Love him or hate him, there is no denying that Rupert Murdoch is one of the most influential business leaders. He is one of the most successful Australian’s to carve out a business empire overseas (even though he officially renounced his Australian citizenship to satisfy US legal requirements for TV network ownership).
Rupert Murdoch was born in 1931 and is most famous for being the founder of News Corp, as well as being one of the world’s wealthiest individuals. He started his rise to power in the 50s and 60s with his acquisitions of newspapers in New Zealand, Australia, and later the United Kingdom. In the 70s he moved to New York City and began to expand his influence into the US media market, still retaining ownership of British and Australian media. Later, he became a naturalised citizen of the United States and has considered himself American ever since.
His holding company known as News Corporation, successfully acquired 20th century fox in 1985, and then HarperCollins in 1989. He then took control of The Wall Street Journal in 2007.
He is often listed as one of the richest men in the world and one of the most powerful and influential in modern media. His vast empire of media ownership has led many to speculate that he profits off playing both sides of politics against each other, creating the illusion that there are ideological battles rather than a battle between the rich and the poor.
His name has become somewhat synonymous with unethical journalism and is considered by many to be someone who manipulates media to control the fate of the world. He and his company News Corp have been accused of using its influence to distort facts in favour of certain political outcomes.