Rupert Murdoch, 92, is now dating Elena Zhukova, 66, 4 months after calling off last engagement

Rupert Murdoch, the 92-year-old Australian-born American newspaper publisher and media entrepreneur is rumoured to be dating a retired scientist, Elena Zhukova, 66, after the new couple were spotted vacationing on a yacht, according to The Drudge Report. Reportedly, the media mogul has found love again after he called off his engagement with Ann Lesley Smith in April this year.

The founder of The News Corp was spotted getting on board of the superyacht "Christina O" with his new love interest Elena Zhukova over the weekend in the Mediterranean. 

A source close to Rupert Murdoch told The Drudge Report, "He’s got the energy of people half his age."

Who is Elena Zhukova?

During her career, Elena Zhukova was a molecular biologist and diabetes specialist performing medical research at the University of California, Los Angeles. 

• Elena Zhukova left Russia in 1991 with her daughter and moved to the United States. She has been living in the US for more than 30 years now. According to DailyMail, Zhukova has been married and divorced twice.
• Zhukova's daughter is Dasha Zhukova, an art collector and socialite who was married to ex-Chelsea FC owner Roman Abramovich from 2008 to 2017, and is now married to Stavros Niarchos.
• Apparently, Dasha Zhukova and Murdoch's ex-wife Wendi Deng are good friends, and that's how Elena Zhukova and Rupert Murdoch were introduced to each other.

Rupert Murdoch's previous marriages

Rupert Murdoch has been married four times and shares six children with his ex-wives. 

• Murdoch was married to Patricia Booker from 1956 to 1967. The couple share a daughter, Prudence MacLeod, 65.
• Then the business magnate tied the knot with Anna Murdoch Mann in 1967, before they got divorced in 1999. He shares daughter Elisabeth, 54, and sons Lachlan, 51, and James, 50, with Anna Mann.
• The same year he divorced his second wife, Murdoch married a third time; Wendi Deng. Wendi Deng and Rupert Murdoch share two daughters, Grace, 22, and Chloe, 20. 
• In 2016, Murdoch married another time, former supermodel Jerry Hall, and they finalised their divorce in August 2022.

In April this year, the billionaire called off his short-lived engagement with Ann Lesley Smith, just two weeks after he popped the question.

Vanity Fair reported that a source close to Murdoch said that the reason behind breaking off the engagement with Smith, 66, was because Murdoch was becoming increasingly uncomfortable with Smith’s outspoken evangelical views. 

Will fifth time be a charm?

ALSO READ | Elon Musk says he will drive to Mark Zuckerberg's home for cage fight, but no one's convinced

ALSO READ | Dalit writer Yashica Dutt calls out Prime for no credit in Made in Heaven for Radhika Apte character