Revealed: Rupert Murdoch, 92, is dating retired scientist Elena Zhukova, 66 – the mother of Roman Abramovich’s ex-wife – after meeting her through Wendi Deng
Tycoon Rupert Murdoch, age 92, has started dating a beautiful retired scientist – after meeting her through his third wife Wendi Deng.
The two sail the Mediterranean Sea in the legendary superyacht Christina O that he has rented and are today on the coast of Corfu.
Murdoch suffered disappointment and drama this spring when his engagement to former police chaplain and vineyard owner Ann Lesley Smith was called off just two weeks after it was announced.
He and Mrs. Smith were pictured aboard a private jet with his fiancé wearing a massive $2 million diamond ring just days before the proposed summer wedding was called off.
Reports suggested her “outspoken evangelical views” may have been a factor. It had also been revealed that Mrs. Smith had been in a legal dispute with her late husband’s children over his inheritance.
But undeterred, the media mogul is now in the “early stages” of a romance with 66-year-old Elena Zhukova.
Tycoon Rupert Murdoch, age 92, has started dating beautiful retired scientist Elena Zhukova, 66 – after meeting her through his third wife Wendi Deng
Murdoch is now in the “early stages” of a romance with Elena Zhukova, 66 (center). She is the mother of Dasha Zhukova (right), the beautiful Russian socialite famous for her marriage to oligarch and former Chelsea FC owner Roman Abramovich
She is the mother of Dasha Zhukova, the beautiful Russian socialite famous for her marriage to Russian oligarch and former Chelsea FC owner Roman Abramovich.
Dasha and Murdoch’s third wife, Wendi Deng, are good friends in New York and it seems that this is the connection. “They met through Wendi and Dasha,” a source says.
Ms. Zhukova is a twice-divorced molecular biologist and diabetes specialist. She has lived in America for more than three decades after leaving Russia in 1991 with her daughter.
Before retiring, she worked in the medical research department at UCLA. Sources say she spends a lot of time with her grandchildren from Dasha and Roman.
Dasha, 42, divorced Abramovich in 2019 and her settlement included a four-story house in Manhattan. She is now married to Stavros Niarchos, the billionaire heir to the shipping dynasty.
Murdoch and Mrs. Zhukova senior are apparently sailing the Mediterranean on a family summer vacation.
Murdoch was spotted in Positano last month having lunch at Da Adolfo restaurant. Reports suggest that his son Lachlan and his wife Sarah joined him, sailing on their new $150 million yacht Sarissa.
Murdoch’s daughter Elisabeth and her husband Keith Tyson were also seen.
Launched in 1943, the Christina O was converted from a frigate by the legendary Greek shipping magnate Aristotle Onassis. The boat, featured in last year’s Oscar-nominated film Triangle of Sadness, is where Onassis courted Jackie Kennedy and Prince Rainer and Grace Kelly had their wedding reception on board. It is said to cost $767,000 a week to rent.
Murdoch’s daughters by Wendi Deng, Grace and Chloe, are also apparently aboard the Christina O. It has 18 bedrooms.
Unspotted so far is Murdoch’s son James. A Vanity Fair article earlier this year suggested that Lachlan believed James had leaked episodes from the family’s life to the makers of the hit drama Succession.
Ms. Zhukova is the mother of Dasha Zhukova, the beautiful Russian socialite famous for her marriage to Russian oligarch and former Chelsea FC owner Roman Abramovich (pictured together)
Eldest son Lachlan has led the companies alongside Rupert Murdoch since 2014. Younger son James, 50, resigned from News Corp’s board in 2020 after disagreements over editorial policy.
The other children are Prudence, 64, from his first marriage to Patricia Booker, Elisabeth, 54, from his marriage to Anna Torv and Grace, 21, and Chloe, 19, from his third marriage to media executive Wendi Deng.
Murdoch owns The Wall Street Journal and the New York Post in the US, The Sun and The Times in the UK, and book publisher Harper Collins.
His first marriage was the flight attendant Patricia Booker, they had daughter Patience. Then came a 31-year marriage to journalist Anna Torv. They had Lachlan, James and Elizabeth.
He married media executive Wendi Deng in 1999 and they had daughters Grace and Chloe.
Former fiancé Ann Lesley Smith, who also owns a vineyard, had a dispute with her late husband’s family. They alleged “elderly financial abuse” and said she withheld $1 million owed by each of his three daughters. The case was settled in 2010.