He was a mogul, she was an intern; they met in Hong Kong, married, then divorced.
The story of News Corp chief Rupert Murdoch and his ex-wife Wendi Deng Murdoch has had its ups and, more recently, its downs.
This week, it got another twist, with suggestions emerging that Deng Murdoch worked as a “spy” for China.
The headlines stem from an article in the Wall Street Journal — owned by Murdoch — which reported that US counter-intelligence officials were concerned the mogul’s ex-wife might be using her friendship with the daughter and son-in-law of US President Donald Trump to lobby for Chinese interests.
This was followed by a claim from journalist Michael Wolff — author of a book about Murdoch — that the billionaire had long told “anyone who would listen that ‘Wendi was a Chinese spy’.”
According to the WSJ, US counter-intelligence officials previously warned Jared Kushner, the president’s son-in-law and husband of Ivanka Trump, about Deng Murdoch.
The report says that US officials were concerned that she was lobbying to push a major Chinese-funded construction project in Washington.
The project in question is a US$100 million Chinese garden at the National Arboretum — near Congress and the White House — which will feature a 21-meter tower that US officials fear could be used for surveillance. Its building has thus far not been authorized.
A spokesperson says Deng Murdoch “has no knowledge of any FBI concerns or other intelligence agency concerns relating to her or her associations” and no knowledge of Chinese government-funded garden projects.
Deng Murdoch has been besties with the Kushners for years; she went to President Trump’s inauguration ball, enjoyed a holiday in Croatia with Ivanka, and last year was spotted visiting the couple in their home.
Kushner received the warnings in early 2017 as part of regular briefings he receives due to his role as a senior adviser to Trump, who took office as president of the US a year ago.
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Following the story, Wolff chimed in and continued his knack for fueling controversy in the wake of his scathing behind-the-scenes book about the chaos within the Trump administration Fire and Fury.
Taking to Twitter, Wolff — whose biography about Rupert Murdoch, The Man Who Owns the News, included the claim that Deng Murdoch at one point persuaded her husband to buy a new yacht — suggested the mogul had long accused his ex-wife of being a spy for China.
Since their divorce, Murdoch has been telling anybody who would listen that Wendi is a Chinese spy–and had been throughout the marriage.
— Michael Wolff (@MichaelWolffNYC) January 16, 2018
Born in China’s Shandong province, Deng Murdoch, 49, married Murdoch, 86, in 1999 after interning at the Murdoch-owned Star TV in Hong Kong, where she moved after getting her MBA from Yale.
The couple had two children, Grace Helen and Chloe, before the mogul filed for divorce in 2013.
Following the split, it was reported by Vanity Fair that the businessman had became suspicious that she had engaged in an affair with former United Kingdom Prime Minister Tony Blair, who is the godfather of one of her daughters.
Rumors also circulated in 2016 that Deng Murdoch was romantically linked to Vladimir Putin.
However, perhaps one of her most notable moments in the public eye came in 2011 when she saved her then husband from a foam pie and dished out a swift slap as punishment to the comedian attempting the prank.
The episode occurred as the senior Murdoch and his son James appeared at a UK parliamentary committee hearing about revelations the now-defunct tabloid News of the World, owned by News Corp subsidiary News International, had hacked people’s telephone voice messages to pursue stories.
Deng Murdoch, a noted volleyball player, leapt in with a killer spike, diverting the pie away from her husband and into the face of the comedian, a “Mr Marbles.”
Go on, enjoy it again.
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