Newlywed Rupert Murdoch cancels his first visit to Australia since 2018

Rupert Murdoch has cancelled his planned visit to celebrate the 60th anniversary of The Australian newspaper in July.

Days after the 93-year-old was married for the fifth time, he has cancelled his visit, according to a source with direct knowledge of the decision, speaking on condition of anonymity. The source said the celebrations were scheduled to go ahead as planned without him.

The media company’s board members are still expected to attend celebrations for the national broadsheet Murdoch launched in 1964, set to be held in Sydney on July 25 at the Australian Museum. The celebrations were originally scheduled to take place in February but were rescheduled.

The former Fox and News Corp chairman married 67-year-old Elena Zhukova in Bel Air over the weekend following a brief engagement. The pair started dating in 2023 and confirmed their plans to wed to The New York Times in March this year.

Zhukova, 67, told senior News Corp editors she had been looking forward to her first trip to Australia, as reported by this masthead this week.

Murdoch stood down as chairman of both companies in November, with his elder son and Sydney resident, Lachlan Murdoch, taking over, bringing an end to a drawn-out succession battle.

Rupert Murdoch continues to be involved in the media empire as a chairman emeritus.

The trip had been cancelled without explanation, the source said. He last visited Australia in 2018.

Journalists at News Corp are bracing for further redundancies as part of a restructuring exercise, intended to find about $65 million in savings.

The company has already made a number of senior editors and management redundant as part of the process, including Lisa Muxworthy, the editor of Australia’s most popular free news site, news.com.au.

News Corp has been contacted for comment.

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