Who is Rupert Murdoch? Donald Trump sues media tycoon over Wall Street Journal Epstein report — check his net worth
Donald Trump on Friday sued The Wall Street Journal and its owners including Rupert Murdoch for at least $10 billion over the newspaper's report that his name was in a 2003 birthday greeting card for sex offender Jefferey Epstein that featured a sexually suggestive drawing and a reference to secrets they shared.
'We have just filed a POWERHOUSE Lawsuit against everyone involved in publishing the false, malicious, defamatory, FAKE NEWS 'article' in the useless 'rag' that is, The Wall Street Journal,' he said on Truth Social.
The lawsuit filed in Miami federal court names Murdoch, Dow Jones, News Corp and its Chief Executive Robert Thomson, and two Wall Street Journal reporters as defendants, saying they defamed Trump and caused him to suffer 'overwhelming' financial and reputational harm.
'I hope Rupert and his 'friends' are looking forward to the many hours of depositions and testimonies they will have to provide in this case,' Trump said in his post.
Rupert Murdoch is an Australian-American business magnate, investor, and media mogul, known for creating one of the largest media empires in the world.
Through his company News Corp, Murdoch owns hundreds of local, national, and international publishing outlets around the world, including countries like the US, UK and Australia.
The media magnate has companies including The Wall Street Journal, Fox News, Sky News Australia, New York Post and The Sun among outlets under his ownership.
Despite often associated with right-leaning news coverage, Rupert Murdoch's media companies have sometimes been criticised by Trump supporters — many a times when they did not align with their views.
This is not the first time that Trump has clashed with Murdoch, but the Jefferey Epstein case blew out of proportion with the President's lawsuit.
Many of Murdoch's newspapers and television channels have been accused of right-wing biased and misleading coverage to support his business interests.
During Donald Trump's term as US President, Murdoch expressed support for him and his party through the news coverage broadcast in his media empire, including on Fox News.
However, the relationship between the two has been complicated, as they fell out in 2020 over the Presidential election that year.
At 93, Rupert Murdoch is considered one of the biggest media moguls in the world.
According to Forbes, Rupert Murdoch has a staggering net worth of $24.1 billion, making him one of the richest media persons in the world.
The WSJ report said that the letter bearing Trump's name was part of a leather-bound birthday book for Epstein that included messages from other high-profile people.
The newspaper said the letter concluded "Happy Birthday - and may every day be another wonderful secret," and featured the signature "Donald."
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