Media Mogul Rupert Murdoch Retires After Nearly 70-Year Career

American media tycoon Rupert Murdoch has announced his retirement as Chairman of Fox Corp. and News Corp. The media empire he built will now be led by one of his sons, Lachlan Murdoch, according to the Daily Mail. Rupert Murdoch Sr. will remain the honorary chairman of both companies and continue to provide counsel to their leadership.

In an extraordinary letter to employees, the 92-year-old Rupert Murdoch, who owns newspapers such as The Sun, Times, and Sunday Times in the UK, as well as Fox News, The Wall Street Journal, and New York Post in the United States, said, "It's time for me to take on different roles, knowing that we have truly talented teams and a passionate, principled leader in Lachlan. We have every reason to look optimistically at the years ahead—I am certainly optimistic and plan to be here to participate in them. But the battle for freedom of speech and, ultimately, freedom of thought has never been more critical."

"On behalf of the boards of Fox and News Corp., as well as all shareholders, I congratulate my father on his remarkable 70-year career," said media mogul's son, Lachlan Murdoch.

Rupert Murdoch was born in 1931 in Melbourne, Australia. In 1952, he inherited the media company News Limited from his father, a well-known local journalist. Starting with the success of The News newspaper in Adelaide, he began actively acquiring other local publications. In 1964, he launched Australia's first national newspaper, The Australian.

Subsequently, Murdoch embarked on global expansion, acquiring News of the World and The Sun in the UK, as well as New York Post, New York Magazine, and The Village Voice in the United States.

In 1980, he founded News Corporation, consolidating his newspapers, magazines, and television assets. He went on to acquire the English newspapers The Times of London and The Sunday Times and launched Satellite Television, the first satellite TV channel in Europe.

In 1985, Murdoch became the owner of the 20th Century Fox film company (which was sold to Disney in 2019) and several regional television channels in the United States. In 1996, he created Fox News.

In 1988, Murdoch launched Sky Television in the UK, where Sky News became the country's first 24-hour news channel and remained under Murdoch's ownership until 2018.

In 2007, Murdoch's media empire expanded further with the acquisition of Dow Jones, which includes The Wall Street Journal.

According to Forbes magazine, as of 2023, Rupert Murdoch ranked 99th on the list of the world's wealthiest individuals, with a fortune of $17.1 billion.