Rupert Murdoch
Born 1931 · Age 94
Australian‑American media magnate who built News Corporation into a global media empire spanning newspapers, book publishing, film and television; founder of News Corp and architect of Fox network/News Corp/21st Century Fox/Fox Corporation.
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Life & Career Timeline
Born in Melbourne, Australia
Keith Rupert Murdoch born in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, son of Sir Keith Arthur Murdoch and Elisabeth Greene.
Completes education at Geelong Grammar School
Attended and was active in school publications (co-editor The Corian, editor of If Revived).
Father Keith Murdoch dies; inherits family papers
Sir Keith Arthur Murdoch died; Rupert returned to take charge of his father's Adelaide newspapers and News Limited interests.
Graduated Worcester College, Oxford (PPE)
Studied philosophy, politics and economics at Worcester College, Oxford; active in student publications.
Sub‑editor at Daily Express (London)
Worked for about two years at the Daily Express as a sub‑editor, gaining practical tabloid journalism experience.
Takes control of The News (Adelaide)
Returned to Australia and took over running The News, converting it into a highly successful tabloid style paper.
Acquired Sunday Times (Perth)
Purchased the troubled Sunday Times in Perth and applied Murdoch's tabloid formula.
Acquired The Daily Mirror (Sydney)
Bought the Sydney afternoon tabloid The Daily Mirror (part of wider acquisitions in New South Wales).
Took controlling interest in The Dominion (NZ)
Launched a surprise counter‑bid and gained control of Wellington's The Dominion newspaper in New Zealand.
Launched The Australian (national daily)
Founded The Australian, the country's first national daily newspaper (initially based in Canberra, later Sydney).
Expands to UK: Buys News of the World
Entered the British market with acquisition of News of the World (sources place this 1968–1969).
Acquired The Sun (London)
Bought The Sun and transformed it into a mass‑market tabloid, introducing Page 3 and sensational content.
First US acquisition: San Antonio dailies
Purchased the San Antonio Express and San Antonio News, first significant US newspaper purchases.
Moves to New York City; launches Star tabloid
Relocated to New York to expand US interests and started the national tabloid Star.
Acquired New York Post
Purchased the New York Post and converted it into a competitive New York tabloid.
Founded News Corporation (News Corp)
Established News Corporation as the holding company for his global media assets.
Acquired The Times and The Sunday Times (London)
Purchased the British broadsheets, marking Murdoch's first major broadsheet ownership in the UK.
Awarded Companion of the Order of Australia (AC)
Appointed AC for services to publishing.
Acquired Twentieth Century Fox (partial then full)
Purchased an interest in Twentieth Century Fox (sources cite purchases in 1985; CNN cites ~$600M purchase from Marvin Davis).
Naturalized as United States citizen
Became a naturalized U.S. citizen (4 Sep 1985), relinquishing Australian citizenship to meet US TV ownership rules.
Launches Fox Broadcasting Company (Fox network)
Purchased several Metromedia TV stations and launched the Fox Broadcasting Company (network founded 9 Oct 1986).
Wapping printing consolidation and print union dispute
Consolidated British printing operations in Wapping; led to mass dismissals and a bitter industrial dispute with unions.
Wapping settlement accepted by dismissed workers (£60M)
After industrial action, dismissed workers accepted a settlement of £60 million in 1987.
Acquired Herald and Weekly Times (Australia)
Purchased the Melbourne-based Herald and Weekly Times, the major Australian publisher once run by his father.
Launches Sky Television (UK)
Founded Sky Television (four‑channel satellite service) in the UK, later merging with BSB to form BSkyB.
Merged Sky Television with BSB to form BSkyB
Merged the two satellite services in 1990 to create British Sky Broadcasting (BSkyB), a dominant pay‑TV operator.
Consolidated publishing into HarperCollins
Merged Harper & Row and other publishing businesses (late 1980s) into HarperCollins (operation consolidated by 1990).
Fox Network gains NFL NFC rights
Fox acquired exclusive coverage of the NFL's NFC from CBS, greatly boosting the network's profile and revenue.
Reacquired New York Post
Bought back the New York Post (had sold it earlier), returning it to News Corp ownership.
Launches Fox News Channel
Established Fox News Channel as a 24‑hour cable news network (launched 1996), later a dominant cable news brand.
Attempted purchase of Manchester United (£625M offer)
Made an offer of £625 million for Manchester United F.C.; the attempt failed after regulatory/competition objections.
Bought Los Angeles Dodgers (ownership period begins)
Acquired the Los Angeles Dodgers baseball team (owned 1998–2004).
Acquired controlling share in Mushroom Records (Australia)
Expanded music holdings by buying Michael Gudinski's Mushroom Records and merging with Festival Records to form Festival Mushroom Records.
News Corporation: >800 companies in 50+ countries
By 2000, News Corp owned over 800 companies in more than 50 countries; company net worth stated as more than $5 billion.
Shifted News Corporation domicile to United States
Announced move of News Corp headquarters/incorporation from Australia to the U.S. to attract American investors.
Acquired Intermix Media (MySpace) for ~ $580M
News Corp bought Intermix Media, owner of social network MySpace, in 2005 (purchase widely reported at ~$580M).
Acquired Dow Jones & The Wall Street Journal ($5B)
News Corporation purchased Dow Jones & Company, publisher of The Wall Street Journal, for about $5 billion in 2007.
Sold MySpace at a large loss ($35M exit)
News Corp sold MySpace in 2011 for about $35 million, a dramatic loss against the 2005 purchase price.
News of the World phone‑hacking scandal and closure
Allegations of phone hacking emerged; News of the World published its final edition (10 July 2011); widespread investigations followed.
Apologised to Milly Dowler family in person
Met family of murdered teen Milly Dowler and personally apologised for hacking of their daughter's voicemail by News of the World staff.
Testified before UK Parliament (Culture, Media & Sport Committee)
Rupert and son James Murdoch testified about phone‑hacking allegations; Rupert called it "the most humble day of my life."
Announced plan to split News Corp into two companies
News Corporation announced plans to separate publishing businesses from media/entertainment assets (event led to 2013 restructuring).
Resigned as director of News International
Resigned from the News International directorship amid ongoing phone‑hacking and political scandal inquiries.
Reorganized into 21st Century Fox and new News Corp (split complete)
Completed corporate split: 21st Century Fox (entertainment) and News Corp (publishing) created; Murdoch served leadership roles in both.
Transition to co‑chair roles at 21st Century Fox
Began sharing leadership at 21st Century Fox (executive co‑chairman role alongside his son Lachlan, and handed more responsibilities to James earlier in 2015).
Assumed role as acting CEO/chairman of Fox News
After Roger Ailes resigned amid sexual‑harassment allegations, Murdoch briefly assumed leadership control of Fox News and Fox Business.
Disney announces acquisition of most 21st Century Fox assets ($52.4B)
The Walt Disney Company agreed to buy the bulk of 21st Century Fox assets in an all‑stock deal valued at about $52.4 billion.
Comcast outbids Fox for Sky; Murdoch sells 39% stake in Sky to Comcast
Following regulatory processes and a blind auction, Comcast won control of Sky; Murdoch sold his 39% stake in Sky to Comcast.
Sale/closeout of Disney deal; 21st Century Fox largely divested
Most of 21st Century Fox's assets were folded into Disney (deal closed in early 2019); remaining properties formed Fox Corporation.
Purchased Beaverhead Ranch in Montana (> $200M)
Purchased Beaverhead Ranch (500‑square‑mile cattle/ranch property) reportedly for over $200 million.
Net worth reported at US$21.7 billion (Forbes)
Forbes reported Rupert Murdoch's net worth as approximately US$21.7 billion (2 March 2022), ranking him among the richest in the US/world.
Deposed in Dominion Voting Systems litigation (Fox News)
Rupert Murdoch was deposed in Dominion Voting Systems' lawsuit over Fox News coverage of the 2020 US election (Jan 19–20, 2023).
Fox News settles Dominion lawsuit ($787.5M)
Fox agreed to pay $787.5 million to settle Dominion Voting Systems' defamation lawsuit in April 2023; Murdoch remained a central figure in corporate response.
Announced stepping down as chairman of Fox Corp. and News Corp.
Announced he would step down as chairman (effective November) and assume role of chairman emeritus; named son Lachlan Murdoch sole chairman.
Family trust legal challenge (three children contest proposed amendment)
As of Sept 2024, three children (Elisabeth, Prudence, James) challenged Murdoch's bid to amend the family trust to concentrate control with eldest son Lachlan.
Married Elena Zhukova (fifth marriage)
Reportedly married Elena Zhukova in June 2024 (news reported by major outlets).
Nevada probate commissioner rules Murdoch cannot amend family trust
A Nevada probate commissioner ruled in Dec 2024 that Murdoch could not amend his family trust to transfer additional control to his chosen successor (reported Dec 2024).
Continuing public scrutiny over political influence and media bias
Longstanding criticisms and analyses continued linking Murdoch's media outlets to right‑wing bias and significant political influence in multiple countries.
Key Achievement Ages
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