Rupert Murdoch Closes on $28.8 Million Bel Air Winery

Rupert Murdoch is now the proud owner of a historic 13-acre vineyard in Bel Air. 

The media mogul has closed on the Moraga Vineyards property for $28.8 million, the listing agent, Surterre Properties’ Jim Kline, confirmed to The Hollywood Reporter. A source told THR in February that Murdoch read about the property in a Feb. 8 Private Properties column in the pages of one of his own media properties, The Wall Street Journal.

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The vineyard was listed at $29.5 million at the time. The property, built by Wizard of Oz director Victor Fleming, features a 7,500-square-foot home in addition to the vineyard. 

The most recent owner of Moraga Vineyards, Tom Jones, was the ex-CEO of defense contractor Northrop Grumman. Murdoch announced his intention to purchase the property in a tweet in early May. “About to celebrate buying beautiful small vineyard right in LA. Great wine, Moraga, owned by great Angelino Tom Jones,” he wrote. Murdoch also owns property in Beverly Hills. 

“He’s excited about learning the wine-making business,” Kline told the Wall Street Journal in a Private Properties column on Tuesday. 

Moraga Vineyards wines are widely available at many high-end Los Angeles restaurants and stores and in select locations in New York.