Rupert Murdoch buys his fifth fiancée a ring worth up to £2 MILLION, reveals ALISON BOSHOFF
Rupert Murdoch, who is approaching his fifth wedding this summer, seems to be thinking big with each successive marital adventure.
Our exclusive images show the 92-year-old media mogul with his fiancee Ann Lesley Smith wearing an 11-carat diamond engagement ring that experts say is worth up to £2 million.
The ring, which he revealed he personally chose and presented to Ms Smith on March 17, is said to be “the best of the best”.
Ms Smith, 66, a widow who is wealthy in her own right, was seen using the flare as they arrived at Los Angeles airport this week.
Carol Woolton, Vogue Contributing Editor and a leading international authority on jewellery, said: ‘It’s the best of the best.
Our exclusive images show 92-year-old media mogul Rupert Murdoch with his fiancee Ann Lesley Smith
The ring (pictured), which Murdoch revealed he personally chose and gifted to Ms Smith on March 17, is worth up to £2m.
‘There’s a similar ring that’s going to auction at Sotheby’s for £1 million, but retail could be £2 million.
‘It’s interesting that it’s so traditional. The invincibility of the diamond as a stone goes with the idea of love forever.
It suggests that it has been given to you by an old-fashioned romantic.
‘It’s the largest diamond you could wear every day.
“If you’re going to get engaged at this point in your life, she’s going to want to wear things, not keep them in a safe.”
Ms. Smith also appeared to be wearing an antique gold Rolex watch, a diamond necklace, and large silver earrings.
She also wore a gold pavé cross necklace on a long diamond chain.
Ms Woolton added: ‘This is the style of a woman who likes gold and jewels. These are pieces that mean something to her.
‘Jewelry shows your style more than anything else.
“She seems like a woman who likes jewelry: a little bit of gold, things she already had in her jewelry box, and she’s comfortable wearing it.”
Ms Smith met the newly single billionaire in September at a wine event at his Moraga vineyard in California, and waited a fortnight before asking to see her again.
Media mogul Murdoch, who is said to be worth $17bn (£13.7bn), told his newspaper, the New York Post: “I was very nervous. I was afraid of falling in love, but I knew that this would be the last. It would be better. I’m happy.’
Ms Smith, 66, a widow who is wealthy in her own right, was pictured at the airport showing off the £2m rock.
The couple was seen at the Los Angeles airport after a romantic trip in New York.
Ms. Smith also wore an antique gold Rolex watch (pictured left), a diamond necklace and large silver hoops, and a gold pavé cross necklace on a long diamond chain (pictured left). photo on the right).
Mrs Smith said: ‘For both of us it’s a gift from God. We met last September.
‘I am a 14-year-old widow. Like Rupert, my husband was a businessman. He worked for local newspapers, developed television and radio stations, and helped promote Univision. So I speak Rupert’s language. We share the same beliefs.
‘In hindsight, it’s not my first rodeo. Approaching 70 means being in the latter half. I waited for the right moment. Friends are happy for me.
Murdoch’s last marriage, to supermodel Jerry Hall, ended abruptly in July last year and the divorce was finalized in five weeks. They had been married six years.
Before that, he was married to media executive Wendi Deng, with whom he has daughters Grace and Chloe.
He was married to journalist Anna Torv from 1967 to 1999 and they had children Liz, James, and Lachlan. Before that, he was married to flight attendant Patricia Booker and they had a daughter, Patience.
The jewelry Ms. Smith wears is said to “show off her style more than anything else.”
Media mogul Murdoch (pictured at airport) is said to be worth $17bn (£13.7bn)
The couple was photographed on the beach in Barbados during their romantic getaway in January of this year.
Ms Smith wore a striking yellow bikini as the couple cooled off in the shade.
It emerged last week that Ms Smith, who is also a vineyard owner, had been in a dispute with her late husband’s family. They alleged ‘financial elder abuse’ and said she had withheld $1 million (£800,000) owed to each of her three daughters. The matter was settled in 2010.
In the Los Angeles footage, Murdoch is wearing a cap that reads ‘Proud American’.
Murdoch’s Fox News is currently defending a lawsuit brought by voting machine company Dominion, which says several Fox anchors promoted a false narrative suggesting the 2020 election was stolen from former President Donald Trump.
Murdoch himself appeared in court in late February, saying that “in hindsight” he wished that Fox had been stronger in denouncing the allegations.