On Murdoch's shattered Chinese dream...

Rupert Murdoch is quite an interesting read, looking at his life stories, the ups and downs, the drama (business and personal) playing out for this larger-than-life figure. He might not admit it, but since he's in his twilight years now, it's interesting to read on his "turnaround" far into his senior years.

Such was his pursuit of China and to crack his vastly untapped market, and his shattered dream, at least so far. What wonders me though, is how a guy can turn a professional passion for business pursuit, into personal life, thus divorcing his Anglo-Saxon wife, marrying a Chinese woman who is famous for social climbing. As the movie Vanity Fair would have it, she's not just a social climber. She's a mountaineer, considering the dubious way of finagling her way to California from China, dumping a husband that no one knew about, moved back East after business school, and made her way to the ears of not the executives along the way, but the very top boss of Murdoch.

Divorce and marriage are private matters, so we should drill on that much. Afterall, there's probably no love lost between Murdoch and his ex-wife who waltz her way in social circles with ease. And perhaps the new Chinese wife really is a lovely, charming woman. No matter. They can decide.

What's interesting is the pursuit of the business, and certainly the young Chinese wife fans the aggression of Murdoch into the Chinese market. But if he thinks that by marrying a Chinese woman, who looks to the west, is going to give him an edge, any edge, in gaining foothold in this market, he's quite mistaken. And the article delivers quite a clinical and concise opinion of his foray, of the weak performance that his new wife and younger son (the new heir apparent) in such pursuit, gaining nothing much other than lots of burnt cash.

Well, but at least he tries. And he's probably correct, that the next quarter century will see the developing countries (particularly China and to a lesser extent India) rising. But my bet is, the Murdoch name won't be there prominent, at least not in the glorious fashion that other giants like Microsoft, Google, and eBay have hoped for but didn't get either.