On Thursday, Murdoch filed for divorce from Deng. Speculation on what happens to Murdoch’s $11.2-billion empire is rife. “Given that it’s his third wife, I see it unlikely that he didn’t plan for this contingency,” one analyst told Reuters. The existence of a prenuptial agreement between the two has been reported and Deng’s success in getting a share of the empire depends on whether she can prove she was misled when signing it.
Their two daughters have nonvoting stakes in the family trust. This has been a point of contention with his four, much older children from previous marriages — Prudence, Elisabeth, James and Lachlan.
In an interview on Charlie Rose in 2006, Murdoch said his six children would be treated financially equally. But when it comes to controlling the company, he said they would have to figure it out. His statements essentially rendered the two young girls powerless in the future. Subsequently, Vanity Fair reported, Murdoch and Deng had a big fight. As the divorce proceedings begin, they’re likely poised for another.