Rupert Murdoch was just 21 years old in 1952 when he inherited his first newspaper. The News, an afternoon tabloid published in South Australia, had a modest circulation, but Murdoch, who turns 95 in March, used it as a springboard to create a vast conservative media empire that includes Fox News, the New York Post and The Wall Street Journal.

Rupert Murdoch at a state banquet at Windsor Castle in 2025, where the guest of honor was Donald Trump. Gabriel Sherman's new book, "Bonfire of the Murdochs," is a history of the family and the bequeathing of its patriarch's media empire.