Media mogul Rupert Murdoch has filed for divorce from his third wife Wendi Deng Murdoch. The two were married since 1999 and have cited a breakdown in their relationship. However, this matter will not affect the succession plan for the media company, as the 82-year-old founder of the company operates it through a family trust.
According to various reports, Murdoch has filed a one-page document on June 13, 2013, in which he indicated that he was opening a divorce case in New York State Supreme Court in Manhattan. The news was confirmed by a spokesperson for News Corp. Close friends of the couple said that the relationship between the two of them has broken down irretrievably.
The couple are parents to daughters Grace and Chloe, who are 11 and 9, respectively. Their daughters do not have any voting stake in the company, but are beneficiaries of 8.7 million non-voting shares which are being held in a trust. On the other hand, the 44-year-old, soon-to-be ex-wife Wendi Deng also owns non-voting shares.
Murdoch has the control over about 40 percent of the voting shares of News Corp. through a separate family trust. The 82-year-old also has four other children from his previous marriages, James, Lachlan, Elisabeth and Prudence.
