The bride wore white, the groom wore trainers – and each appeared elated, writes CHRISTOPHER STEVENS about Rupert Murdoch, 93, and his fifth spouse Elena Zhukova

The bride wore a white, off-the-shoulder robe by the London-based designer Emilia Wickstead, whose shoppers embrace the Princess of Wales and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex.

Her marriage ceremony bouquet was a easy spray of lily of the valley.

The 93-year-old bridegroom, in the meantime, was dapper in a sober gray swimsuit with a gold tie, and a pair of thick-soled trainers that have been maybe chosen with consolation in thoughts.

The match between Rupert Murdoch and retired molecular biologist Elena Zhukova, 67, has been described by society shiny Tatler because the media magnate’s ‘final energy match’.

Elena isn’t any stranger to life among the many tremendous wealthy. Her first husband, Alexander Zhukov, is – like Murdoch – a billionaire because of his vitality investments and their daughter Darya (generally known as Dasha) was married for ten years to the previous Chelsea FC proprietor, Roman Abramovich, who made billions from Russia’s Nineties privatisation drive.

However her new husband is wealthier than each of them. His estimated £15.6 billion fortune places him within the high 75 richest folks on the planet – though he stepped down final yr as head of media giants Information Corp and Fox, passing the chairmanship to his oldest son Lachlan, one in all three kids along with his first spouse Anna.

The Solar newspaper, a part of his press steady, yesterday reported: ‘Information legend Rupert Murdoch was all smiles yesterday as he married his lovely bride.’

Solely one in all his 4 earlier wives attended Saturday’s nuptials.

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

Her presence was not so shocking, on condition that it was Wendi who launched Murdoch to Elena at a backyard social gathering she threw final yr.

It seems she could have even have inspired their romance. Maybe understandably, there was no signal of ex-wife No. 4, Jerry Corridor, the lady the Rolling Stones’ Sir Mick Jagger poached from his Roxy Music rival, Bryan Ferry, to be his long-term accomplice.

The ceremony was held at Murdoch’s lovely Moraga Property winery in Bel Air, California.

Jerry had reportedly hoped to be given Moraga as a part of her divorce settlement however it clearly had a particular place in Murdoch’s coronary heart, to the purpose that he determined to make it the setting of his newest marriage ceremony.

Jerry married him in 2016, every week earlier than his eighty fifth birthday, however was allotted with six years later by e mail, a show of ruthlessness that shocked even seasoned Murdoch watchers.

‘Jerry,’ he wrote, ‘sadly I’ve determined to name an finish to our marriage. We have now definitely had some good instances however I’ve a lot to do.’

A lot to do? Nobody may have predicted this would come with a dalliance with the widow of the nation singer Chester Smith (best-known for his hit Wait A Little Longer, Please Jesus).

Murdoch wooed Ann Lesley Smith, 67, with an 11-carat diamond engagement ring price an estimated £2 million and the couple have been noticed holidaying on the seaside in Barbados, along with his lithe fiancee sporting a yellow bikini. However the engagement lasted simply two weeks, delivered to an finish by Murdoch when he turned ‘more and more uncomfortable’ together with her evangelical Christian beliefs, based on Vainness Honest journal.

Murdoch’s household life is commonly mentioned to be the inspiration for the TV epic Succession, an HBO collection about ageing media mogul Logan Roy (performed by Brian Cox) and the internecine scheming of his kids to take over his empire.

However even Logan’s love life was not this vibrant. ‘He appears incapable of getting a relationship with a lady with out desirous to marry her,’ one media analyst commented to the Every day Mail when Rupert’s engagement to Elena was introduced final March. ‘Whether or not it is fuelled by loneliness, or concern, or one thing deeper, who is aware of?’

Others have recommended Murdoch ‘would not actually imagine in intercourse outdoors marriage’.

He seemed to be in high quality fettle within the newly launched marriage ceremony images however his well being has been questionable lately.

In 2018, he suffered a fall aboard Lachlan’s 140ft yacht, the Sarissa, and required remedy for each a damaged again and the center situation arrhythmia.

He was additionally hospitalised following a bout of Covid, when he turned unsteady on the marriage ceremony of his 21-year-old granddaughter Charlotte Freud in 2022.

After he was launched to Elena at Wendi’s Los Angeles residence, he invited her to hitch a household cruise final August within the Mediterranean.

His alternative of vessel was a £600,000-a-week megayacht referred to as the Christina O, with a extremely romantic pedigree.

Aristotle Onassis courted Jackie Kennedy on the boat, whereas Grace Kelly and Prince Rainier held their marriage ceremony reception there. Although the brand new Mrs Murdoch is effectively used to the excessive life, she has the spectacular credentials of a critical scientist. Born in Moscow to Jewish dad and mom, she emigrated to the US in 1991 as a part of the ‘Russian mind drain’ that adopted the collapse of Communism.

A molecular biologist specialising within the examine of diabetes, she took up a submit at Baylor College in Texas. By then, she was already divorced from her first husband Zhukov and introduced their daughter together with her to America.

One other marriage adopted to a person named George Gause, additionally a scientist. That they had two kids, Yuri and Katya, earlier than divorcing.

In 1994, she moved to Los Angeles to work on the College of California, UCLA. Her daughter Dasha attended an unique personal college in west Los Angeles.

After Dasha’s marriage to Abramovich, an affiliate of her father, Dasha was capable of bathe items on her mom, together with an £8 million residence in Beverly Hills, in 2008.

A UCLA colleague remarked: ‘Elena already got here from a rich background. Then her daughter married a billionaire.’ Now the nuptials are over, the comfortable couple plan to spend most of their time on the Bel Air property the place Rupert is continuous to work on creating an internationally famend vineyard. The wine already has a cult following.

‘He desires Moraga to be a giant a part of his legacy,’ a supply confided yesterday.