Fifth time lucky for Murdoch?
March 22, 2023
Rupert Murdoch, 92, is engaged to be married for the fifth time eight months after he divorced former model Jerry Hall.
Murdoch, executive chair of News Corp, told the NY Post (owned by News) that his planned marriage to Ann Lesley Smith, the 66-year-old widow of a media executive, would “be my last”, adding: “It better be.”
The union will not affect the ownership of the Murdoch family trust, which controls News Corp and Fox with a 40 per cent stake in voting shares of each company, the FT was told.
The engagement comes as Murdoch’s Fox News is facing a $1.6 billion defamation lawsuit brought by Dominion, the voting machine maker, over Fox’s coverage of the 2020 election. The Delaware judge in charge of the case has said he is still considering whether he can issue a summary judgement in the case.
Court documents have revealed Murdoch privately was worried by Trump’s efforts to overturn the election.