50 Fun Facts About Rupert Murdoch

In which Australian city was Rupert Murdoch born in 1931?

Melbourne was also where his father chaired the Herald and Weekly Times newspaper group; in 1987 Rupert came back and bought the whole company.

What was Rupert Murdoch's actual first name at birth?

Keith was his father's name; the boy went by his middle name, Rupert, which was also the name of his mother's father, the merchant Rupert Greene.

What nickname did Murdoch acquire as an undergraduate at Oxford in the early 1950s?

Oxford contemporaries called him 'Red Rupert': he kept a bust of Lenin in his rooms at Worcester College, where he read PPE, and was active in the university Labour Club.

On which of Lord Beaverbrook's London newspapers did Murdoch work as a sub-editor after Oxford?

The Daily Express gave him a brief apprenticeship in the brash, sensational popular journalism that he then took home and applied to his own newspapers.

In which Australian city was The News, the small afternoon paper Murdoch inherited from his father?

Adelaide stayed the legal home of his empire long after he left: News Corporation was incorporated there until it moved to the United States in 2004.

Which newspaper did Murdoch win in 2007 with his $5 billion takeover of Dow Jones?

The Wall Street Journal came with Dow Jones after its owners held out for three months; a special committee was set up to guard the paper's editorial independence under him.

Murdoch launched his first overseas newspaper takeover in 1964 while on holiday in which country?

New Zealand: he read there that a British-based press group was bidding for a Wellington morning daily, counter-bid on the spur of the moment and won a four-way fight.

From which Australian rival did Murdoch buy Sydney's Daily Telegraph in 1972?

Sir Frank Packer sold him both Telegraphs in 1972 and came to regret it: he died two years later still mourning the loss of his papers and planning to restart his presses.

Which Australian Labor leader did Murdoch briefly back to victory in 1972?

Murdoch's papers backed Gough Whitlam's 'It's Time' campaign in 1972, then turned on his Labor government so sharply before the 1975 election that his own journalists struck in protest.

Whom did Murdoch appoint as The Sun's editor in 1969, telling him he wanted 'a tearaway paper'?

Larry Lamb got the job over lunch, Murdoch dropping his other interviews; he brought in the Page 3 feature, which he later regretted, and by 1978 his paper outsold the Daily Mirror.

From which Canadian press baron did Murdoch buy The Times and Sunday Times in 1981?

Lord Thomson of Fleet was tired of losing money on papers that a dispute had kept off the streets for almost a year; Margaret Thatcher's government let Murdoch's bid through without a monopolies referral.

To which London docklands district did Murdoch move his newspapers in 1986, sparking a year-long print dispute?

Wapping's new plant had been equipped in secret; when some 6,000 print workers struck against the move they were dismissed, and the strike collapsed a year later.

Which English football club did Murdoch's BSkyB try to buy in 1998, only for the government to block the deal?

Manchester United's board accepted the offer, but fans organised as Shareholders United Against Murdoch and the Monopolies and Mergers Commission ruled the deal would harm competition.

Which rival merged with Murdoch's loss-making Sky Television in 1990?

British Satellite Broadcasting, launched in spring 1990 with its square 'squarial' dishes, merged with Sky in November 1990 after both sides ran up heavy losses; the combined company traded as BSkyB.

Which company bought Murdoch's 39 percent stake in Sky after winning a blind auction in 2018?

Comcast bid £17.28 a share in the Takeover Panel's auction, beating the £15.67 offered by Murdoch's own Fox, which then sold its stake to the winner.

What was Murdoch's first American acquisition, in 1973?

The San Antonio Express-News began as two Texas dailies he bought together; he turned the afternoon News into a sex-and-scandal sheet that soon dominated its market.

Which gossip column did Murdoch co-found with James Brady in 1977?

Page Six was named for the page of the New York Post it first ran on, weeks after Murdoch bought the paper; in the 1980s it was moved back two pages but kept the name.

Why did Murdoch become a naturalised US citizen in September 1985?

To own US television stations he had to be American, and he was buying the big-city stations that became the Fox network; taking the oath cost him his Australian citizenship.

Murdoch lost more than $100 million investing in which blood-testing start-up, later exposed by one of his own newspapers?

Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes asked him to kill the story; Murdoch refused, saying he trusted the paper's editors, and his stake ended up worthless.

Which company's six television stations became the nucleus of the Fox Broadcasting Company in 1986?

Metromedia's John Kluge sold Murdoch stations in New York, Los Angeles, Chicago and three more big cities, the base on which Fox launched a fourth US network in October 1986.

From which network did Fox take exclusive coverage of the NFL's National Football Conference in 1993?

Fox outbid CBS in December 1993 with a four-year, $1.58 billion offer for the NFC package, ending CBS's 38-year run of NFL coverage and handing Fox the big-market affiliates it needed to become a full network.

Whom did Murdoch hire as founding CEO of Fox News in 1996?

Roger Ailes ran the channel from its launch in October 1996 for twenty years; when he resigned in 2016 over sexual harassment allegations, Murdoch himself stepped in as acting chief executive.

Which social network did Murdoch's News Corp buy in 2005, only to sell it at a huge loss six years later?

Myspace cost $580 million and for a time was the most visited site in the United States; overtaken by Facebook, it went for about $35 million, and Murdoch called the purchase a huge mistake.

Which family had owned Dow Jones for 105 years before selling to Murdoch in 2007?

The Bancrofts, a reclusive Boston clan of more than 30 heirs, at first rejected his $60-a-share offer, far above the market price, then gave way after three months of holding out.

Which media giant rejected an $80 billion takeover bid from Murdoch's 21st Century Fox in 2014?

Time Warner's board said no even though Fox offered to sell CNN to ease antitrust worries; Fox's own shares slid, and within weeks it dropped the bid and bought back stock instead.

Which company bought most of Murdoch's 21st Century Fox in a $71.3 billion deal that closed in 2019?

Disney had first agreed $52.4 billion and raised its offer to see off a rival bid; Fox News and the Fox broadcast network were spun off beforehand and stayed with the Murdochs.

Which Sunday tabloid did Murdoch close in July 2011 after 168 years in print?

News of the World ran 'Thank You & Goodbye' across its last front page; advertisers had fled over the phone-hacking revelations, and the closure cost about 200 jobs.

How did Murdoch describe the day he faced MPs in 2011?

'The most humble day of my life' was how Murdoch described facing the MPs on 19 July 2011; the day before, hackers had defaced The Sun's website with a fake story of his death.

To whom did Murdoch apologise in person in July 2011?

The family of murdered schoolgirl Milly Dowler had just learned that her voicemail was hacked while she was missing; Murdoch followed the meeting with full-page apologies in the national press.

A Commons committee's 2012 phone-hacking report declared Murdoch what?

'Not a fit person' to exercise the stewardship of a major international company, the report said; the line cost it the Conservative members' votes, and it passed by six to four.

To whom did Murdoch hand leadership of his businesses when he retired in September 2023?

His eldest son Lachlan had walked out of the company in 2005 after a clash with a senior executive, and spent almost a decade investing in Australia before returning in 2014.

In which US state was the 2024 court case over the Murdoch family trust heard?

Nevada offers family trusts strong confidentiality and few inheritance taxes, so the Reno hearing was held in secret; its commissioner ruled in December 2024 that Murdoch had acted in bad faith.

During Murdoch's 2011 Commons hearing, his wife leapt up to fend off a protester armed with what?

A foam pie: about two hours in, a protester lunged at the 80-year-old and was fought off; the hearing was briefly suspended and the man was charged with a public order offence.

Murdoch's second wife, Anna Torv, was working as what on his Sydney Daily Mirror when they met?

A cadet journalist who had joined the paper at 18, she is believed to have met Murdoch when she got the chance to interview him; she later wrote novels and sat on the News Corp board.

How many days after his second divorce did Murdoch marry Wendi Deng in 1999?

The divorce from Anna was finalised on 8 June 1999 and Murdoch, then 68, married 30-year-old Wendi Deng aboard his yacht in New York Harbor on 25 June, 17 days later.

Which pope made Murdoch, who never became a Catholic, a papal knight?

John Paul II's honour, the Order of St Gregory the Great, came in January 1998, when Murdoch still went to Mass with his Catholic wife Anna; three months later the couple announced their separation.

At which Fleet Street church did Murdoch marry Jerry Hall in March 2016?

St Bride's has long been tied to the press: newspaper proprietors and journalists paid to rebuild it after the Blitz. The wedding came a week before his 85th birthday.

What was the profession of Elena Zhukova, whom Murdoch married in June 2024 at the age of 93?

Elena Zhukova, a Russian-born retired molecular biologist, became his fifth wife in June 2024; a 2023 engagement to Ann Lesley Smith had been called off two weeks after it was announced.

Murdoch's yacht Rosehearty shared its name with the fishing village where his grandfather grew up, in which country?

Scotland: Rosehearty is on the Moray Firth, where his grandfather Patrick grew up a minister's son before emigrating in 1884; David Cameron flew out to the yacht for private talks in 2008.

Murdoch's Bel Air estate Moraga, bought in 2013, is unusual in Los Angeles for producing what?

Wine: Moraga's vines grow on the old horse ranch of Gone with the Wind director Victor Fleming, and Murdoch went after the estate after reading about it in one of his own newspapers.

Which Succession character was partly inspired by Murdoch?

Logan Roy grew out of a film script Jesse Armstrong wrote about the Murdoch family; when it went unmade he rebuilt the idea around invented characters, drawing Logan from Murdoch and Sumner Redstone.

To what did Murdoch liken Britain's 2016 vote to leave the European Union?

A prison break: 'we're out', he told a business summit days after the vote, calling the result wonderful; his Sun had campaigned fiercely against the EU, though his Times had backed Remain.

Which side did Murdoch campaign for in Australia's 1999 constitutional referendum?

Cutting ties with the monarchy: he told his Australian, in a front-page plea, that the crown had become irrelevant to this generation of Australians, yet voters kept it by about 55 percent to 45.

How did Murdoch describe Kevin Rudd in 2009 after the prime minister accused News Limited of vendettas?

'Oversensitive' was Murdoch's 2009 verdict on Rudd's complaints about News Limited; he also said the prime minister seemed 'more ambitious to lead the world than to lead Australia' on climate change.

Which campaign made Murdoch's father famous as a war correspondent?

Gallipoli: his 1915 letter to the Australian prime minister, attacking the conduct of the campaign, helped bring about General Sir Ian Hamilton's recall and won him the backing of Lord Northcliffe.

Which voting-machine company won a $787.5 million settlement from Fox News in April 2023?

Dominion had sued over false claims that its machines rigged the 2020 election; Fox settled just as opening statements were about to begin, the largest known defamation settlement by a US media company.

Which Australian school, later attended by Prince Charles, educated Murdoch?

Geelong Grammar gave him his first editing jobs: he co-edited the school journal, The Corian, and ran a student magazine of his own, If Revived, before leaving for Oxford.

Which Hong Kong satellite broadcaster did News Corp take control of in 1993?

Star TV beamed from Hong Kong to dozens of Asian countries, but Beijing's restrictions kept it out of most of China.

Which British politician was revealed in 2011 as godfather to Murdoch's daughter Grace?

Tony Blair's role came to light in 2011; his closeness to Murdoch, whose papers stayed neutral or supportive through his three election wins, had long been a political issue in Britain.

Whom did Murdoch outmanoeuvre to win control of his first British newspaper?

Robert Maxwell's bid drew a hostile response from the owning Carr family and the editor, who declared the paper 'as British as roast beef and Yorkshire pudding'; they backed Murdoch instead.