Rupert Murdoch

Born: 11 March 1931
Birthplace: Melbourne, Australia
Best known as: The power behind the News Corp. media empire

Name at birth: Keith Rupert Murdoch

Rupert Murdoch inherited a small Australian newspaper in 1952 and aggressively turned it into one of the biggest media corporations in the world, News Corp., a conglomerate that includes television, feature films, online services, newspapers and books.

Over the years Murdoch acquired more and more media outlets all over the world, from Australia and Europe to the U.S. and China. Now one of the world's wealthiest men, he is frequently criticized for his political views and for "lowering the standards" of the publications and outlets he acquires. In the 1980s he became a U.S. citizen in order to meet requirements for owning TV stations. In the early 1990s his empire was stretched thin financially, but by the end of the '90s it had bounced back with successes on cable television and with the network Asian Star Television. News Corp.'s holdings include the Fox TV Network, HarperCollins Books, 20th Century Fox and The New York Post.