Rupert Murdoch, 94, Uses Walking Cane in First Public Appearance With Fifth Wife Elena Zhukova After Icing Out Three Kids With Billion Dollar Payoffs
Rupert Murdoch was pictured walking with a cane as he attended Donald Trump's grand dinner inside Windsor Castle.
Sept. 18 2025, Published 11:36 a.m. ET
Rupert Murdoch was pictured walking with the aid of a cane in his first public appearance since the mogul bought out three of his children to seal the fate of his media empire.
RadarOnline.com can reveal the Aussie billionaire, 94, was a surprise guest at a grand dinner at Windsor Castle to mark Donald Trump's state visit to the U.K.
Frail Tycoon
Murdoch was making her first public appearance since striking a deal with his children over media empire.
The frail tycoon's attendance was made even more eye-catching given the president is suing the owner of the Wall Street Journal after his publication reported on a suggestive birthday letter given to Jeffrey Epstein bearing Trump's name.
Trump denied that it's his signature and said at the time of the report he personally warned Murdoch he'd sue if the newspaper published it.
The Journal did so anyway, and Trump subsequently filed a lawsuit seeking $20billion in damages and Murdoch's testimony.
Murdoch was accompanied by his fifth wife Elena Zhukova at the prestigious dinner, and was sat between her and British Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer's chief of staff, Morgan McSweeney.
Back In The Spotlight
Murdoch attended the prestigious dinner alongside his wife Elena Zhukova.
Trump did mention Murdoch in his toast before tucking into deboned and stuffed chicken.
The table was half a football field long, with 100 staffers to serve the food.
The dinner featured 160 guests including corporate CEOs Tim Cook of Apple, Jensen Huang of NVIDIA and Satya Nadella of Microsoft.
Trump noted he shook "about 150 hands," suggesting he might have come into contact with Murdoch before dinner.
He said: "The king knew every single person and every single company, and some of them had bad names like XYZ-Q3 – and he knew every one of them, or at least I think he did because nobody was complaining."
Trump Dinner
The dinner was held by King Charles in honor of Donald Trump's state visit to the U.K.
Murdoch's public appearance comes after he reached an agreement over who will eventually take over his media empire.
The Murdoch family struck a deal in which his politically conservative eldest son, Lachlan, who will cement control of the family media empire, which includes Fox News and the Wall Street Journal.
The agreement, announced last Tuesday, ends a family brawl over who will control one of the most high-profile global media groups, putting to rest questions of succession within the Murdoch family after its patriarch's death.
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Murdoch was a surprise guest given he's currently being sued by the president.
Murdoch's other three children James, Elisabeth and Prudence will each receive more than $1billion for their shares in the companies.
The three siblings would also be prevented from ever buying back into the firms.
The family trust will be resolved, and new trusts will be set up for Lachlan and his younger half-sisters, Chloe and Grace, who had a non-controlling stake in the original trust.
James, Elisabeth and Prudence say they are happy to have reached an agreement to settle litigation over the Murdoch family trust.
"Prudence, Elisabeth and James are pleased that the matter is now behind them," said a spokesperson for James Murdoch in a statement.
