Rupert Murdoch, 92, Engaged For The Sixth Time, This Time To Elena Zhukova, 67

On Thursday, Rupert Murdoch‘s office announced the 92-year-old media tycoon’s plans to marry his girlfriend, Elena Zhukova, 67, a retired molecular biologist whom he began dating last summer.

Murdoch was first married to Patricia Booker from 1956 to 1967. He divorced his second wife Anna Torv after 32 years of marriage in 1992. He then married Wendi Deng from 1999 to 2014.

Following his divorce from Deng, Murdoch married Jerry Hall, with whom he was married for six years.

Murdoch and Hall split in the summer of 2022, he reportedly broke up with her over email.

Murdoch got engaged to Ann Lesley Smith, a retired dental hygienist, in the spring of 2023. However, he abruptly called off the engagement after just two weeks.

Murdoch met Zhukova through Deng.

Zhukova has an impressive background as a molecular biologist and specializes in the study of diabetes, including her work at the University of California, Los Angeles. Originally from Moscow, she immigrated to the United States in the final years of the Soviet Union. Her ex-husband, Alexander Zhukov, went on to become a billionaire energy investor and now resides in London as a British citizen.

Zhukova’s daughter, Dasha Zhukova, is a well-known philanthropist, entrepreneur and arts patron who was married to Russian oligarch Roman Abramovich until 2017.

A representative for Murdoch confirmed that wedding invitations have already been sent out, and the ceremony will take place in June at Murdoch’s California vineyard and estate, Moraga.

Moraga holds significance in Murdoch’s business dealings, as it was there that he struck a deal with Bob Iger to sell a significant portion of his media empire – which included movie studios and cable networks –to Disney.

Last year, Murdoch announced his retirement as the chief of his businesses and assumed an emeritus role while his son, Lachlan, took on a more prominent leadership role.

It is unlikely that Murdoch’s marriage will have a substantial impact on the future of his company, as it is held in a trust with shares belonging to him and his four eldest children from his previous marriages.

Murdoch’s family is famously the inspiration for the HBO series Succession.