Rupert Murdoch in 2015 Photo courtesy the Hudson Institute, via Flickr
Elena Zhukova, a retired molecular biologist and the mother of Russian American art collector, museum founder and businesswoman Dasha Zhukova, married the Australian billionaire and right-wing media mogul Rupert Murdoch on Saturday (1 June). Their union “after dating for several months”, according to the Murdoch-owned tabloid The Sun, makes Zhukova his fifth wife.
Murdoch, who is 93 years old, may have had a little more time on his hands lately for courtship and romance after handing the reins of Fox and News Corp to his son Lachlan last autumn. Another son, James Murdoch, via his private investment company Lupa Systems, became a major shareholder in Art Basel’s parent company MCH Group in 2020 (Papa Murdoch was briefly rumored to be considering an investment of his own).
Murdoch and Zhukova’s wedding ceremony was held at Moraga Vineyards, a winery he owns in the tony Bel Air neighbourhood of Los Angeles. Before he and Zhukova started dating, Murdoch broke off a very brief engagement with the conservative radio host Ann Lesley Smith. According to The Guardian, he met Zhukova at an event hosted by his third wife, the entrepreneur and art collector Wendi Deng. Zhukova’s ex-husband, Dasha’s father, is the British Russian energy industry billionaire Alexander Zhukov.
Mazel tov to the newlyweds!
