Rupert Murdoch

Lore & Background

Murdoch was born and raised in Melbourne, the second of four children. After his father Keith Murdoch died in 1952, he took over The News, a small Adelaide newspaper. In the 1950s and 1960s, he acquired newspapers in Australia and New Zealand before expanding into the United Kingdom in 1969, taking over the News of the World and The Sun. He moved to New York in 1974 to expand into the American market, bought The Times in 1981, and became a naturalized U.S. citizen in 1985 to satisfy television ownership laws. His holding company News Corporation acquired Twentieth Century Fox (1985), HarperCollins (1989), and The Wall Street Journal (2007). By 2000, News Corporation owned more than 800 companies in over 50 countries.

Reader's Guide

Rupert Murdoch's significance lies in his transformation of global media through aggressive acquisition and the creation of a vertically integrated news and entertainment empire. His newspapers and television channels have been accused of right-wing bias and misleading coverage to support his business interests and political allies, with some linking his influence to major political developments in the United Kingdom, United States, and Australia. In July 2011, allegations emerged that his companies, including the News of the World, had regularly hacked phones of celebrities, royalty, and public citizens, leading to police and government investigations in the UK and FBI investigations in the US. He resigned as a director of News International in July 2012 and stepped down as chairman of Fox Corp. and News Corp in September 2023. In September 2025, a settlement in a U.S. court case gave his eldest son, Lachlan, ownership of Murdoch's media empire, resolving a challenge by three of his children over the family trust.

Did You Know?

• Murdoch studied philosophy, politics and economics at Oxford, where he kept a bust of Lenin in his rooms and was known as 'Red Rupert'.
• He launched Australia's first national daily newspaper, The Australian, in 1964.
• In 1986, he consolidated his British printing operations in London, causing bitter industrial disputes.
• He was appointed Companion of the Order of Australia (AC) in 1984 for services to publishing.

Notable Quotes (Wikiquote)

"After all, we are in the entertainment business." — Rupert Murdoch "Remarks after the Hitler diaries were exposed as forgeries." — Rupert Murdoch "News — communicating news and ideas, I guess — is my passion. And giving people alternatives so that they have two papers to read (and) alternative television channels." — Rupert Murdoch "Can we change the world? No, but hell, we can all try." — Rupert Murdoch