Whether you think Rupert Murdoch is a dastardly villain or a captain of industry, you can’t deny his staying power.
He’s 92 and dating again after splitting from two women – fourth wife Jerry Hall and Ann Lesley Smith, who he was briefly engaged to earlier this year – within months. Leonardo DiCaprio, eat your heart out.
Murdoch’s latest love, retired scientist Elena Zhukova, seems an intriguing match. His daughter, Dasha, was married to billionaire oligarch Roman Abramovich – and it appears Murdoch and Zhukova were introduced by none other than Wendi Deng, Murdoch’s sharp-elbowed third wife.
Wendi would be great friends with Dasha, as both live in New York and share a passion for expensive art and philanthropy (funded by their ex-husbands).
These are the kind of women who know what they want and don’t mess around when they get it. They are far from the more relaxed Jerry Hall: a relaxed and festive rock’n’roll.
Whether you think Rupert Murdoch is a dastardly villain or a captain of industry, you can’t deny his staying power.
Rupert Murdoch and Jerry Hall Rupert Murdoch
It was clear to me that Murdoch adored Hall when I went to their wedding. He had to, to put up with Bob Geldof’s hilarious but not entirely flattering speech on behalf of the bride. But in the end, I think maybe she was too free for Murdoch – not to mention her somewhat awkward family.
He needs someone to match his drive, and all Jerry wanted was a good time. At heart, she is a hedonist; Murdoch is first and foremost a businessman.
So you can understand why someone like Zhukova, of Russian descent, might be the one. Not only is she gorgeous for her age – 66 – but she has also had a distinguished career as a molecular biologist and diabetes specialist.
But the real question that many will ask is: Why? What makes 92-year-old Murdoch bother to expose himself to the potential heartache of another relationship that just might not work out?
The answer, I think, is simple. Men like him can’t do without a woman. Despite all their success, they still harbor the fundamental belief that if they don’t have a glamorous woman on their arm, the world will see them as a failure.
I see it all the time. I know countless men who have had tremendous success – but a big part of that success is that they have a supportive wife.
It is not the same for my friends. Most of them would be better off without the men in their lives, but they’re way too nice to admit it.
The truth is, men — even those with vast media empires — go potty on their own. They quickly descend into a spiral of beer, pizza and too much televised football. The women, on the other hand, left to their own devices, are content to buy more books, cushions and scented candles.
Hope it works out for Murdoch this time. As for Zhukova, I am full of admiration. It would take more than yachts and diamonds to tempt me out of my quiet life.
Why Do Lionesses Get Paleolithic Salary?
I’m not a football fan, but I’m told there’s a game today that could go down in history, and the star of the show is a young lady called Alessia Russo.
As well as being a talented striker, she is also, I suspect, considered the first player in the Women’s Super League to earn over £1million a year. That might sound like a lot, but when you think that someone like Marcus Rashford earns considerably more than that in a month, it makes you realize that when it comes to equal pay, football isn’t so stuck in the dark age that somewhere. in the Lower Palaeolithic.
Will a victory for the Lionesses change that? Don’t hold your breath.
I’m not a football fan, but I’m told there’s a game today that could go down in history, and the star of the show is a young woman called Alessia Russo (pictured)
Pride Policy
London Mayor Sadiq Khan tweets of a stabbing outside a gay bar in the capital: ‘The horrific hate crime in Clapham is being fully investigated by the police. It’s also a tragic reminder of why we need Pride.
Uh, no, Mr. Khan: It’s a tragic reminder of why we – actually, no, you – need to do something about the horrific levels of knife crime.
Gay, straight, trans or non-trans, old, young: all Londoners deserve to go about their business without fear of being attacked. What if, instead of politicizing such a heinous crime for your own virtue-reporting purposes, you did something about it?
Dinner too rich for my taste
I’m so old that I remember a time when you could dine in Saint-Tropez for a few francs a head.
Now, some restaurants on the French Riviera are reportedly requiring a minimum spend of at least 100,000 euros (yes, you read that right) and blacklisting any customers who don’t leave sufficiently lavish tips. The same is true, I am told, in some hotspots in Ibiza, where a VIP table can cost you over 10,000 euros.
Alright, I guess, but the kind of people who have that much money are not, in my experience, the kind you want to deal with – not for all the money in the world.
Education policies have failed
Like thousands of teenagers, my son faces a nervous wait for his A-level results tomorrow. But I’m perhaps even more scared, having read Education Secretary Gillian Keegan’s pessimistic words over the weekend warning pupils to expect lower grades than in previous years.
This, apparently, is intended to correct for grade inflation that stemmed from teacher-assessed grading during Covid.
That’s fine, Mrs. Keegan, if it’s not your child’s future that’s at stake — deprived of a good education over the past few years, students have now learned that, despite all their hard work , they had to take a cut note to make your life easier.
Tell me, Mrs. Keegan, is it my son’s fault that the government closed schools during Covid? Is it his fault that schools have been paralyzed by striking teachers? Or that these A-levels are his cohort’s first real public exams, since they never got to pass their GCSEs? Is it his fault that universities are so greedy that they give more and more places to foreign students who pay the highest fees?
Or that student loan interest is so punitive (seven percent) that many decide they can’t afford to continue their education? Or that students drop out because the cost of housing is so high, with the majority supporting themselves by working, meaning their education suffers?
And while university professors go on endless strikes and even refuse to correct their exam papers? I’m sorry Mrs. Keegan, but the education system in this country is a mess, and messing with A-level grades isn’t going to fix it. Meanwhile, the only group of people – the Covid generation – you should be helping are the ones you seem determined to punish. I doubt they will ever forgive you, or the Conservative Party for that matter. And me neither. Good luck to everyone tomorrow. You are going to need it.
