Wendi Deng: The Woman Who Juggled Three of the Most Powerful Men in the World
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W endi Deng is in the news today because of an Instagram post showing her vacationing with Donald Trump's daughter, Ivanka Trump.
But what's most fascinating about this woman is that even though she's now nearly fifty years old, she has been able to capture the heart of three of the most powerful men in the world: Rupert Murdoch, founder of News Corp., Vladimir Putin, the president of Russia, and although not known for sure, possibly Tony Blair, the former prime minister of the U.K.
So who is this mysterious woman? And why can so many men not get enough of her? We'll take an in depth look.
Who is Wendi Deng?
It seems Wendi Deng had humble beginnings, though her taste for older, wealthy, and often, married men has been longstanding. She first came to the US on a student visa, sponsored by an American family, Jake and Joyce Cherry.
She attended California State University Northridge, then obtained her masters in business administration at Yale University.
But according to New York Magazine, there was more to this story. Wendi Deng soon became involved in an affair with Jake Cherry.
Once the affair was uncovered by Jake Cherry's wife, Joyce Cherry, the two split, leaving Deng to form a long-term relationship with Jake. Deng later married Jake Cherry, only to divorce him a short time later.
After completing her MBA, Wendi Deng went onto land a job at Star TV, Rupert Murdoch's Hong Kong-based satellite business. This was where she met Rupert Murdoch.
Deng was working as an intern on the business development team, and when Rupert Murdoch called to say that he needed someone to accompany him on a trip, Deng volunteered. The two soon had an affair.
Murdoch married Wendi Deng in 1997, reportedly less than 3 weeks after his divorce to his former wife, Anna Murdoch, was finalized. Wendi Deng and Rupert Murdoch went on to have 2 children, Grace and Chloe Murdoch, but then divorced in 2013 over irreconcilable differences.
During her marriage, Wendi grew from being known only as the the wife of Rupert Murdoch to taking on such roles as being a movie producer and being chief of strategy for MySpace's China operations.
Deng became powerful networker with a cadre of wealthy successful women as her friends.
Wendi Deng's Other Relationships
Not long after, according to Vanity Fair, rumors spread that Wendi Deng was having with former U.K. prime minister Tony Blair.
Blair was already connected to the Murdochs because he was a godfather to Grace Murdoch.
He was also a powerful political ally to Rupert Murdoch and a friend of the family, so the pair had plenty of opportunities to be together.
Other news outlets, meanwhile, have linked Wendi Deng to billionaire and former Google CEO Eric Schmidt.
In March of 2016, Us Magazine reported that rumors were circulating that Wendi Deng was dating Russian president Vladimir Putin. However, the pair have yet to confirm reports or be seen together. Wendi Deng has also denied the rumor.
That brings us to this week, when Ivanka Trump posted a photo in which she is vacationing with Wendi Deng.
There may be nothing to this story, but with all of the recent reports of the Trump campaign's connections to Russian oligarchs, one wonders why the two would appear in public together now.
Updated August 16, 2016. Photo credit: David Shankbone