The bride wore white, the groom wore trainers – and both looked elated, writes CHRISTOPHER STEVENS about Rupert Murdoch, 93, and his fifth wife Elena Zhukova

The bride wore a white off-the-shoulder dress by London designer Emilia Wickstead, whose clients include the Princess of Wales and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex.

Her bridal bouquet was a simple branch of lilies of the valley.

The 93-year-old groom, meanwhile, was smartly dressed in a sober gray suit with a gold tie and a pair of thick-soled trainers that may have been chosen for comfort.

The match between Rupert Murdoch and retired molecular biologist Elena Zhukova, 67, has been described by society magazine Tatler as the media mogul’s ‘ultimate power match’.

Elena is no stranger to life among the super-rich. Her first husband, Alexander Zhukov, is – like Murdoch – a billionaire thanks to his energy investments and their daughter Darya (known as Dasha) was married for ten years to the former owner of Chelsea FC, Roman Abramovich, who made billions from Russian privatization in the nineties. driving force.

Rupert Murdoch, 93, with his new wife Elena Zhukova, 67, a retired Russian biologist

The couple married in a ceremony at his California vineyard on Saturday

Rupert Murdoch’s ex-wife Wendi Deng arrives at her former husband’s home for his wedding to Elena Zhukova, 67

But her new husband is richer than both of them. His estimated fortune of £15.6 billion puts him in the top 75 richest people in the world – even though he stepped down last year as head of media giants News Corp and Fox, handing the chairmanship to his eldest son Lachlan, one of the three children with his father. first wife Anna.

The Sun newspaper, part of his press stable, reported yesterday: ‘News legend Rupert Murdoch was all smiles yesterday as he married his beautiful bride.’

Only one of his four previous wives attended Saturday’s wedding.

That was his third ex-wife and TV director Wendi Deng, who was married to him between 1999 and 2013 and with whom he has two daughters.

Her presence wasn’t all that surprising, since it was Wendi who introduced Murdoch to Elena at a garden party she threw last year.

It seems she even encouraged their romance. Perhaps understandably, there was no sign of ex-wife No. 4, Jerry Hall, the woman the Rolling Stones’ Sir Mick Jagger had poached from his Roxy Music rival, Bryan Ferry, to become his long-term partner.

Elena Zhukova wore a white off-the-shoulder dress by designer Emilia Wickstead

The match between Rupert Murdoch and retired molecular biologist Elena Zhukova, 67, has been described by society magazine Tatler as the media mogul’s ‘ultimate power match’.

Arriving for media mogul Rupert Murdoch’s wedding at his Moraga winery in BelAir

A guest arrives at Rupert Murdoch’s home for his wedding to Elena Zhukova

The ceremony took place at Murdoch’s beautiful Moraga Estate vineyard in Bel Air, California.

Jerry had reportedly hoped to get Moraga as part of her divorce settlement, but it clearly held a special place in Murdoch’s heart, to the point that he decided to make it the setting of his last wedding.

Jerry married him in 2016, a week before his 85th birthday, but was dumped by email six years later, a display of ruthlessness that shocked even die-hard Murdoch watchers.

“Jerry,” he wrote, “sadly, I have decided to end our marriage. We certainly had some great times, but I still have a lot to do.”

A lot to do? No one could have predicted that this would include a flirt with the widow of country singer Chester Smith (best known for his hit Wait A Little Longer, Please Jesus).

Guests meet at Rupert Murdoch’s home for the wedding ceremony

A guest arrives at Rupert Murdoch’s home for his wedding to Elena Zhukova, 67

The ceremony took place at Murdoch’s beautiful Moraga Estate vineyard in Bel Air, California. In the photo: a guest arriving at the location

A guest wore a lime-colored dress with a black bag for Rupert Murdoch and Elena Zhukova’s wedding

Murdoch wooed Ann Lesley Smith, 67, with an 11-carat diamond engagement ring worth an estimated £2million and the couple were spotted on holiday on the beach in Barbados, with his lithe fiancée in a yellow bikini. But the engagement lasted just two weeks and was ended by Murdoch when he became “increasingly uncomfortable” with her evangelical Christian beliefs, according to Vanity Fair magazine.

It’s often said that Murdoch’s family life was the inspiration for the TV epic Succession, an HBO series about aging media mogul Logan Roy (played by Brian Cox) and his children’s murderous plans to take over his empire.

But even Logan’s love life wasn’t that colorful. “He doesn’t seem capable of being in a relationship with a woman without wanting to marry her,” a media analyst told the Daily Mail when Rupert’s engagement to Elena was announced last March. “Whether it’s fueled by loneliness, or fear, or something deeper, who knows?”

Rupert Murdoch’s ex Wendi Deng arrives at Rupert Murdoch’s house

Guests gather at Rupert Murdoch’s home for his wedding day

Guests arrive at Rupert Murdoch’s home for his wedding to Elena Zhukova

Two women carry flower arrangements for the wedding of Rupert Murdoch and Elena Zhukova

Others have suggested that Murdoch “doesn’t really believe in sex outside of marriage.”

He appeared to be in good health in newly released wedding photos, but his health has been questionable in recent years.

In 2018, he fell aboard Lachlan’s 42-metre yacht, the Sarissa, and required treatment for both a broken back and cardiac arrhythmia.

He was also hospitalized after a bout of Covid when he became unsteady during his 21-year-old granddaughter Charlotte Freud’s wedding in 2022.

After meeting Elena at Wendi’s Los Angeles home, he invited her on a family cruise in the Mediterranean last August.

His choice of ship was a £600,000-a-week megayacht called the Christina O, with a very romantic pedigree.

A guest arriving at the wedding of Rupert Murdoch and Elena Zhukova

Guests gather outside Rubert Murdoch’s home in California

Two more guests arrive at Rupert Murdoch’s California home

Aristotle Onassis courted Jackie Kennedy on the boat, while Grace Kelly and Prince Rainier held their wedding reception there. Although the new Mrs. Murdoch is well accustomed to the good life, she has the impressive credentials of a serious scientist. Born in Moscow to Jewish parents, she emigrated to the US in 1991 as part of the “Russian brain drain” that followed the collapse of communism.

As a molecular biologist specializing in the study of diabetes, she started working at Baylor University in Texas. By that time, she had already divorced her first husband Zhukov and brought their daughter to America.

Another marriage followed to a man named George Gause, also a scientist. They had two children, Yuri and Katya, before divorcing.

In 1994, she moved to Los Angeles to work at the University of California, UCLA. Her daughter Dasha attended an exclusive private school in west Los Angeles.

After Dasha’s marriage to Abramovich, an associate of her father, Dasha was able to give her mother gifts, including an £8 million house in Beverly Hills, in 2008.

A UCLA colleague noted, “Elena already came from a wealthy background. Then her daughter married a billionaire.” Now that the marriage is over, the happy couple plans to spend most of their time at the Bel Air estate, where Rupert continues to work to develop an internationally renowned winery. The wine already has a cult status.

“He wants Moraga to be a big part of his legacy,” a source confided yesterday.