Bloomberg News
Rupert Murdoch
A Fighter in Many Arenas
For anyone else, it would have been a painful defeat. For Rupert Murdoch, the 2001 loss of a bidding war for satellite operator DirecTV to rival Charlie Ergen was just the start of the game. After mounting a lobbying campaign to block federal approval of Ergen's bid, Murdoch bought DirecTV at half the price two years later and is now taking aim at rival cable operators with new programs and services.
"I put my hand up in Washington," says the News Corp. czar mildly. "You can't be shy." That he isn't: Murdoch, 75, has cut a swath through traditional media with audacious moves and well-timed risks. He snatched MySpace.com away from Viacom and has watched the social network site become the talk of the media world. It's simple, really, says Murdoch. "I like to win."
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