Australian billionaire media mogul Rupert Murdoch and his actress and model wife Jerry Hall have finalised their divorce, making him the latest in a series of billionaires to end their marriages.
Ms Hall, 66, filed a request in the Los Angeles Superior Court this week to dismiss her original petition for divorce, which she filed last month, with permission to file a new one.
She had cited “irreconcilable differences” as the reason for the split and sought unspecified spousal support and lawyers’ fees in her original divorce petition, according to media reports.
In the original petition, Ms Hall said she was “unaware of the full nature and extent of all [of Murdoch’s] assets and debts, and will amend this petition when the information has been ascertained”.
No details were released on the agreement the two have reached.
Mr Murdoch, who owns many of the world’s most famous newspapers, has an estimated net worth of $8.4 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, while Ms Hall’s fortune is worth $20 million, according to wealth tracking website Celebrity Net Worth.
The News Corp founder owns some of the most notable publishing outlets around the globe, including Fox News, The Wall Street Journal, The Daily Telegraph, The Times, Sky News Australia and British tabloid The Sun, among others.
Mr Murdoch is the latest billionaire to face the prospect of an expensive divorce, joining Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, who ended his marriage with MacKenzie Scott in April 2019, Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates, who split from Melinda French last year, and Google co-founder Sergey Brin, who filed for divorce in June this year.
Mr Bezos, the world’s second-richest person with a fortune of $130bn, paid Ms Scott about $38bn to end their marriage of 26 years, making it one of the world’s most expensive divorces.
Under their agreement, he retained 75 per cent of Amazon’s shares while Ms Scott received a 4 per cent stake in the company.
It is not known exactly how much Mr Gates, currently the fifth-wealthiest person in the world with a fortune of $121bn, paid Ms French when their divorce was finalised last August.
However, in the same month, Mr Gates’s Cascade Investment transferred 3.3 million shares of AutoNation to Ms French, as well as 2.8 million shares of Deere & Co and 9.5 million shares of Canadian National Railway, totalling more than $1bn, according to filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Mr Gates also transferred more than $3bn worth of shares in the same three companies in the days after their May 3 divorce announcement, Bloomberg reported.
At the time, the stocks alone were worth more than $5.7bn, but “it may only be part of the picture”, it said.
Ms French currently has a net worth of $11.1bn, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.
Ms Hall and Mr Murdoch married in London in 2016. It was the fourth marriage for Mr Murdoch. They have no children together.
Mr Murdoch marked the occasion by announcing on Twitter that he would stop posting on the platform, calling himself “the luckiest and happiest man in the world”.
A statement released by Mr Murdoch’s attorney, Robert Cohen, and Judy Poller, a lawyer representing Ms Hall, confirmed the couple had finalised their divorce but “remain good friends”.
The separation is unlikely to alter the ownership structure of businesses Mr Murdoch holds stakes in, which include the parent companies of Fox News and The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times reported in June.
The Murdoch family’s shares in the companies Mr Murdoch founded reside in a strictly managed trust. Mr Murdoch splits voting rights over that trust with his four oldest children — Lachlan, Elisabeth, James and Prudence — and has arranged them so that he can never be outvoted, The New York Times reported.
Ms Hall, born in Texas, was previously the long-time partner of Rolling Stones lead singer Mick Jagger. They have four children together.
Mr Murdoch’s first wife was Patricia Booker, an Australian flight attendant, whom he divorced in 1965.
He and his second wife, Anna, a newspaper reporter, were together for more than 30 years before divorcing in 1999. His third marriage to Wendi Deng, an entrepreneur and investor, ended in 2013.
The specs
Engine: four-litre V6 and 3.5-litre V6 twin-turbo
Transmission: six-speed and 10-speed
Power: 271 and 409 horsepower
Torque: 385 and 650Nm
Price: from Dh229,900 to Dh355,000
SPECS
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EEngine%3C%2Fstrong%3E%3A%202-litre%20direct%20injection%20turbo%20%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ETransmission%3C%2Fstrong%3E%3A%207-speed%20automatic%20%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPower%3C%2Fstrong%3E%3A%20261hp%20%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ETorque%3C%2Fstrong%3E%3A%20400Nm%20%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPrice%3C%2Fstrong%3E%3A%20From%20Dh134%2C999%26nbsp%3B%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
MATCH INFO
What: 2006 World Cup quarter-final
When: July 1
Where: Gelsenkirchen Stadium, Gelsenkirchen, Germany
Result:
England 0 Portugal 0
(Portugal win 3-1 on penalties)
Tearful appearance
Chancellor Rachel Reeves set markets on edge as she appeared visibly distraught in parliament on Wednesday.
Legislative setbacks for the government have blown a new hole in the budgetary calculations at a time when the deficit is stubbornly large and the economy is struggling to grow.
She appeared with Keir Starmer on Thursday and the pair embraced, but he had failed to give her his backing as she cried a day earlier.
A spokesman said her upset demeanour was due to a personal matter.
Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
- Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
- Flexible payment plans from developers
- Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
Tips to stay safe during hot weather
- Stay hydrated: Drink plenty of fluids, especially water. Avoid alcohol and caffeine, which can increase dehydration.
- Seek cool environments: Use air conditioning, fans, or visit community spaces with climate control.
- Limit outdoor activities: Avoid strenuous activity during peak heat. If outside, seek shade and wear a wide-brimmed hat.
- Dress appropriately: Wear lightweight, loose and light-coloured clothing to facilitate heat loss.
- Check on vulnerable people: Regularly check in on elderly neighbours, young children and those with health conditions.
- Home adaptations: Use blinds or curtains to block sunlight, avoid using ovens or stoves, and ventilate living spaces during cooler hours.
- Recognise heat illness: Learn the signs of heat exhaustion and heat stroke (dizziness, confusion, rapid pulse, nausea), and seek medical attention if symptoms occur.
COMPANY%20PROFILE
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EName%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20SupplyVan%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Dubai%2C%20UAE%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ELaunch%20year%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%202017%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ENumber%20of%20employees%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%2029%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ESector%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20MRO%20and%20e-commerce%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFunding%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Seed%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Thor: Ragnarok
Dir: Taika Waititi
Starring: Chris Hemsworth, Tom Hiddleston, Cate Blanchett, Jeff Goldblum, Mark Ruffalo, Tessa Thompson
Four stars
North Pole stats
Distance covered: 160km
Temperature: -40°C
Weight of equipment: 45kg
Altitude (metres above sea level): 0
Terrain: Ice rock
South Pole stats
Distance covered: 130km
Temperature: -50°C
Weight of equipment: 50kg
Altitude (metres above sea level): 3,300
Terrain: Flat ice
Sole survivors
- Cecelia Crocker was on board Northwest Airlines Flight 255 in 1987 when it crashed in Detroit, killing 154 people, including her parents and brother. The plane had hit a light pole on take off
- George Lamson Jr, from Minnesota, was on a Galaxy Airlines flight that crashed in Reno in 1985, killing 68 people. His entire seat was launched out of the plane
- Bahia Bakari, then 12, survived when a Yemenia Airways flight crashed near the Comoros in 2009, killing 152. She was found clinging to wreckage after floating in the ocean for 13 hours.
- Jim Polehinke was the co-pilot and sole survivor of a 2006 Comair flight that crashed in Lexington, Kentucky, killing 49.
Labour dispute
The insured employee may still file an ILOE claim even if a labour dispute is ongoing post termination, but the insurer may suspend or reject payment, until the courts resolve the dispute, especially if the reason for termination is contested. The outcome of the labour court proceedings can directly affect eligibility.
- Abdullah Ishnaneh, Partner, BSA Law