Rupert Murdoch's net worth and a look at his media empire

Australian native's influence spread across three continents

Rupert Murdoch leaving the headquarters of News International in Wapping, east London, in 2011. PA

Rupert Murdoch is stepping down as chairman of Fox Corporation and its sister company News Corp.

The Australian spent seven decades amassing a global media empire that played a major role in shaping the political discourse of his homeland, the US and UK.

His son, Lachlan Murdoch, will become sole chairman of News Corp and continue as executive chairman and chief executive of Fox.

Forbes estimated the Murdoch family’s net worth at roughly $19 billion in 2020.

Here is a look at the Murdoch media empire.

Newspapers

Mr Murdoch, 92, started his career in 1952 when he inherited the southern Australian newspaper, The News of Adelaide, from his father. He went on to buy several other local papers before founding The Australian, a national publication, in 1964.

Within years, Mr Murdoch's ambition expanded overseas and in 1969 he bought the UK tabloids The Sun and the News of World. He closed the latter decades later amid a scandal after the paper's journalists were caught hacking the phone of a murdered schoolgirl.

In the 1970s, Mr Murdoch entered the US newspaper market with the purchase of two Texas papers and in 1976 bought The New York Post, another red top.

In 1981, he bought The Times of London and The Sunday Times, and in 2007 he bought The Wall Street Journal and its parent company Dow Jones.

Rupert Murdoch closed the 168-year-old News of the World amid phone hacking and bribery allegations. Getty Images

Television, radio and more

Mr Murdoch's holdings in radio and television including talkSPORT, TalkTV and Virgin Radio UK. News Corp is also present in Ireland with local radio stations.

Mr Murdoch launched Sky Television in the UK in 1988, which soon led to Sky News, a cable news channel.

News Corp is also present in Ireland with local radio stations.

In 1984, Mr Murdoch acquired 20th Century Fox, an entity he reorganised and remade. In 2017, he sold the film studio, renamed 21st Century Fox, to Disney.

In 1986, he set up Fox News, which won quick popularity among conservative viewers and to this day is often the most-watched cable news channel in the US.

In the 2023 fiscal year, Fox reported profits of $1.3 billion on $14.9 billion in revenue, AFP reported.

Other holdings include the entertainment news network TMZ, as well as Studio Ramsay Global, which features British celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay and the MasterChef franchise.

The News Corporation building in New York. Reuters