Rupert Murdoch Engaged Again at 92: ‘It Better Be My Last’

Media tycoon Ruper Murdoch announced on Monday that he is engaged to be married again at the age of 92. The billionaire revealed the news in an interview with one of his outlets, The New York Post. He will be marrying 66-year-old Ann Lesley Smith, a former San Francisco Police chaplain.

“I dreaded falling in love – but I knew this would be my last. It better be. I’m happy… We’re both looking forward to spending the second half of our lives together.” Murdoch said in an interview published on Monday. He explained that he made his proposal on St. Patrick’s Day, which he and Smith spent in New York City. He presented Smith with an Asscher-cut diamond ring and she accepted. They plan on marrying late this summer. Murdoch has been married three times before, most recently divorcing Jerry Hall in 2022.

Smith was previously married to country singer and businessman Chester Smith, who passed away in 2008. Chester owned a wine vineyard similar to the one Murdoch owns in Bel Air, California, so the two found common ground there. They met on Murdoch’s vineyard, Moraga last year and have had a whirlwind relationship since then. Murdoch reportedly plans to split his time between New York, Bel Air, Montana and the U.K. once he and Smith are married.

“For us both it’s a gift from God,” Smith said. We met last September. I’m a widow 14 years. Like Rupert, my husband was a businessman. Worked for local papers, developed radio and TV stations and helped promote Univision. So I speak Rupert’s language. We share the same beliefs. In perspective, it’s not my first rodeo. Getting near 70 means being in the last half. I waited for the right time. Friends are happy for me.”

Murdoch was born in Melbourne, Australia but made most of his fortune in the U.S. and U.K. as the owner of local, national and international publishing outlets and TV broadcasting channels. He married Australian flight attendant Patricia Booker in 1956 when he was 24 years old, and they had one child together before divorcing in 1967. That same year, he married journalist Anna Torv who worked for The Daily Mirror. They remained together until 1998 and had three children. When they divorced, Torv made headlines for her exorbitant settlement – $1.2 billion in assets.

Murdoch married his third wife Wendi Deng just 17 days after divorcing Torv. He was 69 years old at the time while she was 30. They had two daughters together – Murdoch’s last two children, bringing his total offspring to six. Finally, in 2016 Murdoch married 59-year-old former model Jerry Hall, with the ceremony just a week before Murdoch’s 85th birthday. Hall filed for divorce last year and the process was finalized in a month, concluding in August. Murdoch’s exes have not commented publicly on his impending marriage.