Rupert Murdoch marries for the fifth time aged 93 to 67 year old wife
Media titan Rupert Murdoch has said "I do" for the fifth time at his vineyard and estate in California. The 93 year old media mogul married Elena Zhukova, a 67 year old retired biologist originally from Moscow, Russia, in a ceremony at Moraga.
Elena looked stunning in a white dress, which was reportedly designed by London-based designer Emilia Wickstead, who has also worked with Kate Middleton and Meghan Markle. Meanwhile, Rupert chose a dark suit with a patterned yellow tie as they posed together happily following their nuptials.
The couple were seen socialising with guests at Rupert's £16million Moraga Estate winery in Bel-Air during the nuptials. Rupert popped the question to Elena, 67, in March, marking his second engagement within a year.
Their wedding comes a little over a year after Rupert broke off his two-week engagement to San Francisco police chaplain Ann Lesley Smith. In August 2022, Rupert ended his marriage to his fourth wife, Jerry Hall.
Before that, he was married to entrepreneur Wendi Deng for 14 years before they divorced in 2014. Rupert and Wendi share two daughters together.
His first marriage ended in 1966 when he parted ways with his first wife, Patricia Booker, with whom he shares a daughter named Prudence. He then married Scottish journalist Anna Murdoch Mann and the couple, who wed in 1999, have three children together.
Rupert was last engaged to Ann Lesley Smith, who is said to be 26 years his junior, in March 2023. He popped the question in New York City to coincide with St Patrick’s Day and proposed to Ann with an Asscher-cut diamond ring.
He said he and Ann "talked for a bit" at the high-profile event and he proceeded to call her two weeks later.
According to the New York Post, the businessman said he was "very nervous" about his proposal to Ann. "I was very nervous. I dreaded falling in love — but I knew this would be my last. It better be. I’m happy," he shared. However, just a few weeks later, it was all over for the pair.
In 2023, Murdoch announced his decision to step down from his position at News Corp, leaving his son Lachlan as the sole chair. His media empire, which began in Australia in the 1950s, includes the acquisition of the News Of The World and The Sun in 1969, the New York Post, Wall Street Journal and the launch of TV channel Fox News in 1996.
