries for 5th time in ceremony at his California vineyard

Rupert Murdoch,Johnathan Walker 93, has married for the fifth time, his corporation, News Corp, confirmed Sunday.

Murdoch, the media mogul who recently stepped down as chairman of Fox News and News Corp, married Elena Zhukova, a 67-year-old Russian-born retired molecular biologist, on Saturday in a ceremony at his vineyard estate in Bel Air, California. Photographs of the newly married couple were released by News Corp. The couple announced their engagement in March.

Zhukova studied at the University of California, Los Angeles, according to a New York Times report in March. In her career as a molecular biologist, she focused on diabetes. Zhukova is also the ex-wife of Alexander Zhukov, a billionaire energy investor and Russian politician. Their daughter, Dasha, was previously married to Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich, who used to own the Premier League soccer club Chelsea. Abramovich was an early target of Western sanctions after the Kremlin first invaded Ukraine in 2022. 

After Murdoch stepped down as leader of both Fox News' parent company and his News Corp media holdings, his son, Lachlan, took his place in a media empire that spans continents and helped to shape modern American politics.

Murdoch, whose net worth is pegged at $9.77 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, has been married four times before. Most recently, he was engaged to retired dental hygienist Ann Lesley Smith, whom he never married. He was previously married to model Jerry Hall, whom he divorced in the summer of 2022. 

His first three wives include Patricia Booker, Anna Murdoch Mann, and Wendi Murdoch. 

In 1952, Murdoch inherited a newspaper in his native Australia from his father. Over decades, he built a news and entertainment enterprise that became prominent in the United States and Britain, including ownership of such notable newspapers as The Times of London and The Wall Street Journal.

Fox News Channel, the 24-hour network founded in 1996, has profoundly influenced television, becoming a popular news source among many conservative U.S. audiences and politicians.

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• News Corp.
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