Golden Mansion (World Volume)

Author: Fu Qiang
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2006-01-01
Features: The media leader Rupert Murdoch, known for his hands-on approach, has been married three times. In 1999, he divorced his wife of 32 years, Anna, and married Deng Wen-di, a Chinese woman 38 years his junior. It is said that at a company's annual party, Murdoch fell for the enthusiastic Eastern woman who approached him for a chat. They talked for a long time and began seeing each other privately afterward. In 1999, Murdoch divorced Anna and soon after married Deng Wen-di. Murdoch's legendary marriage with Deng Wen-di has always been attributed by the media to his curiosity and emphasis on China. An article even bluntly stated that marrying Deng Wen-di was like "marrying the Chinese market." Deng Wen-di's appearance stirred up the already inevitable succession battle within the Murdoch family. Murdoch had a daughter, Prudence, with his first wife, and one daughter and two sons, Elizabeth, (Lachlan), and James, with his second wife. Since all four had the same number of News Corporation shares, they had been living in relative harmony. Murdoch's ex-wife, Anna, had thought of her children when they divorced and proposed harsh conditions in the divorce agreement: Deng Wen-di was not entitled to inherit any of Murdoch's estate unless they had a child together after marriage. Anna made this demand because she knew Murdoch had prostate cancer, had undergone radiation treatment, and was infertile. Unsurprisingly, Deng Wen-di gave birth to a child—daughter Grace—on November 19, 2001, using frozen sperm stored before Murdoch's chemotherapy, adding another heir to Murdoch's fortune. The media closely followed the succession issue in the Murdoch family. To this, Murdoch said, "As long as my mind is sharp, I plan to keep going. My mother is 95 and still doing very well." But in reality, Murdoch, who had been diagnosed with prostate cancer years ago, still had to consider the issue of succession. It is generally believed that he plans to pass on the family business to his two sons—Lachlan Murdoch and James Murdoch. Lachlan is the Chief Operating Officer of News Corporation and also serves as the publisher of The New York Post and one of the business leaders at Fox TV. For a long time, he has been considered the most likely heir. However, to everyone's surprise, on July 29, 2005, Lachlan suddenly announced that he would resign as Chief Operating Officer of News Corporation by the end of August, take his family to leave New York, and settle in Sydney, Australia. This once again cast uncertainty over the succession in the Murdoch empire. Some say he left because he was tired of the family's power struggle, while others believe it is because his conflict with his father has become irreconcilable. James, Murdoch's younger son, has now been thrust into the spotlight. He is a classic example of a wayward youth coming back to the fold. A family insider and an investor in News Corporation believes that James bears a resemblance to his father, while Lachlan is more reserved, like a lieutenant rather than a general. James has always been unruly. At the age of 15, he was detained by the police, and his name appeared in Australia's Daily Mirror, causing Murdoch great embarrassment. James also had tattoos and a pierced eyebrow. He was a quintessential playboy and rebellious youth, showing no interest in his father's business.