Back in 1999, media mogul Rupert Murdoch married his third wife, Wendi Deng. Now, just a short 14 years later, he has filed for divorce. It may not come as a surprise to anyone in Florida that the June 13 filing has been sealed by the court.
It has been said that the couple has a prenuptial agreement. It’s a good thing, too since Murdoch is rumored to be worth an estimated $9.4 billion. The news of their divorce came just days before the company Murdoch runs, News Corp., is being divided into two separate entitles. One company will handle the publishing assets of the company, and the other will handle the entertainment business. There have been early assurances that the divorce will have little, if any, impact on the businesses.
The couple has two children together. They will be cared for under the Murdoch family trust, but will not be given voting rights when it comes to the family’s ownership in News Corp. Those voting rights were given to the four children Murdoch has from his previous marriages. At the end of April, the family trust’s stake in the voting stock of the company was 38.4 percent.
A divorce with this much at stake could easily become a media circus. However, since the couple has a prenuptial agreement, much of the divorce proceedings should go smoothly and not be made public. Couples in Florida that are considering getting a prenuptial agreement may want to know that one of the benefits of such an agreement is that details of the split can be kept out of court and since a good portion of the details of the breakup are already worked out, there is no need to spend a lot of time and money in court.
