Rupert Murdoch is no stranger to getting sued. His international media company, News Corp, often finds itself at the center of gruesome scandals stemming from Murdoch's freewheeling attitude about journalistic and business ethics. A defamation lawsuit from Dominion Voting Systems against Fox News, Murdoch's biggest American company, is but the latest example on his long history of being on the receiving end of righteous litigation. A little over a decade ago, for instance, Murdoch's British newspapers were embroiled in a sprawling case of journalistic malfeseance involving hacking the phones of politicians, celebrities and even crime victims in order to publish stolen materials. News Corp ended up settling out of court with hundreds of victims, including actor Hugh Grant and soccer star Wayne Rooney.
Then there's the long history of Fox News settling sexual harassment cases out of court, often saddling victims with non-disclosure agreements. All told, the cost of those settlements is believed to have topped a whopping $200 million for Murdoch's company. The company has also paid staggering settlements in less-sexy but still damning cases involving anti-trust laws and corporate mismanagement. What Murdoch has paid out in lawsuit settlements may top the GDP of many a small nation.
