Where is Rupert Murdoch’s ex Wendi Deng in 2022? The gutsy Chinese-born businesswoman is pals with Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump, was linked to Vladimir Putin and was last spotted at the Met Gala

Aug 27 , 2022

What is Wendi Deng, billionaire Rupert Murdoch’s ex-wife, doing now? Photo: Shutterstock

Rupert Murdoch finalising his divorce from Jerry Hall has left some wondering what happened to his third wife, Wendi Deng, who hot footed it from Jiangsu to the US in the 90s

Since then she’s become friends with everyone from Nicole Kidman to Naomi Campbell and has been romantically linked to Tony Blair, Vladimir Putin and Google’s Sergey Brin

Australian-born US billionaire Rupert Murdoch, 91, recently finalised his divorce from model and actress Jerry Hall. They announced in a joint statement that legal proceedings had been aborted and instead, “financial arrangements settled out of court”. The two also reportedly remain friends.

The news has come as a surprise to many, not least because the media mogul’s seemingly amicable separation sits in contrast to his rather more messy divorce from third wife Wendi Deng, who tabloids described as being “cut loose” after their separation, and whose reputation was put through the wringer afterward.

Wendi Murdoch produced Netflix’s documentary Sky Ladder, which tells the story of one of China’s most respected artists. Photo: EPA

From growing up in China to becoming a successful power player in the US and regularly schmoozing with Hollywood celebs (Hugh Jackman, Nicole Kidman), fashion mavens (Anna Wintour, Naomi Campbell) and technopreneurs (Sergey Brin, Larry Page) – Wendi Deng’s life has been nothing short of extraordinary.

Here we take a look at her life, address the rumours and ask the question – where is Wendi Deng now?

Branded a hustler and a gold-digger

Wendi Murdoch is used to labels, but she’s also worked hard to achieve success on her own terms. Photo: @wendimurdoch/Instagram

Deng Wenge (she changed her name to Wendi as a teen) was born in China’s eastern Jiangsu province to engineer parents who were both loyal members of the Communist Party, according to The Daily Beast.

But the medical school student had met people who had family and friends living and studying in the US, and when a kindly couple in China at the time – Joyce and Jake Cherry – offered to sponsor her schooling in the US, she dropped out of medical school to enrol in the California State University at Northridge. Deng studied economics and was said to be one of the top-scoring students before going on to obtain an MBA from Yale in 1997.

Wendi Deng has created a glamorous life for herself in New York since leaving China as a young woman. Photo: @wendimurdoch/Instagram

However, in a twist of events that didn’t show Deng in a particularly good light, she got together with her benefactor, Jake Cherry, causing him to split from his wife, who had taught Deng English in the first place.