AP Photo/Julio Cortez
- Rupert Murdoch, 88, is one of the most powerful men in media.
- Beginning with a regional Australian newspaper that he inherited from his father, Murdoch built a media empire that spanned three continents. At its height, the empire included The Wall Street Journal publisher Dow Jones & Company, 21st Century Fox, and Sky Television.
- Murdoch used his media holdings to sway elections in Australia, the UK, and the US, an April 2019 investigation by The New York Times found.
- Murdoch’s sons James and Lachlan fought a nasty, decade-long battle over who would succeed their father, according to the same report.
- Murdoch has a net worth of $7.35 billion, per Bloomberg.
- Visit Business Insider’s homepage for more stories.
In 1952, Rupert Murdoch owned one regional newspaper in his Australian hometown.
He went on to build a media empire that, at its peak, included newspapers, television stations, and film studios on three continents and was powerful enough to sway elections, an April 2019 New York Times investigation found.
Murdoch sold 21st Century Fox, one of his largest assets, to Disney in 2019 for $71 billion, Business Insider previously reported. But while his empire may not be as large as it once was, it has arguably never been more powerful on a global scale.
Murdoch’s holding company, News Corp, owns The New York Post, The Times of London, and The Wall Street Journal publisher Dow Jones & Company, among many other assets. Murdoch, now 88 years old, currently spends his days at the helm of another News Corp property, Fox News. The media mogul also reportedly has a close personal relationship with President Trump and calls him frequently in the Oval Office, according to The Times.
Murdoch and his family have also never been richer, with Forbes putting their collective net worth at $20.9 billion. Even after splitting his fortune among his six children, Murdoch himself has a net worth of $7.35 billion, according to Bloomberg.
Murdoch did not respond to requests from Business Insider for comment.
Keep reading to learn how Murdoch built his media empire and how he now spends his fortune.
Keith Rupert Murdoch was born on March 11, 1931 in Melbourne, Australia.
AP
Source: Bloomberg
His father, also named Keith Murdoch, was a war correspondent and ran several newspapers across the continent during the course of his career. The younger Murdoch took over the Adelaide News when his father died at age 67 in 1952. It would prove to be the beginning of his media empire.
Wikimedia Commons
Source: The Melbourne Press Club
Before entering the media business, Murdoch earned a degree at Oxford. As a student, he supported the Labour Party.
Facebook / University of Oxford
Source: BBC News
See the rest of the story at Business Insider
See Also:
- Donatella Versace just dropped $5.6 million on a pink stucco villa in Italy that’s hosted famous guests like Ernest Hemingway and Walt Disney — take a look inside the mansion.
- Meet Stephen Ross, the billionaire developer of Hudson Yards and chairman of Equinox, who’s one of the richest people in New York and reportedly plans to host a fundraiser for Trump in his Hamptons home
- Venice is cutting back on cruise ships. Disappointing photos show what the Italian port city looks like in real life, from extreme overcrowding and devastating floods to cruise ship accidents
Source: Business Insider – trogers@businessinsider.com (Taylor Nicole Rogers)