Rupert Murdoch, Wife Finalize Divorce
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Scott Barbour/Getty Images(NEW YORK) — Rupert Murdoch and wife Wendi Deng Murdoch appeared Wednesday in a Manhattan courtroom to say they had arrived at a divorce settlement. No terms of the settlement were released.
The couple have been married 14 years, and have two young daughters. The divorce is the third for Murdoch, 82, who has four adult children from his previous marriages.
The couple issued a joint statement saying, “We are pleased to announce that we have reached an amicable settlement of all matters relating to our divorce. We move forward with mutual respect and a shared interest in the health and happiness of our two daughters. We will not comment on this any further.”
Forbes estimates the Murdoch family’s wealth to be $13.4 billion. According to the Wall Street Journal (which Murdoch owns), the divorce will not have any effect on succession plans for the two businesses the family controls through a family trust: News Corp. and 21st Century Fox.
The Journal says that Murdoch had not just one prenup but two — plus two postnups. The fact that these agreements are in place, says the paper, means that Murdoch’s divorce from Deng, 44, should be less costly for him than the $1.7 billion he reportedly had to pay second wife Anna Torv.
Two years ago Wendi Murdoch made headlines when she protected her husband from a pie-throwing assailant during a Parliamentary hearing into phone hacking by one of his U.K. newspapers.
The Los Angeles Times says that as part of the settlement, Deng will receive the couple’s Fifth Avenue apartment in New York, purchased eight years ago for $44 million and refurbished at the cost of another $50 million. This is the residence where the couple have raised their two children.
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