Rupert Murdoch Net Worth

net worth: $9 billion
age: 93
Birth: March 11, 1931
gender: Male
Height: 1.78 m (5 ft 10 in)
country of origin: Australia
Source of funds: entrepreneur
Last Updated: August 12, 2024

Introduction

Keith Rupert Murdoch’s net worth is estimated to be around $9 billion.

Keith Rupert Murdoch is an Australian-born American media magnate. After his father’s death in 1952, Murdoch refused to join his late father’s registered public company and formed his own private company, News Limited.

He then went on to build the largest news media empire in the entire world, with his News Corp owning major nationwide newspapers in the US, Australia and the UK, including publications such as the New York Post or The Wall Street Journal. He also owns several local newspapers and television stations and is commonly referred to as the inventor of the modern tabloid.

Early Life

Keith Rupert Murdoch was born on March 11, 1931 in Melbourne, Victoria. Murdoch is the son of Sir Keith Murdoch and Dame Elisabeth Murdoch. He is of English, Irish, and Scottish descent. Murdoch’s parents were also born in Melbourne.

Keith Murdoch was a war correspondent and later became a regional newspaper tycoon who owned two newspapers in Adelaide, South Australia, and a radio station in a remote mining town, and was chairman of the powerful Herald and Weekly Times group.

Livelihood

Murdoch took over New Zealand Limited after his father’s death in 1952. One of its newspapers, the Adelaide News, became the most widely read newspaper after the young man took over ownership, leading the small Adelaide newspaper to dominate print media in this region of Australia. It was the humble beginning of an empire that would dominate the entire English-speaking media landscape in the decades to come.

He also managed to increase his stakes in media firms across Australia. During a visit to New Zealand in 1964, Rupert learned of an ongoing bid to buy the Wellington-based newspaper ‘The Dominion’.

In 1968, the Australian media mogul ventured into the British market and acquired the ‘News of the World’, followed the next year by a national daily newspaper called ‘The Sun’, which was struggling at the time. They were initially in the long broadsheet size, but were later shortened to tabloid format and printed in the same press to reduce costs. ‘The Sun’s’ focus on sensational coverage of controversial topics was what pulled the newspaper out of its financial troubles and fueled the popularity of tabloids in Great Britain, which remain a major part of the print media landscape in the country to this day.

In 1986, the businessman came under scrutiny when he started electronic publishing in the Wapping area of ​​London. These processes did not require as much manpower as before, and resulted in a reduction in size.

Murdoch made his first acquisition in the US in 1973 when he bought the ‘San Antonio Express-News’ and then the ‘New York Post’ three years later. He acquired control of ’20th Century Fox’ (later known as ’21st Century Fox’) in 1986, through which he conducted most of his business activities in the United States. In 1993, his ‘Fox Network’ took over broadcasting the ‘National Football League’ from competitor CBS.

In 2014, ’21st Century Fox’ attempted to buy ‘Time Warner’, but the offer was rejected. Currently, most of the companies under Murdoch are managed by his younger son James Murdoch.

As of 2018, he was the owner of Sky Group, which includes some of the most notable publishing outlets in Australia and the United Kingdom, including Sky News, Sky News Australia, and Sky Sports. The remaining shares of Sky, owned by Murdoch’s 21st Century Fox, were sold to Comcast for $15 billion.

Currently, Murdoch is best known as the chairman of Fox Corporation, an American media giant that owns outlets such as Fox News, Fox Business, and Fox Sports. He is currently ranked 272nd on the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.

Rupert Murdoch’s net worth is $9 billion.

personal life

In the 1980s, Murdoch gave up his Australian citizenship and became a US citizen, allowing him to benefit more shareholders and expand his empire. He married four times and divorced his fourth wife, Jerry Hall, in 2022. He has six children, including prominent personalities such as his son James or daughter Prudence Murdoch.

Highlights

Here are some of the best things from Rupert Murdoch’s career:

  • Herald and Weekly Times Executive
  • Murdoch acquires The Times (1981)
  • Murdoch buys Dow Jones & Company, publisher of the Wall Street Journal (2007)
  • Murdoch sells majority of 21st Century Fox entertainment assets to Disney for $71.3 billion (2019)
  • CEO of Fox Corporation (2019–present)

Favorite quotes from Rupert Murdoch

“Climate change clearly presents a catastrophic threat. We may not agree on its extent, but we simply cannot afford inaction.” – Rupert Murdoch

“You can’t build a strong corporation with a lot of committees and a board that has to be consulted at every turn. You have to be able to make decisions on your own.” – Rupert Murdoch

“As an immigrant, I chose to live in America because it is one of the freest and most vibrant countries in the world. And as an immigrant, I feel an obligation to speak out for immigration policies that will keep America the most economically strong, creative, and freedom-loving nation in the world.” – Rupert Murdoch

“The Internet has been the most fundamental change in my lifetime and in hundreds of years. The other day someone said, “It’s the greatest thing since Gutenberg,” and then someone else said, “No, it’s the greatest thing since the invention of writing.” – Rupert Murdoch

“The Internet has been the most fundamental change in my lifetime, and in hundreds of years.” – Rupert Murdoch

3 business lessons from Rupert Murdoch

Let’s take a look at what we can learn from him about business:

1. Choose the right time

Timing is of the essence in succession planning, Murdoch says. “We always tell our clients that you can never start preparing too early,” he says.

“The more time you have to communicate the succession plan and embed it into the company in terms of structure, the better it will be for the employees, the board, the stakeholders and the company.”

Murdoch’s mastery of timing was unmatched throughout most of his career, whether it was helping Australian newspapers top the sales charts or buying struggling newspapers like The Sun at lucrative prices to turn them into a powerful force in the media.

Finally, in the US, he built the Fox empire from the ground up, launching several cable television networks and creating a giant company that controlled the majority of the news and entertainment industry in the country. He sold off parts of his investments at the height of their performance, the best example being the sale of ’21st Century Fox’ to Disney in 2019.

2. Be prepared for challenges

Succession planning is complex, and even more so in a family business. Murdoch says family businesses face unique challenges because they involve family dynamics. “Usually there are family issues that have to be considered that impact business issues,” he says.

“If you are handing over a gift to someone who is not a family member, it is effectively a commercial transaction, but when it is a family member, you have to consider things like sibling rivalry and emotional factors, which play a significant role in it.”

Throughout his career, Murdoch never shied away from challenges, seeing opportunities in struggling media outlets that he knew would require a lot of time and effort to make any profit. Another example of this is News Corp Australia, which he built from a small network of daily newspapers.

3. Communicate clearly

Murdoch says it’s important for business owners to execute a succession plan so that it is clearly communicated with all employees and stakeholders. “Allow enough time for the transition plan to take effect and make sure it is clearly communicated about what is happening and why,” he says.

It should surprise no one to learn that Rupert Murdoch is a master of communication. After all, that is his main source of income! Through running several media companies and distributing international and domestic news, the former CEO of ’21st Century Fox’ became arguably the most influential person in the world when it comes to disseminating information and entertainment. You can’t get there without clearly communicating your expectations and desires!

Frequently Asked Questions

How much is Rupert Murdoch’s net worth?

Rupert Murdoch’s net worth is estimated at $9 billion.

How old is Rupert Murdoch?

Rupert Murdoch was born on 11 March 1931 and is currently 93 years old.

How tall is Rupert Murdoch?

Rupert Murdoch’s height is 1.78 m, which is equivalent to 5 feet 10 inches.

Summary

Rupert Murdoch is a famous Australian businessman, best known for founding News Corporation. After his father’s death, he began by acquiring small, struggling publications in Australia. The first foreign investment was when he purchased the New Zealand-based newspaper ‘The Dominion’.

Rupert Murdoch’s net worth is $9 billion.

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