Media tycoon Rupert Murdoch, 92, is again making headlines—this time for a matter of the heart.
Just four months after ending his two-week engagement to conservative radio host Ann Lesley Smith, 66, Murdoch has set his eyes on another 66-year-old, his new flame Elena Zhukova. The two were spotted together on an extended Mediterranean getaway, igniting speculations of a budding romance.
Sources have confirmed that the Melbourne-born media mogul and Zhukova, a Jewish former University of California molecular biologist, first crossed paths at a grand family gathering hosted by Murdoch’s third ex-wife, Wendi Deng.
Murdoch and Deng, who divorced in 2013 after 14 years of marriage, appear to be on amicable terms as they co-parent two children, Chloe and Grace. (Murdoch has been married four times.)
The new couple has yet to confirm their relationship but insiders claim their bond has grown strong in recent weeks. Paparazzi photos show a relaxed Murdoch donning shorts, a stylish Ralph Lauren polo shirt and a wide-brimmed sun hat during the Mediterranean trip.
Never a stranger to controversy, Murdoch was criticized in 2012 for referring to “the Jewish-owned press.”
Zhukov was previously married to financier Alexander Zhukov. They divorced, and Elena moved from Moscow to the United States to raise her daughter, the art collector Darya Zhukova.
Darya, who goes by Dasha, was married to Russian oligarch Roman Abramovich, whose father is Jewish, for a decade. She has since married Stavros Niarchos, heir to a Greek shipping fortune.
