Rupert Murdoch, the media titan, and Jerry Hall, the model and actress, are divorcing, according to two people in the know of the decision. The people would speak anonymously only to discuss a personal matter.
Bryce Tom, a spokesman for Mr Murdoch, declined to comment. Ms Hall’s representatives were not immediately available for comment.
Mr Murdoch’s divorce, his fourth, is unlikely to change the ownership structure of companies in which he has interests, including parent companies of Fox News and The Wall Street Journal. The Murdoch family’s stock in the companies Mr. Murdoch, are housed in a strictly managed trust. Murdoch divides the voting rights in that trust with his four oldest children – Lachlan, Elisabeth, James and Prudence – and has arranged them so that he can never be voted out.
Still, the split could resonate throughout his business empire, which retains powerful power in America and abroad through its right-wing news brands, including Fox News Channel in the United States, The Sun in Britain and Sky News in Australia.
During the early days of the marriage, his associates and those close to the family said he liked to spend more time with his new wife, leaving room for his children – most importantly, his eventual chosen successor, Lachlan – to rise to the top. of the corporate hierarchy.
Some people who are close to Mr. Murdoch, were surprised to learn of his divorce from Ms. hello.
Mr Murdoch and Mrs Hall were married in March 2016 in a century-old town house in central London. mr. Murdoch marked the occasion by: announce on Twitter that he would stop posting to the platform and call himself “the happiest and happiest man in the world”.
The October-December combination — Mrs. Hall is 65, Mr. Murdoch 91 — made the pair the regular subject of rival tabloids, with paparazzi regularly catching the two laughing broadly on a pristine beach, in a winter football stadium, or in a black-and-white tie. to open.
Last year, Ms. Hall attended Mr. Murdoch’s 90th birthday party at Tavern on the Green, a swanky Central Park restaurant, according to one attendee. Ms. Hall adored Mr. Murdoch at the festivities, which were attended by celebrities from business, sports and politics, the person said.
Previously, from 1999 to 2014, Mr. Murdoch was married to Wendi Deng, an entrepreneur and investor. He divorced his second wife, Anna, a former newspaper reporter, in 1999, after more than three decades. Murdoch’s first wife was Patricia Booker, an Australian model, whom he divorced in 1965.
Ms. Hall was previously married to singer Mick Jagger, but their marriage was annulled in 1999.