Keith Rupert Murdoch was born on March 11, 1931, on a small farm about 30 miles south of Melbourne, Australia. 

As the son of a well-respected journalist, Murdoch was groomed to enter the world of publishing from a very young age. He states, “I was brought up in a publishing home, a newspaper man’s home, and was excited by that, I suppose. I saw that life at close range, and after the age of 10 or 12 never really considered any other.” 

His father suddenly passed away in 1952, leaving his son the owner of his Adelaide newspapers, the News and the Sunday Mail. 

Only three years later, in 1956, Murdoch expanded his operations by purchasing the Perth-based Sunday Times, and revamped it into ‘News’. Then, in 1960, Murdoch broke into the Sydney market by purchasing the struggling Mirror and slowly transforming it into Sydney’s newly best-selling afternoon paper. 

In 1965 Murdoch founded Australia’s first national daily paper, ‘The Australian’, helping him to rebuild his image as a respectable news publisher.

A year later Murdoch moved to London and purchased the enormously popular Sunday tabloid The News of the World.

He then purchased the struggling ‘Sun’ paper, transforming into a information source of sex, sports and crime.

Throughout the 1980s and 1990’s Murdoch expanded his news company collection including those in the United States

In 1985, he purchased 20th Century Fox Film Corporation as well as several independent television stations and consolidated these companies into Fox, Inc. — which has since become a major American television network. 

Murdoch’s empire, however, was dealt a significant blow in 2011. His London tabloid, The News of the World, was caught up in a phone hacking scandal. Several editors and journalists were brought up on charges for illegally accessing the voicemails of some of Britain’s leading figures. Rupert himself was called to testify that same year, and he shut down The News of the World. News Corp later paid damages to some of individuals who were hacked.