An article in Forbes paints 44-year old Wendi Deng as a gold digger and speculates the divorce between Rupert Murdoch and Deng will be a messy one .
The article relies heavily on a 2007 article from the Australian publication the Monthly.
In it reporter Eric Ellis says the first time Deng met Murdoch, she intentionally spilled red win on his trousers.
But beyond the flirtatious games Ellis reports Deng played, he says she had an affair with an American expatriate who had taken the 18-year old into their home. Deng would ultimately marry Jake Cherry, but just long enough for the China native to get a green card.
The Forbes article says Murdoch tried to protect himself when he learned of Deng’s past. He announced in 2006 the two daughters he had with Deng would not have the same voting rights in his companies as his four earlier children. That decision caused a rift between Murdoch and Deng and may have ultimately contributed to the pending divorce.
Deng and Murdoch have a prenuptial agreement, but Forbes says the agreement may not mean much.
Eamonn Fingleton writes for Forbes: “As decades of American interaction with East Asian businesses have consistently shown, contracts mean nothing. What matters is power. Those who have it dictate the terms.”
From Yogi Tam via Facebook RE: Wendi Deng being painted as a gold digger: "In this article, it says, Deng two daughters will NOT have the same voting rights in his company as Rubert's other four children. I wonder why not?"
From Judy Wing Lee via Facebook RE: Wendi Deng being painted as a gold digger: "No… As much as Murdoch and his cronies paint her to be, Wendi is absolutely not a gold digger! Not that I agree with her choices but she is accomplished, well-educated and deserves what she can get from that egotistical old fool! You go, Wendi."
from @RealJesseWang via Twitter RE: Wendi Deng Being Painted as Gold Digger: "of course, she is the definition of gold digger."
RE: Wendi Deng Being Painted as a Gold Digger: Or is the publishing community coming to defense of Rupert? Just a thought.
RE: Wendi Deng’s Divorce With Rupert Murdoch: What a gold digger . First she sleeps and seduce her white sponsor male . Then sleeps with another white male of perceived power . Suck up to white male professors. Then bagged Rupert . Now she left with nothing