Rupert Murdoch’s son James, who sat next to his father at a hearing in Parliament, is only one scion of the famous family. From Rupert’s centenarian mother, Dame Elisabeth, to his late father, athletic wife Wendi, and pre-adolescent daughters, Grace and Chloe, see photos of the extended clan.
As the saying goes, the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree. Rupert Murdoch has a reputation for being cozy with politicians, but his father, the late Sir Keith Murdoch, set the precedent. Before he became a famous Australian proprietor of the Adelaide News—which his son eventually inherited—Keith Murdoch was a driven journalist determined to be an official war correspondent to Gallipoli in World War I. In a calculating move, he turned to an influential Australian friend to hook him up with a media job in London. En route to the British capital, he made a pit stop in Egypt “to see how Australian troops were faring.” There he met with the British commander, Sir Ian Hamilton, who reluctantly agreed to let him cover Gallipoli, but only under strict conditions. So Murdoch did what any ruthless journalist would do: he went to Gallipoli and wrote up a letter about everything he saw there and sent it to the British Parliament without Hamilton’s permission. Though he betrayed Hamilton, Murdoch was perceived as a hero whose war coverage was more accurate than any of the British commander’s reports. But Keith Murdoch’s famous Gallipoli letter would later become a source of controversy that raised questions about the ethics of journalism.
AP Photo
While Rupert Murdoch’s father died when his son was only 22, his strong-willed mother Dame Elisabeth is as feisty as ever at age 102. A native Australian, Dame Elisabeth grew up in a poor family, but her destiny changed when she married prominent businessman Keith Murdoch. Her husband’s wealth allowed Elisabeth to dedicate her life to philanthropy: she became president of the Melbourne Royal Children’s hospital and helped found the Murdoch Institute devoted to researching childhood genetics. In 2003, the dame was honored with the Great Australian Philanthropy Award. She married into money, but Elisabeth forged her own path as a pioneering woman of her time. Even on the eve of her 100th birthday, she showed no signs of slowing down. "People these days tend to treat me as though I am delicate and they suggest I should cut back my busy schedule. But I don’t want that,” she told The Guardian, adding that she was “as tough as old boots.”
Newscom
The Scottish-born Anna Torv was a reporter working for Rupert’s Sydney newspaper, The Daily Telegraph, when she married him in 1967. She’s perhaps best known for producing the most powerful heirs in the Murdoch empire: James, Lachlan and Elisabeth. Here she is in 1969 with Rupert and Elisabeth, then 14 months old. Anna was married to the media mogul for 31 years, and since her remarriage she’s now Anna Torv Murdoch Mann. There is another Anna Torv: her niece, a 32-year-old Australian actress best known for her role as FBI agent Olivia Dunham on the Fox television series Fringe.
Rupert Murdoch’s 43-year-old, Chinese-born wife was thrust further into the world’s spotlight by her pie-thwarting activities at the Parliament hearing. It was a performance she’s been rehearsing all her life. Born in the nondescript city of Xuzhou in coastal Jiangsu province in China just after the end of the Cultural Revolution in 1968, Deng lived with her parents, three sisters and brother in a modest home. She became a volleyball player on the junior city team—which explains her rapid spike reflex. Deng befriended the family of Jake Cherry, an American factory manager who sponsored her move to California. Then she married him (after he was divorced). She eventually divorced Cherry, landed an internship with Murdoch’s Star TV in Hong Kong, and met Rupert at a gala dinner.The rest, as they say, is history.
Prudence Murdoch is the mogul’s only child from his first marriage, and the only one of his children with no interest in being an heir—and has never been considered one. Known as Prue, she has long been the family black sheep and didn’t attend college. The Sydney Morning Herald ran a front-page story in 1999 that called her the “Forgotten Daughter.” Forgotten Daughter. But that’s not to say Prue’s not connected to the family business: She is married to Alasdair MacLeod, a ranking News Corp. executive. She lives in Sydney. Her three children are the eldest of Murdoch’s grandchildren, making them prime candidates to take over should Murdoch decide to skip one generation.
Is Elisabeth Murdoch the only voice of reason in the family? The 43-year-old (yes, she’s the same age as Wendi, Rupert’s third wife) reportedly pushed for the resignation of Rebekah Brooks, according to The Guardian newspaper, against the wishes of her brothers, James and Lachlan. That move could make her the strongest family contender to succeed her father, especially since there are calls for James to step down. Elisabeth is Rupert’s second daughter and the eldest of three kids from his second marriage, in 1967, to former employee Anna Torv. Elisabeth grew up in New York and went to Vassar College, then worked at a number of television companies. Like her father, sh has been married three times—she married her banker husband just a few months after Rupert wed Wendi.
Murdoch’s first-born son—his third child—Lachlan Murdoch, was the first to be tapped as his father’s heir apparent. Born in London in 1967 and raised in New York, Lachlan first worked at News Corp.’s Sydney headquarters and by 25, he was put in charge of the company’s entire Australia division. In 1997, Rupert Murdoch reportedly brought all his children to New York and told them he had decided Lachlan would inherit the company. But apparently he hated his father’s control and the company’s politics, and now Lachlan is no longer with News Corp. Despite this, Wall Street Journal reported Lachlan has been advising his father during the current crisis. He lives in Sydney and is married to a famous model, Sarah Murdoch, and they have three children.
The deputy COO of News Corp., James Murdoch, the second son, became heir apparent after Lachlan and Rupert parted ways in 2005. At first, James did not work in the family business; instead, he created a music label, Rawkus Records, which would later sign Eminem and Mos Def. But the company was not exactly a financial success. News Corp. took over Rawkus in 1996, and James went to work in the company’s music-and-tech division before eventually taking over as the head of News America Digital. While considered the most rebellious of Murdoch’s three children from his second marriage, James also is credited with piquing his father’s interest in the Internet. Nevertheless, James’ prospects at News Corp. are said to have been badly damaged by the phone-hacking scandal, despite his efforts to salvage the company’s reputation and the BSkyB deal by closing the News of the World forever. The $12 billion takeover of BSkyB—which would have been the largest acquisition in the company’s history—was canceled amidst the phone-hacking scandal and James was forced to appear Tuesday beside his father and disgraced former News International executive Rebekah Brooks in front of Parliament, and answer questions about the phone hacking, alleged bribery of police and more—under oath.
Rupert and Wendi Murdoch’s two daughters were born in 2001 and 2003, respectively. They are both slated to inherit a financial interest in News Corp.—along with their mother—but they will have no voting control. Both girls reportedly are fluent in Mandarin.
