Missing among the 300-plus Bel Air residents who showed up at Rupert Murdoch’s Moraga Estate vineyard for a Feb. 11 event thanking the Skirball Fire-containing L.A. Fire Department was the host himself.
Murdoch was on the grounds of his Moraga Vineyard but was unable to attend because of a back injury that has the 86-year-old media titan laid up in his home at the base of the 14-acre vineyard. According to reports, Murdoch — who is in the midst of selling 21st Century Fox’s film and TV assets to Disney in a $52.4 billion deal — slipped and fell on his son Lachlan’s yacht in the Caribbean after New Year’s Eve and had to be helicoptered off the boat.
The LAFD event was still a success, helping raise more than $60,000 for the L.A. Fire Department Foundation and Murdoch’s wife, Jerry Hall, made a short speech thanking the firefighters for their efforts. Jade Jagger was also present at the event, and actor Rob Morrow’s band played to the crowd as they dined on snacks provided by the Bel-Air restaurant and sipped some of Murdoch’s finer vintages.
A spokesperson for Murdoch says he is recovering and is doing well.
A version of this story first appeared in the Feb. 21 issue of The Hollywood Reporter magazine. To receive the magazine, click here to subscribe.
More from The Hollywood Reporter
-
The Woman King
Gina Prince-Bythewood to Be Honored at Black Business Association Salute to Black Women Event
![]()
-
Jeremy Renner
Jeremy Renner Says Snowplow Involved in New Year’s Day Accident Is “Finally Making Her Way Back Home”
![]()
-
![]()
-
![]()
-
![]()
-
international
Andrew Lloyd Webber Says His Son Has Been Checked Into Hospice Care After His “Ghastly” Cancer Diagnosis
![]()
