Wedding bells are ringing again for Rupert Murdoch, the media mogul who recently stepped down as chairman of Fox News and News Corp.
Murdoch, 92, is engaged to be married to his girlfriend, Elena Zhukova, a 67-year-old retired scientist, the Washington Post reported, citing a source close to Murdoch. A ceremony is planned for June 1 at the renown media executive’s California estate and vineyard, Moraga, according to the report.
Representatives for Murdoch did not immediately respond to a request for comment from CBS MoneyWatch.
Russian-born Zhukova studied at the University of California, Los Angeles, according to a New York Times report. In her career as a molecular biologist, she focused on diabetes. Zhukova’s daughter, Dasha Zhukova, was previously married to Russian oligarch and Putin ally Roman Abramovich, according to the same report. Abramovich was an early target of western sanctions after the Kremlin first invaded Ukraine in 2022.
When the pair walk down the aisle, it will mark Murdoch’s fifth wedding.
Murdoch, whose net worth is pegged at $8.3 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, has been married four times before. Most recently, he was engaged to retired dental hygienist Ann Lesley Smith, whom he never married. He was previously married to model Jerry Hall, whom he divorced in the summer of 2022.
His first three wives include Patricia Booker, Anna Murdoch Mann, and Wendi Murdoch. Zhukova was previously married to billionaire energy investor Alexander Zhukov.
