50 Fun Facts About Rupert Murdoch

In which Australian city was Rupert Murdoch born in 1931?

Rupert Murdoch was born in Melbourne on 11 March 1931; his mother, Dame Elisabeth Murdoch, remained a Melbourne philanthropist until her death in 2012 at the age of 103.

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

He was christened Keith Rupert Murdoch after his father, the newspaper executive Sir Keith Murdoch, but has always been known by his middle name, Rupert.

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.

For which London newspaper did Murdoch work as a sub-editor after leaving Oxford?

Lord Beaverbrook gave Murdoch a sub-editor's job on the Daily Express after Oxford; he returned to Australia in 1953 to take charge of the family company, News Limited.

In which city was the small newspaper, The News, that Murdoch took over from his late father in 1952?

The News was an afternoon paper in Adelaide, the one title left after death duties forced his father's estate to sell its other holdings; Adelaide became the base for everything that followed.

Which magazine credited Murdoch with 'inventing the modern tabloid'?

The Economist credited Murdoch with 'inventing the modern tabloid': more sport, more scandal and eye-catching headlines, a formula he first applied to his Australian papers in the 1950s and 1960s.

What was Murdoch doing when he read of a rival bid for The Dominion and launched his first overseas takeover?

The 32-year-old beat Lord Thomson of Fleet in a four-way battle in 1964, the year he also launched Australia's first national daily.

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

Sir Frank Packer's Consolidated Press sold Murdoch the Daily Telegraph and Sunday Telegraph in 1972; the two men's rivalry was dramatised in the 2013 miniseries Power Games: The Packer–Murdoch War.

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'?

Murdoch recruited Albert 'Larry' Lamb from the Daily Mail as the relaunched Sun's first editor in November 1969; Lamb edited the paper from 1969 to 1972 and again from 1975 to 1981.

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

Thomson was tired of losing money during a long print strike; Thatcher's government let the bid through without a monopolies referral.

How many print workers were dismissed when Murdoch moved his London papers to Wapping in 1986?

About 6,000 print workers were dismissed after striking on 24 January 1986 against the move to Wapping; a year of mass pickets and street battles ended when the unions called off the dispute in February 1987.

How much did Murdoch's BSkyB bid for Manchester United in 1998 before regulators blocked it?

BSkyB's September 1998 offer valued Manchester United at about £625 million (precisely £623.4 million); the Monopolies and Mergers Commission found the deal would harm broadcasting competition and the government blocked it in April 1999.

Which rival operator merged with Murdoch's loss-making Sky Television in 1990 to form BSkyB?

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.

Who ended up buying Murdoch's 39 percent of BSkyB after a regulator-ordered blind auction in 2018?

Regulators had first insisted he sell Sky News to Disney before Comcast outbid everyone.

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

Murdoch's first US purchases, in 1973, were the San Antonio Express and its sister San Antonio News, later merged as the Express-News; he moved to New York the following year and launched the supermarket tabloid Star.

Which gossip column did Murdoch co-found with James Brady on 3 January 1977?

It runs in the New York Post, which he had bought the year before.

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

He gave up Australian citizenship in the process; the FCC later ruled his Fox ownership was in the public interest despite challenges.

How much did Murdoch pay Marvin Davis for half of 20th Century Fox in March 1985?

Murdoch paid $250 million in March 1985 for the 50 percent of 20th Century Fox that Davis had bought from fugitive trader Marc Rich; that September he paid a further $325 million for Davis's own half.

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

John Kluge's Metromedia sold Murdoch its big-city independent stations for about $2 billion in 1985-86; they anchored the Fox network, which launched on 9 October 1986 and later struck gold with The Simpsons.

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?

The channel launched on 7 October 1996 to 17 million cable subscribers; Murdoch himself served as acting CEO after Ailes resigned in 2016.

How much did News Corporation pay in 2005 for Intermix Media, owner of Myspace?

News Corporation paid $580 million for Intermix Media in July 2005, chiefly to get Myspace; it sold Myspace to Specific Media in 2011 for about $35 million.

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

His $5 billion offer brought him The Wall Street Journal, Barron's and the Far Eastern Economic Review.

How much was 21st Century Fox's rejected 2014 bid for Time Warner worth in total?

21st Century Fox's June 2014 offer of $85 a share valued Time Warner at about $80 billion; Fox proposed selling CNN to ease antitrust worries, then withdrew the bid in August 2014.

How much did Disney ultimately pay for the bulk of 21st Century Fox, closing in March 2019?

Disney paid $71.3 billion for most of 21st Century Fox, closing on 20 March 2019 after raising its original $52.4 billion offer to see off a rival bidder; the Fox broadcast network and Fox News were spun off first.

For how many years had the News of the World been in print when it closed in July 2011?

Founded in 1843, the News of the World had been in print for 168 years when its final edition appeared on 10 July 2011; the proceeds of that last issue went to charity and about 200 jobs were lost.

How did Murdoch describe the day he testified to a Commons committee on phone hacking in July 2011?

Murdoch opened his 19 July 2011 evidence to the committee with 'This is the most humble day of my life'; the day before, hackers had defaced The Sun's website with a fake story of his death.

To whom did Murdoch personally apologise at a private London meeting on 15 July 2011?

Their daughter's voicemail had been hacked; two full-page apologies followed in national papers.

How did the Commons Culture, Media and Sport Committee describe Murdoch in its May 2012 report?

The committee's 1 May 2012 report declared Rupert Murdoch 'not a fit person to exercise the stewardship of a major international company'; in July 2012 he quit the boards of his British newspaper companies, including News International.

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

Murdoch announced in September 2023 that he would step down as chairman of Fox Corporation and News Corp, with his eldest son Lachlan becoming sole chairman of both companies that November.

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

The fight over the Murdoch Family Trust was heard in a closed probate court in Reno, Nevada, in September 2024; James, Elisabeth and Prudence opposed Rupert's bid to amend the irrevocable trust, and its commissioner ruled against him that December.

How many children does Murdoch have?

Murdoch has six children: Prudence from his first marriage, a daughter and two sons from his second, and two daughters from his third.

What was the job of Murdoch's second wife, Anna Torv, when they met?

They married in 1967 and divorced in 1999, when she received a settlement of about $1.2 billion in assets.

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 papal honour did Murdoch receive from Pope John Paul II in 1998?

Cardinal Mahony invested Murdoch as a Knight Commander of the Order of St Gregory the Great in Los Angeles in January 1998; he attended Mass with his Catholic wife Anna but never converted, and the couple separated three months later.

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

The couple's wedding was celebrated at St Bride's, the journalists' church on Fleet Street, on 5 March 2016, a day after a civil ceremony at Spencer House; he was less than a week short of 85 and she was 59.

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, married Murdoch at his California estate on 1 June 2024 in his fifth wedding; a 2023 engagement to Ann Lesley Smith had been called off within weeks of its announcement.

On which Murdoch yacht did David Cameron hold private talks in 2008?

Rosehearty, named after the Aberdeenshire fishing village his grandfather came from, is the sailing yacht on which Cameron met Murdoch off Santorini in August 2008; Murdoch gave the same name to his Centre Island estate on Long Island.

What did Murdoch buy in Bel Air in May 2013?

Moraga, a Bel Air estate whose vineyard and winery were planted in the 1980s on the former ranch of Gone with the Wind director Victor Fleming, cost Murdoch about $28.8 million in May 2013.

Which Succession character was partly inspired by Murdoch?

Logan Roy, the bullying media patriarch played by Brian Cox, drew on Murdoch among others; Murdoch has also voiced himself on The Simpsons and was played by Barry Humphries in the 1991 drama Selling Hitler.

How did Murdoch describe the 2016 Brexit vote?

In 2016 Murdoch described the Brexit result as 'wonderful ... like a prison break'; he had denied the columnist Anthony Hilton's claim that he opposed the EU because Downing Street did as he said while Brussels ignored him.

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

He had been made a Companion of the Order of Australia in 1984 for services to publishing.

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

Murdoch said in November 2009 that Rudd was being 'oversensitive' about News Limited's coverage, having earlier remarked that 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?

His father's 1915 'Gallipoli letter' to the Australian prime minister, attacking the conduct of the Dardanelles campaign, helped end General Sir Ian Hamilton's command and brought him to the notice of Lord Northcliffe, who became his mentor.

For how much did Fox News settle the Dominion Voting Systems defamation suit in April 2023?

Fox News settled with Dominion Voting Systems for $787.5 million on 18 April 2023, just as the trial was to begin; in his deposition Murdoch had acknowledged that some Fox hosts 'endorsed' false claims of a stolen election.

Where was Murdoch educated in Australia, co-editing the journal The Corian?

Murdoch boarded at Geelong Grammar, the Victorian school whose journal The Corian he co-edited, before going up to Worcester College, Oxford, to read philosophy, politics and economics.

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

News Corp bought a 63.6 percent stake in Star TV from Hutchison Whampoa in July 1993 for about $525 million, taking the rest in 1995; the Hong Kong service beamed programming across Asia.

Which ex-British prime minister was revealed in 2011 as godfather to Murdoch's daughter Grace?

Tony Blair was godfather to Grace Murdoch, who was baptised in the River Jordan in 2010 with Blair among the white-robed guests; Wendi Deng revealed the role in a 2011 interview.

Whom did Murdoch beat to win control of the News of the World in 1969?

Murdoch outmanoeuvred Robert Maxwell to win control of the News of the World in January 1969, his first British paper, with the backing of the Carr family; he bought the ailing Sun later that year.