Rupert Murdoch marries retired Russian scientist

The pair had reportedly met through a friendship between the tycoon’s third wife and the bride’s daughter

Media magnate Rupert Murdoch married Soviet-born retired molecular biologist Elena Zhukova on Saturday at Moraga, his vineyard estate in the Bel Air neighborhood of Westside Los Angeles.

The couple announced their engagement in March, and spent some time out of the spotlight during the early stages of their relationship, vacationing in the Mediterranean on board the superyacht Christina O, according to the Daily Mail.

Murdoch, 93, reportedly met his 67-year-old bride through the mogul’s third wife Wendi Deng and Zhukova’s daughter Daria Zhukova, who are close friends.

Elena Zhukova, who studied insulin production and diabetes at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), was previously married to Russian billionaire investor Alexander Zhukov. Their daughter Daria was married to Russian billionaire and former Chelsea FC owner Roman Abramovich between 2008 and 2018.

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Murdoch’s fifth marriage comes less than a year after a called-off  engagement to Ann Lesley Smith, a retired dental hygienist turned conservative radio host.

The tycoon and his family have a net worth of around $20 billion, according to his Forbes profile.

Murdoch retired from the boards of Fox and the News Corp in September, leaving his son Lachlan as CEO of the media empire he had built over the past seven decades. News Corp’s assets include The Wall Street Journal, The Times, The Sun, Fox News and Sky News Australia.