Murdoch vs Kerimov
News Corp and Polyus.
The differences
- Forbes puts Suleiman Kerimov about $0.6B ahead of Rupert Murdoch.Forbes figures from 9 Oct 2026 and 9 Oct 2026.
- Rupert Murdoch: inherited and grew it. Suleiman Kerimov: built it up.
- Rupert Murdoch is about 35 years older than Suleiman Kerimov.
- Rupert Murdoch is from United States; Suleiman Kerimov is from Russia.
- Suleiman Kerimov has held a public or government advisory role; Rupert Murdoch has none on record.
Put someone else on either side
Side by side
Murdoch
KerimovThe money
- Net worth, Forbes
- $25.1BForbes, 9 Oct 2026
- $25.7BForbes, 9 Oct 2026
- Net worth, Bloomberg
- $20.7BBloomberg, 10 Oct 2026
- $10.2BBloomberg, 15 Oct 2026
- Forbes rank
- No. 98Real-Time list, 9 Oct 2026
- No. 93Real-Time list, 9 Oct 2026
- Billionaire since
- Not stated
- 2006Earliest Forbes list in the cited sources: No. 72 on the 2006 World's Richest People with $7.1 billion; an earlier listing isn't ruled out
Where it came from
- How it started
- Inherited and grew itInherited his father's interests in the Adelaide newspaper The News in 1952 and expanded News Limited into a global media business
- Built it upBought control of the former state oil trader Nafta Moskva in 1998, then built stakes in Gazprom, Sberbank, Uralkali and Polyus
- Main source
- Family stakes in News Corp and Fox Corporation, held largely through LGC Holdco, plus cashBloomberg also counts real estate at purchase prices
- Proceeds of investments in Polyus and other Russian assetsForbes lists gold as his source of wealth
- Companies
- News Corp, Fox CorporationNews Corp: Chairman emeritus; Fox Corporation: Chairman emeritus
- Polyus, Nafta MoskvaPolyus: None; Nafta Moskva: Owner
- Biggest stake
- News CorpStake not stated
- PolyusStake not stated
The person
- Born
- 11 Mar 1931Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
- 12 Mar 1966Derbent, Dagestan, Russia
- Country
- United StatesLives in New York, New York, United States
- RussiaLives in Moscow, Russia
- Education
- Bachelor's degreeMA, Worcester College, University of Oxford (1953)
- Graduate degreeMaster of economics, Dagestan State University
- Parents
- Father Sir Keith Murdoch was a journalist and newspaper publisher; mother Elisabeth Murdoch was a philanthropist
- Not stated
What they give
- Giving Pledge
- Not a signer
- Not a signer
- Foundation
- Not stated
- Not stated
- Lifetime giving
- Not stated
- Not stated
Role and record
- Role now
- RetiredChairman emeritus of News Corp and Fox Corporation
- OwnerMember of Russia's Federation Council for Dagestan; owner of the Nafta Moscow group
- Successor
- His son Lachlan Murdoch, chair of News Corp and executive chair and CEO of Fox Corporation
- Not stated
- Public office
- None found
- Member of the State Duma; Member of the Federation Council, representing Dagestanfrom 1999; 2008-
- Legal record
- 2024: Nevada probate commissioner (Second Judicial District Court)A probate commissioner rejected his attempt to amend the irrevocable Murdoch family trust and concluded that he and Lachlan Murdoch had acted in bad faith; the trust litigation was resolved in 2025.
- 2018: US Treasury (OFAC); 2022: Council of the European Union; 2022: UK governmentDesignated on 6 April 2018 under Executive Order 13661 as an official of the Russian government; also listed under Executive Order 14024. Added to the EU sanctions list on 15 March 2022. Sanctioned by the UK in March 2022, per Forbes.
